A letter to OBAMA
I've been going through some of my old word documents these past few days and I found a letter I wrote to Obama, which I put it in the mail while I was in Washington, DC for the Immigration Reform March in March 2010. I smiled a lot as I read through it, I thought, "Wow. I sound really naive right now. I'm totally giving advice to act against the very structures that run this country (i.e. capitalism)." (please excuse the grammatical errors but I want to share it in its pristine format).
That Spring Break in Washington, DC was a very interesting experience for me. I learned a lot about myself, others and what I want my future not to be. A disillusioned idealist becomes stagnant and loses sight of his/her dreams- I vow to never see myself in this predicament.
"Hay que endureserce sin perder la ternura Jamas." Che Guevara
"We have to be tough without ever losing tenderness."
Jennifer Brenes
March 2010
President Barack Obama,
I have been given the opportunity to be part of a delegation
from the University of California Santa Barbara to come to the Capital and
participate in the Immigration Reform Campaign, which has allowed me to bring
this letter to you. I wrote this to you like so many others in hopes of simply
being some motivation and/or inspiration to you to continue to be that change
that you have promised this country. This past year, 2009 came and went and I realized
that this change would come later than sooner. I don’t even think I can imagine
the weight that you carry on your back as President of the most powerful
country, and for that I commend you. However, I would like to simply state
right now that all that I have been left is the hope I and so many have in you.
I did not realize the impact of your election worldwide. The
Bush administration did in indeed leave an enormous weight behind and you have
been left to pick up the pieces, some have been higher to lift but I and the
world have hope that you will, which is why I would like to share an anecdote
with you.
This past summer 2009 I studied abroad in Bahia, Brazil. It
was one of the best and most memorable experiences of my life thus far. I
learned so much in so many ways not only about myself, but also about their
perception. I realized that with your election, the United States had been
given the opportunity to redeem itself and I felt that through the various
conversations I had with the Brazilian people. There were two occasions
President Obama that I and a few of my friends found ourselves in a taxi with
drivers that sang to us about you. Yes, they sang a song for you and about you.
In Portuguese they sang that you would not only save the United States, but you
would also save Africa and todo o mundo—the whole world. It was then, on our
way home from a good night of dancing and mingling with the Brazilian people
that I realized that you, President Obama was not only the hope of this
country, but also the hope for many around the globe.
The history of the United States lies in the various
predecessors that took reign since Independence. The different fabrics of
life—whether they are social, economic or political are integral aspects of the
American identity that pursues to be embedded in liberty, justice and honor.
Whether this desire has been fulfilled is not the question. Rather, the issue
at hand is whether you, as the 44th president of the United States
will change America and guide it on a path of righteousness and dignity. The
economic and foreign policies that this country will take under your reign, as
President, will either reflect change or continuity. We look to you, President
Obama for guidance of how we should cope with the past, handle the present and
hope for the future.
It is time now to look at history and learn from the past.
Two important figures that left their imprint on America were Franklin D.
Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan.
Although their presidencies were 30 years apart, their politics
concerning industry, economy and diplomacy were interlinked through common
ideology. Events during both
presidencies signified the United States as both an imperial power and colonial
intruder. Under the hegemonic ideology of the United States as a “super power,”
both presidents “embraced a vision that the United States should take the lead
in making the world “safe for democracy.” However, history manifests that the
United States has merely meddled without repercussion in the policies of other
nations; thereby dismantling their peace in the name of national security. I
encourage you President Obama, to allow the third world to reach its autonomy
free from US intervention and establish relationships with countries such as
Cuba and Venezuela that would if given the opportunity work with the US diplomatically.
Since FDR and Reagan, the United States has successfully
become the world’s greatest military machine.” Simultaneously however, there
has been a severe disinvestment of social infrastructure at home and abroad,
thereby plummeting the masses. The history of corporate dominance and
deregulation has created the polarization of the population between the rich
and poor. I advise you, President Obama to recognize that if the United States
continues to invest in the military complex, while simultaneously continues to
disinvest in the community on the domestic front, the United States will
continue to experience the void of failed promises for social progress. Please
begin to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor by regulating the forces
of the global market that for too long have been skewed to favor the elite few.
I encourage you President Obama to begin investing in human
capital; to invest in programs that can only better the community the community
to develop mentally, physically and socially, and this occurs through
knowledge. This country needs to begin investing in the present disgraceful
educational system and minimize both funds and support for the prison
industrial complex, which contributes nothing to the betterment of humanity. Healthcare,
which has been bureaucratically delayed will hopefully pass this week, and we
are looking forward to it because until it does, every other bill will remain stagnant,
as is the case for the much-needed Immigration Reform Bill.
President Obama, be aware that the expansion of the global
market is the primary cause for the economic crisis here in the US and which
has created the global crisis. Capitalism, in particular neo-liberalism has
failed to bring about profit and benefits for the population. The idea of free
trade has only fostered big corporations and destroyed smaller ones, not only
here in the states but most dramatically abroad. Thereby creating a cycle of
labor exploitation and privatization that makes education, healthcare and other
social venues inaccessible due to lack of both human and material capital.
Therefore, I urge you, President Obama to recognize the
atrocities that this country has committed overtly and covertly here in the
United States as well as abroad. Please take into consideration the ill effects
of American ideology in countries abroad and work with those nations to revive
their current economic plight, by not supporting corrupt leaders, by changing
the role and function of the World Bank, IMF and the imposed Structural
Adjustment Programs (SAPS), which has been the custom of US presidents. May the
US, under your reign begin lending a hand to countries that have been affected
by US imperialism and begin constructing solutions that preserve the autonomy
of nations across the globe, while at the same time promoting the democracy
that does not only seek to preserve US interests.
Begin renovating and remodeling government that has been
largely, if not entirely discredited by US citizens as well as nations across
the globe, by concentrating energy on the people and not the greedy
corporation. Begin disinvesting in the military-industrial complex and pursue
the betterment of humanity through the investment of general welfare programs
and institutions for the people. Regulate the market forces, which for many are
the real “forces of evil” for although deregulation brought forth economic
expansion, the majority of the people suffered from poverty more acutely as
seen during Reagan’s era and income distribution became more unequal.
Victories in social welfare have been few, while “victories”
abroad that seek to abolish leftist ideals have been many. I caution you
against the “imperial presidency.” Do away with US military bases abroad like
the seven newly established bases in Columbia. May the US not only be a
military force in Haiti, but be a support system for Haiti. I urge you to
instead be the instrument used to bridge nations together, set the precedent.
In terms of Immigration, the lack of mobilization on the
government for the implementation of the Dream Act, which would only help those
trying to rise above their circumstances and better their community, completely
leaves me in awe. The more I learn, see and hear of the injustices being
committed against the people that sustain this country, which truly are the
backbone of this American economy, makes me question the principles of this
country.
As previously stated in the memo, it has been precisely the
imperialist intervention of the United States seeking to preserve and continue
its economic dominance over the world that has been the cause of massive
migration into this country. Scholars have learned that colonialism ceased to
exist because the masses would no longer consent to the slaughter of their
people, so revolutions arose in opposition. Hence, it became neo-colonialism,
made possible through the installation of the repressive dictatorships that the
United States supported in countries like, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua,
Panama, Dominican Republic, Congo, Iran and the list continues. Neo-colonialism
has taken the form of neoliberalism—the pursuit of maximum economic growth and
gain under the guise of development and modernization. This rationalistic
driven platform that favors free trade and capitalism and the concepts of
private business and consumerism have only widened the gap between the rich and
poor and contributed to the misdistribution of wealth and food that directly
affects the poorest people. Neoliberalism has proven marvelous to big
corporations and the few wealthy elite that consume 70% of the world’s food
grains, while 1 billion people suffer from hunger and 40,000 children die every
day.
The massive migration to the United States is thus directly
linked to the economic imperialistic policies the United States has embraced in
the past made possible through and by neoliberalism and it’s regulatory
institutions such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and The
Structural Adjustment Programs.
The greediness of this country, as clearly portrayed by the
World Bank and the International Monetary Fund has clearly demonstrated its
complete neglect for the social infrastructure of this country and its ultimate
commitments to seeing that the global South become indebted so that the loans
granted to these impoverished nations, like the structural adjustment loans or
structural adjustment programs can carry out the interests of multinational
corporations. This is often reflected through the creation of roads, air and seaports,
hydroelectric dams, mines and telecommunication grids and will only continue,
while at the same time contribute to the depletion of the environment by
investing and “developing” the community through mega projects.
Neoliberalism has caused the crisis in countries like El
Salvador (one of many). El Salvador faces immense poverty, lack of employment; 8
out of 10 are unemployed, reason why many people are sub-employed; education
and healthcare has been privatized and communities and there are communities
who do not receive any governmental aid. This fuels delinquency, which fuels
violence that contributes to the detrimental state of the country. El Salvador
has completely neglected the Salvadorian community in acquiring the most
essential resources to the betterment of humanity. This problem is not only
occurring in El Salvador. It’s happening all over the world with countries that
have succumbed to the hegemonic ideology of neoliberalism and American ideology
with the hope of progress and economic growth. But it has failed to resolve basic
issues of humanity.
I can only hope and pray with utmost sincerity that this
country will see a change, not only in the home front but abroad as well. It is
pivotal, in order for this country to step out of the contradictory and
paradoxical state of justice and freedom, it needs to begin dismantling the
structural deficiencies that dominate this country. This government cannot continue to support repressive
governments, occupations and genocide of peoples in the Middle East. Nor can we
continue to support the neoliberal agenda that hinders humanity and the misdistribution
of land, wealth and food that maintains the status quo. You have promised a
change, you have lived it and learned about it yourself. There was a point in
your life when you were slapped in the face with reality, a reality that yells
and paints injustice, a reality I very recently become conscious of. There was
a time when you were enraged at what you saw, heard and felt occurring around
you; when you were impassionate for the fight for justice and the fight for
equality. I commend you for your incredible ability and steadfastness that
helped you gain your position today, but now I, ask you to please be the change
you promised.
There is something wrong with a society that criminalizes
the people it is indebted to. I
mean vast peoples who come to this country for opportunities virtually
non-existent in there own countries because of the interdependent relationship
between the global North and South. Something is wrong when detention centers
are built for the imprisonment of people that only seek to work and better
their circumstances. There is something wrong with a society in which racism
and segregation has been so keenly institutionalized in the subtlest ways so
that it goes unquestioned by the majority. There is something deeply wrong in a
country that neglects higher education to a people that simply want to rise
above their circumstances and a government that refuses to change anything
about our disgraceful education system seen for example just right down the
street from the White House in the local High Schools. There is something
horribly wrong when prisons become before schools and capital comes before
humanity. These are the contradictions of society and the contradictions of
humanity.
I am only one of a multitude of young, diverse and hopeful
people that rest their hopes on a new era. I like to think of myself as someone
who has recently embraced the strife of the struggle, the struggle of the
oppressed. So I hope to not come off as one that neglects the progress that has
been made on behalf of the people, but one that recognizes the work that has
yet to be accomplished.
I would like to think that I will see real change in my
lifetime. I would like to continue to believe and feel that I will see in you the grace that
God has bestowed upon you as you lead this country. I like to remind myself of
your past, of your activism in Chicago, which brings me hope because I know you
know the struggle of the masses and I hope you never lose that humility and
sincerity that we all saw in you, for like Malcolm X pointed out, sincerity is credential.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Brenes
University of California Santa Barbara
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