Last week I had occasion to listen to two Conservative black men discuss the Obama election and subsequent administration. They both agreed that neither of them expected to see the day when a Black man would be elected president. This wasn’t the first time I heard this from members of the Black community. I heard similar remarks from an inner-city ministry in Indianapolis in 2009. I have to admit that I fully understand how and why they were inspired.

I haven’t been back to Indianapolis since 2009, so I can’t speak about that ministry’s current point of view regarding this administration. However, I can speak about the point of view of the two Conservative black men I met with last week. They were both disappointed about more than Obama’s failed political policies, which I will portray as nothing short of betrayal. With an unemployment rate among the Black community that soars above the national average, the man now occupying the White House has done as much for the inner-cities of this nation as he has for his indigent brother living in a hut in Kenya – which is absolutely nothing! Did the Black community believe in the hope and change Obama campaigned on? They did. Were these empty words and nothing more than a campaign slogan? Yes, they were.

Obama divides instead of uniting

Barack H. Obama. Photo: Pete Souza, January 13, 2009

What is really unforgivable is that no one in the history of this country has had the opportunity to unite our people as this man now occupying the White House. Instead of being a force for good and a force to unite us and make us stronger than even Martin Luther would have imagined possible, he has fanned the flames of resentment and injustice that continue to separate Americans of one color against Americans of another color. He hasn’t inspired or lifted up people of his own color; he has victimized them and imposed self-segregation upon them. This is more than a missed opportunity; it is a tragedy. And, it is nothing more than a deliberate manipulation by an ambitious politician to solicit votes. He has used the plight of his own people to further his career, and by doing so, has inflicted much harm upon them by keeping them victims when he could have inspired them to being overcomers.

Although it is clearly not politically correct to say (but I’ll say it anyway), Obama’s skin color was perhaps his biggest asset in his run for the presidency. Many say that it was his eloquence of speech. I argue that since the man can hardly put two words together without a teleprompter that is a false assumption. Others claim (as Barbara Walters did) that he is handsome – well, beauty must be in the eyes of the beholder because I just don’t see it. What I see is a tragic failure of a man that had greatness within his grasp. Instead he chose self-aggrandizement over unification. He chose popularity over righteousness. He chose to divide and conquer instead of choosing to unify and strengthen.

Hope and change go wrong

The one thing he did have going for him was that his candidacy brought hope – however misguided – to people of color. I’m not saying this is wrong. As a matter of fact, I absolutely understand it. What I don’t understand is why people of color continue to support him. It is really unfortunate that our first Black (at least half Black) president is either incompetent or a traitor. Let me elaborate on the “traitor” part. If he’s not incompetent, then the path of destruction he has led us down is not only destructive; it is traitorous. If he is not incompetent, then he did this deliberately – which unfortunately for us, makes him a traitor. Either way, he is not fit to serve a second term.

I will go one step further. He has betrayed people of his own color to further his political career. As an American, I find this unforgivable.

[amazon_carousel widget_type=”ASINList” width=”500″ height=”250″ title=”” market_place=”US” shuffle_products=”True” show_border=”False” asin=”B00375LOEG, 0451947673, 0800733940, 0062073303, 1595230734, 1936218003, 0981559662, 1935071874, 1932172378, 1936488299″ /]