Fight Back, Mr. President (Fifth Piece)

SAVE AS FAVORITE

VIEW FAVORITES

By Andrew Bard Schmookler (about the author) Page 1 of 2 page(s)

opednews.com Permalink

For OpEdNews: Andrew Bard Schmookler - Writer

Dear Mr. President,

Your enemies have been coming at you with attacks most foul and unscrupulous, and you have maintained your gentlemanly calm.

You defend your program against their lies. But you do not go on the attack against your enemies for their lying.

The result is, you are playing defense, and they remain on the offensive. You attempt to parry their blows, but you land none of your own.

This is not good enough for protecting your power. And it is not being true to the Force that brought you to the presidency. That's because, in the present state of America, you as president have been summoned to lead us in battle, and that battle is, ultimately, the struggle between Good and Evil.

That this is what you are called to do is clear both from how you gained the presidency, and from the forces that have now taken the field against you.

You never would have been elected, as a young four-year Senator and a man of color, were it not for the darkness cast over the land by your predecessor. Had Americans not been so dismayed by those forces of Darkness, they would never have been ready to be so inspired and mobilized on behalf of the moral and spiritual forces that you rode to victory.

Unfortunately, the departure of your predecessor (and his gang) from the White House has not freed this country of those forces of darkness. Many have noted it: there is something unprecedented about the appalling and amoral conduct of your political opposition. We've seen such perfidious politics before in America, but previously it's always been consigned to the fringe.

Never before has one of our two major parties been so fixated on seeking political advantage regardless of the cost to the nation. Never before had one of our two major parties filled the center stage of a major policy "debate" simply with outright fear-mongering lies.

America remains in a moral crisis, that battle of Good against Evil continues to rage. Your enemies are waging war on you, and your leadership role requires you to join the battle. Your Rope-A-Dope approach –absorbing their blows while remaining “above the battle”-- has not succeeded, for your power is draining away.

It's nice for a leader to be liked, but he also should be feared at least to this extent: those who act as his enemies, those who fight dirty and who act in bad faith, will pay a price.

It is time to fight.

Maybe you've been inhibited by the idea that a black man fighting will frighten too many white Americans. There are ways to fight that will not trigger those deep-seated racial fears.

Maybe you're attached to the notion of being the Nice Guy, the bridge-builder, the man who brings people together. There's no one way of being that's suitable to all occasions.

Your repertoire needs to include the hawk as well as the dove. When someone makes war on you, to refuse to respond does not look "nice," it looks like weakness.

1 | 2

Andrew Bard Schmookler's website www.nonesoblind.org is devoted to understanding the roots of America's present moral crisis and the means by which the urgent challenge of this dangerous moment can be met. Dr. (more...)

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.

Contact Author

Contact Editor

View Authors' Articles

Book Recommendations for "Leadership President Barack Obama"

President Barack Obama: Change Has Come To America. His Words - His Promises
by Barack Obama

$34.95
Lowest New Price $25.90
Number of pages: 638
Publisher: CreateSpace