Yes, the election of a black man was a historic triumph for the struggle

Yes, the election of a black man was a historic triumph for the struggle. But we do ourselves no honor when we cover up for the disaster of his policies.

Yes, civil rights champions, you can admit Obama is a failed president

After watching the movie “The Butler” staring Lee Daniels and Oprah Winfrey, I have a better understanding of why some people are reluctant to let go of the hoped-for glory of Barack Obama’s presidency and acknowledge his failed policies.

The historic nature of his presidency trumps his failed policies in their minds because of the struggle, the sit-ins, the abuse, the senseless killings, the lynchings, the water hoses and attack dogs unleashed on the “freedom riders” during the Civil Rights Movement and beyond.

Even more black people are reluctant to let go, but I believe that the champion of the Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and others would encourage them to let go, because they would not condone the social equivalent of spousal abuse. On the one hand, people are hanging on to the significance of a black man making it to the White House. And on the other hand they are enduring the abuse of failed policies, deceptions and now the arrogant trampling of the First Amendment to the Constitution.

Just as the butler in the movie eventually let go of his anger toward his son who became a “freedom rider” and civil rights activist, it is past time for people to let go of their denial. It is time to face the facts so the future can be better than the past.

It took the butler nearly his entire life to let go of his anger, because he could never let go of watching the senseless killing of his father when he was a child. His father was killed for standing up to a white man who had abused his mother.

Yes, we must celebrate the good things in our history, but we must not hold on to the bad things in our history. Remember them, yes! Hold on to them, no! Let go!

History will record Barack Obama as the first African American president of the United States of America. Some people want to quibble that he’s not the first black president since his father was from Africa and his mother was from the USA. Get over it! The semantics do not matter.

If President Obama does not change his policies or his arrogance, which I doubt, history will also record him as the worst president, in terms of results, in American history. Historic federal spending, an un-recovered economy, blurred and ineffective foreign policy, a dependency nation, a health care disaster and a demotivated electorate are just a few of the historic descriptions that will be used to describe his presidency.

A historic triumph of getting to the White House is not enough to define one’s presidency. It also takes results that will leave a positive impact on the nation.

Right now, it’s not looking too good. Those who have spent their lives committed to the struggle do not betray that commitment by acknowledging that this is the truth. Indeed, they honor it. We can do better than this.