Thursday, October 08, 2009

Obama Disappoints

What a disappointment Obama is !! Just a year ago the World watched every move of this man and prayed for his victory in the belief that he had the capacity to judge things from a global perspective and provide leadership to the World leaders. CHANGE and WE CAN were his slogans and like any other political slogans , they proved to be just that—a mere political catchy words that have no meaning once in power.
Nothing has changed, domestically or internationally. May be I should say no effort has been made to change anything even though circumstances provided the opportunity on a platter to Obama. The US banking and financial sector continues to rot in spite of gobbling up a trillion dollars of tax payers money, the greed of the CXOs continues to be obnoxious, yet nothing has changed. Except for sound bytes to the media on the salaries and bonuses of CXOs, nothing has changed. Even the much talked about health reforms seem to have taken a back seat. The Obama administration is clearly buckling under the pressure of these big corporations.
And now the last blow to all the believers in Obama. Obama has become the first US President in two decades not to welcome the Nobel peace prize winner to the White House since the Dalai Lama began visiting Washington. And this coming from the person who claims that Mahatma Gandhi and his non-violent approach has influenced him to a large extent. Yet he refuses to meet the Buddhist monk and the spiritual leader of Tibet whose only demand is greater autonomy ( not separation ) and preservation of Tibetan culture, which China is systematically destroying. And why this refusal. Because of the pressure from China. So economic considerations outweigh all other factors.
The US President will meet with corrupt, murderous dictators, military junta heads, even embrace them, laugh with them, accept gifts from them, but NOT meet the Dalai Lama? The ultimate failure in honoring human rights and international relationships. And the ultimate disappointment for people like me world over.
Just a year ago during the primaries, Obama urged George W Bush to boycott the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony in protest against the bloody repression of a popular uprising in Tibet. “If the Chinese do not take steps to help stop the genocide in Darfur and to respect the dignity, security, and human rights of the Tibetan people, then the President should boycott the opening ceremonies,” Obama said.
What a CHANGE !!
What a fall !!
What a disappointment Obama has turned out to be !!