ACOTUS?

I love the bloggers at American Thinker. Yesterday, a young woman by the name of L.E. Ikenga discoursed on the phenomenon of the African Colonial, a label that she applies to President Obama. She defines an African Colonial (AC) as someone who has a direct connection to Africa through their birth or heritage. However, an AC's worldviews are shaped not by their tribal lineage, but by the ideals of "European imperialism that overwhelmed and dominated Africa during the colonial period." She goes on to describe how AC's use their African heritage when it is convenient and discard it when it becomes a distraction.

Wow.

This certainly describes President Obama's identification with his multi-ethnicity and the way that he touts his it (his Muslim past) when convenient (Cairo) and dismisses it when inconvenient (campaigning in America). L.E. draws evidence from the President's book, "Dreams of My Father" (which I have not read, so I quote her below):

"In his 1995 memoir, Dreams From My Father -- an eloquent
piece of political propaganda -- Obama styles himself as a misunderstood
intellectual who is deeply affected by the sufferings of black people,
especially in America and Africa. In the book, Obama clearly sees himself as an
African, not as a black American. And to prove this, he goes on a quest to
understand his Kenyan roots. He is extremely thoughtful of his deceased father's
legacy; this provides the main clue for understanding Barack Obama.

Barack Obama Sr. was an African colonial to the core; in his case, the apple did not fall far from the tree. All of the telltale signs of Obama's African colonialist attitudes are on full display in the book -- from his feigned antipathy towards Europeans to his view of African tribal associations as distracting elements that get in the way of
"progress". (On p. 308 of Dreams From My Father, Obama says that African
tribes should be viewed as an "ancient loyalties".)"

Where is the foundation for this behavior in President Obama? Beyond the obvious benefits that this kind of Janus-ification has reaped (a successful Presidential campaign), how or why does one begin to attempt to be both sides of the story? In my opinion, you don't need to look any further than one of his early intellectual mentors, Saul Alinsky. Alinksy, dubbed the 'Godfather of Community Organizers', advocated behavior very similar to the behavior described above. He encouraged his organizers to infiltrate a community by any means necessary. Once ingratiated into a community, the organizer must convince the community that he understands their needs and will fight to the death for them, whether or not he actually will. All the while, the organizer is encouraged to decide for himself what is best for the community and chart their course accordingly. This course frequently demands creating friction where there was none in order to get a community excited and motivated. According to Alinsky, the community is apparently unable to think for themselves but needs an external advocate to perform this service for them.

"The first step in community organization is community disorganization. The
disruption of the present organization is the first step toward community
organization. Present arrangements must be disorganized if they are to be
displace by new patterns.... All change means disorganization of the old and
organization of the new." (Alinsky, Saul "Rules for Radicals" p.116)

What Alinsky is describing is a parasite. Think about it. A tapeworm disguises itself in food, giving the animal/human the impression that what they are consuming is for the body's benefit. Internal order is disrupted (nutrients are consumed by the parasite instead of the body), leading to radical internal changes (increase consumption of food), which in turn leads to the parasite benefiting from the disorder. This kind of community advocacy is a social manifestation of the parasitic relationship we see in nature among parasites and their hosts. It seems to me that what Ms. Ikenga has identified as African Colonialism is simply a more complex way to ingratiate himself into a community, in order to begin his advocacy. What lies ahead in our President's plans? We've seen hints (cap-and-trade, socialized healthcare, radical transformation of social issues) but can we learn more from history? Ms. Ikenga believes that there is a strong correlation between the European Imperialist and the African Colonial.

"Like the European imperialist who spawned him, the ACP is a destroyer of
all forms of democracy.

Here are a few examples of what the British did in order to create (in 1914)
what is now called Nigeria and what Obama is doing to you:

1. Convince the people that "clinging" to any aspect of their cultural (tribal)
   identity or history is bad and regresses the process of "unity". British
   Imperialists deeply feared people who were loyal to anything other than the
   state. "Tribalism" made the imperialists have to work harder to get people to
   just fall in line. Imperialists pitted tribes against each other in order to
   create chaos that they then blamed on ethnic rivalry. Today many "educated" Nigerians, having believed that their traditions were irrelevant, remain completely ignorant of their ancestry and the history of their own tribes.
2. Confiscate the wealth and resources of the area that you govern by any means
   necessary in order to redistribute wealth. The British used this tactic to
   present themselves as empathetic and benevolent leaders who wanted everyone to have a "fair shake". Imperialists are not interested in equality for all. They are interested in controlling all.
3. Convince the masses that your upper-crust university education naturally
   puts you on an intellectual plane from which to understand everything even when you understand nothing. Imperialists were able to convince the people that their elite university educations allowed them to understand what Africa needed. Many of today's Nigerians-having followed that lead-hold all sorts of degrees and certificates-but what good are they if you can't find a job?
4. Lie to the people and tell them that progress is being made even though
   things are clearly becoming worse. One thing that the British forgot to
   mention to their Nigerian constituents was that one day, the resources that were being used to engineer "progress" (which the British had confiscated from the Africans to begin with!) would eventually run out. After WWII, Western Europe could no longer afford to hold on to their African colonies. So all of the
   counterfeit countries that the Europeans created were then left high-and-dry to fend for themselves. This was the main reason behind the African independence movements of the1950 and 60's. What will a post-Obama America look like?
5. Use every available media outlet to perpetuate the belief that you and your
   followers are the enlightened ones-and that those who refuse to support you are just barbaric, uncivilized, ignorant curmudgeons. This speaks for
   itself."

Thankfully, this situation is daily unearthing more and more Americans who are fed up and willing to share their knowledge, enthusiasm, and commitment to protect American liberties. I pray that this Presidency will lead to the magnification and glory of God.

A Dearth of Humanity?

The Times Online last Sunday carried a story about Ishaq Khan, a 12 year-old schoolboy from Kohat, located in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. He was given 50 rupees to carry a plastic bag into a crowded area between several shops and leave it. Ishaq was excited to be offered 50 rupees ($0.62) to perform as task as simple as this. His family "barely survives on the money his father earns from house-painting jobs." Ishaq dropped the bag at the appointed site but when he was 20 steps away, the bag exploded. The blast shattered his foot, left 3 people dead and 23 injured.

When he learnt that three people had been killed and 23 injured he was
horrified. “I never imagined it was a bomb,” he said, his eyes filling with
tears. “I move bags for people all day.”

The doctors at the hospital say that the heel on his left foot is completely crushed and they are not sure if he will be able to walk again. His back was hit with shrapnel from the bomb, but his family "has no money for painkillers", so he is likely recuperating in enormous amounts of pain.




Stories like this are becoming more and more common in Pakistan, Iraq, and elsewhere in the Middle East. Islamic radicals are demonstrating that they no longer care about the rules of society (which we knew already) and that they are willing to exploit and endanger the most vulnerable of our societies to accomplish their "noble" aims. I am reminded of the incident on January 2, 2009 where two mentally-handicapped Iraqi women were strapped with explosives and sent into a crowded market in Baghdad. The devices were detonated remotely, killing the two women, 65 people, and injuring at least 150 others.




When I read stories like this I am shocked. And then I am ruefully aware of my shock and its inappropriateness. As much as I want to scratch my head in amazement at the heartless actions of evil people around the world, I should know better. The Lord reminds me in the book of the prophet Jeremiah, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?" (Jer 17:9). I know this passage. I understand the fallen depravity of man and the sinfulness of my own flesh. So why does this wickedness surprise me?




I believe that it is a reflection of my Creator that a part of me recoils with horror when I read stories like these. Some of the most sensitive beings around us are children. A child can often sense when someone is troubled or sad. They seem to be innately tuned to be intuitively empathetic towards people around them. This argues that we are indeed created in the image of our Maker. We were created by a loving and caring God and since we are created in His image, it follows that we too retain some vestige of his empathetic love (albeit in a flawed and sporadic variety that tends to be muted more and more frequently as we age). We know, without having to think about it or talk to anyone else, that it is evil to use an innocent child or a disabled person for evil. We do subscribe to a universal morality and stories like these remind us of the fact very quickly.



The warning of Jesus about corrupting influences directed towards children, recorded in Mark 9:42 and elsewhere is particularly relevant here, "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea." Methinks these cowards who hide behind school-children and coerce handicapped women to do their murderous work are busily earning their very own millstone. Thankfully we have a Savior who is perfect Justice. Marana tha!