I am watching America .

As an African, I have known charred hope. I have seen stolen opportunities. I have witnessed the lavish celebration of abysmal failure. As an antidote to it all, I have padded my sanity with the juice of cynicism.

For that reason, I was very reluctant to emotionally invest in Barrack Obama. I was not sure what another heartbreak would do to my soul. A heartbreak in Africa could be pieced together with strings of tears but a heartbreak in America , “the land of the free, the home of the brave, and the last best hope for mankind,” portends total disillusionment.

Since Obama won the Democratic Party caucus in Iowa , I have been watching America . I have been holding my breath. And so should you.

I am watching America to see what it does with Obama. I am watching on behalf of my four-year old daughter, Ijeamaka, and my nine-month old son, Ogonna. I watch because I know my children’s fate in America will not differ from Obama’s. One generation after, my children will receive in their prime, the same treatment America is giving today to Obama, the son of a Kenyan father and a white Kansas blonde.

For so long, the prevailing mantra has been that “it is what it is.” In Obama , America seems to be saying that “it does not always have to be what it is.” In the past, America has proved that it can uphold its creed, polish its union, and advance its citizenship. It seems this is one of those times. And that is why I am watching America .

If America finds home for Obama , America will in that singular act find home for so many people of color who have one foot in America and another hanging outside.

If America gives Obama a strong place to stand, America will be giving millions of people eager to embrace the American ideals but unsure of their place in it, a stool on which to lift America up.

I am watching America . I am holding my breath. And so should you.

From Nairobi to Niamey , Cairo to Cape Town , Africa fumbles. For me, each fumble raises the question of where home is? The more the place I came from ceases to look like home, the more I desire to have as home where I reside. But until I feel at home in America , I remain a divided soul.

I have come to terms with that paradox. What I have not come to terms with is where that leaves my children. And that is why I am watching America .

If America finds home for Obama, America will be going a step further to make me feel at home in America.

If America finds home for Obama , America will be reducing in leaps and bounds my wariness about the place of my children in America .

If America takes care of Obama, I can then relax knowing that America will take care of Ijeamaka and Ogonna.

America ’s flag flies high because it is always looking for a place where everyone can see it and salute it’s pursuit of a higher purpose.

If America embraces Obama , America will be shedding off the yoke of its ugly past.

If America listens to Obama , America will be paying tribute to screams long suppressed.

If America welcomes Obama , America will be giving reasons for many to believe again.  

 If America kisses Obama , America will be opening the door for dreams to fly in once more.

Obama is like an exquisite painting that critics all agree makes a statement. What America does with that painting will be televised for posterity. If America hides it under the shelf, that statement will reverberate all over the globe. If America hangs it on its living room wall, America will be rewarded with a blessed future.

There is no accident in the birth of destiny. There are only consequences for its deferment.

Those who hitch on the wind of transformation go far. Those who put up windbreaks on its path invite the wrath of fortune.

I should not be saying this to America , for America should have known this already. So, I sit back and watch.

I am watching America to see what it does with Obama.  

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 Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo is the author of Children of a Retired God

Robot  Villager

# 1 var sbtitle2351=encodeURIComponent(Why Obama I...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 04.02.2008 20:06

spaco  Villager

# 2 Nice Article, God bless Nigeria,God bless British and God bless America. OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT!!!!!!!! Posted by spaco| 05.02.2008 03:38

Profegee  Villager

# 3 The time for change is now. There is the need for paradigm shift. Obama is the man. Posted by Profegee| 05.02.2008 07:13

truthsayer33  Villager

# 4 Oprah Winfrey found the words: "I am not voting for Obama because he is a black man.I am voting for him because he is brilliant" And so it should be. Posted by truthsayer33| 05.02.2008 07:38

Airblaze  Villager

# 5 Obama for President !!!! Posted by Airblaze| 05.02.2008 09:16

udokaamah  Villager

# 6 That Obama is attractive is not the issue. That Obama is exciting is moot. Your article missed the point. The point in my view has to do with concrete and substantive policy issues. What does Obama stand for when it comes to the issues that impact middle class Americans and the core base of the democratic party? How does he propose to bring about the paradigm shift you talked about. If you do not know, that is exactly the point. Obama is an unknown quantity. His record is spotty at best. Does he represent our highest ideals, maybe. But we do not know that for sure. I recently tried to draw a comparison between Barack Obama and Clarence Thomas. Both at the beginning of their careers were iconic, at least to the African Americans. They were black, well trained ivy-league lawyers with a lot of promise and heavily tipped by white america. Today Clarence Thomas is a disaster to African American ideals because he not only opposes it but he proactively attacks them. Most americans think that Clarence Thomas takes away from the US Supreme Court. The change i am excited about in America is the change from the policies of Bush and the Republican party. I am content in the change that the democratic party will retake the White House. I think Obama has become a hype. If i were him, i would work to diffuse the unrealistic expectations heaped on him. Posted by udokaamah| 05.02.2008 12:30

busanga  Villager

# 7 =udokaamah;4294986358>That Obama is attractive is not the issue. That Obama is exciting is moot. Your article missed the point. The point in my view has to do with concrete and substantive policy issues. What does Obama stand for when it comes to the issues that impact middle class Americans and the core base of the democratic party? How does he propose to bring about the paradigm shift you talked about. If you do not know, that is exactly the point. Obama is an unknown quantity. His record is spotty at best. Does he represent our highest ideals, maybe. But we do not know that for sure. I recently tried to draw a comparison between Barack Obama and Clarence Thomas. Both at the beginning of their careers were iconic, at least to the African Americans. They were black, well trained ivy-league lawyers with a lot of promise and heavily tipped by white america. Today Clarence Thomas is a disaster to African American ideals because he not only opposes it but he proactively attacks them. Most americans think that Clarence Thomas takes away from the US Supreme Court. The change i am excited about in America is the change from the policies of Bush and the Republican party. I am content in the change that the democratic party will retake the White House. I think Obama has become a hype. If i were him, i would work to diffuse the unrealistic expectations heaped on him. Udo, na you be the hype? What nonsense. What is the parallel between Clarence and Obama that you seek to draw? Where does two parallel line meet? Hype? I think not! Many called JFK a hype, but the great achievements that came from his era- completed by his sucessor, LBJ, is the product of this hype. Even 44 yrs old Bill was called a hype, so if the same Bill that frowned at being call a hype is doing the same today to Obama, we all know what the hype is. Please save me udo and stop hyping sanya. Posted by busanga| 05.02.2008 13:59

hisambassador  JJC

# 8 I happen to live in California where social liberals (Arnold Schwarzenegger inclusive) have held sway for close to a decade and I can only shudder to imagine a future with the democratic party at the helm. Before we get all enraptured by the fact that a so-called black man stands a real good chance of winning a major party nomination, let us ask ourselves where he plans to take this country, should he find himself in the White House. Looking at the values the Democratic Party (and some Republicans-in-name-only) is promoting, any true christian cannot help but be overwhelmed with some sense of foreboding. An America where my underaged daughter can be taken to a clinic by her teachers to abort her pregnancy without parental consent or even knowledge (as recently passed into law by the California's Democratic Party-dominated legislature) is an America that can not escape God's wrath. An America where sharing God's word in the attempt to lovingly win the homosexuals away from their sinful lifestyle will be considered hate speech is doomed, regardless of how economically successful it may be. I look at the personal beliefs/values of Obama, Clinton and some of the Republican candidates and all I see are the same evil forces that are trying so hard to turn America into another Europe - where secular humanism replaces a relationship with our creator and true believers in the God of the bible are banished from the public square. May the Lord open our eyes to see the dark clouds gathering. Posted by hisambassador| 05.02.2008 14:39

hisambassador  JJC

# 9 I happen to live in California where social liberals (Arnold Schwarzenegger inclusive) have held sway for close to a decade and I can only shudder to imagine a future with the democratic party at the helm. Before we get all enraptured by the fact that a so-called black man stands a real good chance of winning a major party nomination, let us ask ourselves where he plans to take this country, should he find himself in the White House. Looking at the values the Democratic Party (and some Republicans-in-name-only) is promoting, any true christian cannot help but be overwhelmed with some sense of foreboding. An America where my underaged daughter can be taken to a clinic by her teachers to abort her pregnancy without parental consent or even knowledge (as recently passed into law by California's Democratic Party-dominated legislature) is an America that can not escape God's wrath. An America where sharing God's word in the attempt to lovingly win the homosexuals away from their sinful lifestyle will be considered hate speech is doomed, regardless of how economically successful it may be. I look at the personal beliefs/values of Obama, Clinton and some of the Republican candidates and all I see are the same evil forces that are trying so hard to turn America into another Europe - where secular humanism replaces a relationship with our creator and true believers in the God of the bible are banished from the public square. May the Lord open our eyes to see the dark clouds gathering! Posted by hisambassador| 05.02.2008 14:41

Kelechi  Villager

# 10 Well articulated article. It is full of emotions and rightly so too. It is important for an author to take a stand on issues based on something they believe in. It doesn't always have to translate to policies and figures but even those are not lacking in the Obama Machinery. Obama is an enigma - I believe America sees what the rest of the world sees and will use Obama to effect CHANGE not in America but in the world. Posted by Kelechi| 05.02.2008 15:05

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