Never talk about religion, politics or money in mixed company. That is a saying I have heard from time to time for quite a number of years. Though I do not know the origin of the saying, I suspect it is in the primer of military officers and diplomats. In my honest opinion it is good advice, but as the presidential election looms I can't help but to share a little piece of my mind on a book I just read.
I just finished reading Dreams from My Father, A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama. I would say it took me a little over two weeks to read it and I would give the excuse that I only picked the book up when I found some free time in my hotel room and at home. But the fact is, it took me almost four years to read it. The book came to the office through an MWR book package for overseas military and I picked it out at the time to try and understand the then presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama. I got through the first maybe 30 pages before I simply gave up. You see, the Book is titled "Dream from My Father" in very bold letters and in much smaller print, the remainder of the title, "A Story of Race and Inheritance." The beginning of the book for sure is very heavy on the "story of race" and it seemed to me, for a man who grew up in a very race-neutral state like Hawaii, he carried a very heavy load of the black man's burden. In my mind, he has very little in common with most black folks living in the U.S. Excluding his childhood years in Indonesia he was raised in a white home and his lineage did not come from slavery, but rather his father was a relatively well-to-do Kenyan. At least he would have been well-to-do if it weren't for his drinking, polygamy, philandering and conceit.
Then-Senator Obama, in authoring his book, painted a pathetic picture of his maternal grandfather as a man who constantly tried too hard to show black folks just how much skin color didn't mean to him. It was my feeling throughout the initial chapters of his book that Obama thought his grandfather was a simpleton, somehow unable to see the world as it truly is: Full of racial divide. He also seemed devastated that his maternal grandmother, Toots, decided one day she would no longer take the bus to work because she had a run in with an aggressive black beggar at the bus stop.
The reason I had to put the book down the first time nearly four years ago was because I was a little offended by the logic train Obama was on that only black folks are disrespected, and it is only because they are black. It just seemed too convenient that every hardship and social shun he ever experienced was because he was black. The implication was, in my mind, that every rejection I ever experienced socially was because I was a misfit. This, because I didn't have the color of my skin as an excuse.
Anyway, I found I had to see this book from another angle in order to power through it. I began to read it as a book of discovery. I realized this was a very honest book full of raw thoughts and I decided I would read it from a detached perspective. And, while there is much I did not agree with from his political viewpoint - Obama's leanings are clearly socialistic in the book - I found the story line fascinating. I much enjoyed reading about his childhood in Indonesia, his time as a community organizer, and perhaps most of all his discovery of Mother Africa and his relatives there.
I took into consideration that Obama wrote this book in 1995, probably before he ever had aspirations to be President of the United States. In reading the book, there is little doubt in my mind that he was born in Hawaii - I think even Donald Trump would come to the same conclusion if he read the book. But, I also find it amazing that he was ever elected POTUS considering his admitted generous use of illicit drugs. There is no doubt in my mind he was a habitual grass smoker, and it is likely he experimented with blow... and perhaps even stronger mind altering drugs. There was even one reference he made in the book, and I hate myself for not marking it, that I inferred he was at some point in his youth arrested for felony car theft.
All that aside, I did enjoy the book. I am glad I read it and would recommend it to anyone who wants a better perspective on the President of the United States. Once again, it seems very clear President Obama has strong socialist leanings especially in reading through his chapters as a community organizer. In principle, I don't even disagree with the idea of Socialism, except that it doesn't work in the real world. I mean, why would I bust my ass to make my world better when I had to drag every lame dick and their load with me? Vietnam went through her experimentation with socialism, and though there are still remnants, I think anyone with even the smallest powers of observation can see that Vietnam is more capitalist based than socialist thanks to Doi Moi (the renovation) of 1986 - the policy change that saved the nation.
Unrelated to the book itself, I do think everyone should have access to healthcare. I only disagree with the method of reform. I personally believe that reform lies in the pricing of health services, pharmaceuticals and insurance. This triad is a monster that needs to be slain. Both employer and employee are the victims to this parasite. There is no reason in the world, in my mind, that I can buy a pill that cost fifty cents in Vietnam that costs 20 dollars in the U.S. Same formula and made by a first world nation.
This election year will be interesting to say the least. I can't say I have made up my mind on who to vote for yet for all the lies flying from both sides. I might not know the truth, but I can sure spot a half-truth a mile away. I really want to vote, but I am not sure who to vote for. I can say this for sure, I would like to see the electoral college eliminated. It makes no sense anymore. Give me my popular vote. One person - one vote!
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