Surging Sandy

It is ironic that it took a tidal surge to interrupt the US presidential campaign, a week before the Nov 6 election.

The US military surge in Afghanistan ended last week. There was no proclamation of success from President Barack Obama. Most of al Qaeda’s remaining insurgents will be targeted by drones. The focus right now is on winning the elections. On November 6, the United States will ‘elect’ a president. The word ‘elect’ is a misnomer. Presidents are not truly elected but are rather selected by the electoral college. The US does not directly elect a president where the candidate who receives the most votes wins. This process is about winning the electoral vote. Meaning, if Mitt Romney gets two million votes in Alabama, while President Obama gets only one million votes, then Romney would win all of Alabama’s nine electoral college votes. However, Romney could also win by securing two million plus one vote and still receive all nine of the electoral votes. In this scenario, Romney’s and President Obama’s two million individual votes do not matter as Romney’s ‘plus one’ vote has secured him all nine electoral college votes. Many argue that this is an antiquated system — designed to keep people out of the democratic process.

Alabama’s Constitution contains electoral laws that have historically kept African-Americans out of the democratic process. On November 6, voters will have the opportunity to eliminate this constitutional anachronism. Amendment 4 is a proposal asking voters, on November 6, if they support deleting references to separate schools for white and black children. Proponents of the proposal are pushing for changes that will take Alabama past its history of racial segregation. One would think that this would be an easy win, but many black legislators are urging voters to reject the Amendment on November 6. They say that the proposed Amendment deletes some racially charged language, but would still retain language in the Constitution that denies people the right to a liberal system of public education in Alabama.

Both President Obama and Romney agree that improving the standard of education throughout the US is paramount. One of the key differences between them is that Romney wants to allow federal tax money earmarked for public schools to be redirected, allowing it to follow students to private schools, should they decide to go there. His proposal carries influence in many Republican states. It is a foregone conclusion that Romney will carry states such as Alabama, while ignoring disenfranchised people seeking equal educational opportunity in the state.

Surge is a powerful word. Unfortunately, it is used to divide people into groups based on culture and race — class and society. It is always the disenfranchised poor or the righteous military that surge. A woman died a few blocks from where I live. She was struck and killed by an airborne sign from a store during the storm Sandy as it cut a path of destruction across the eastern US and Canada. Millions of people are left without lights and power in the aftermath of this massive storm. A tidal surge, in places as tall as 3.9 metres, swamped parts of Manhattan and New Jersey. It is ironic that it took a tidal surge to interrupt the US presidential campaign only a week before the November 6 election, bringing a country — which according to President John F Kennedy, was “founded by men of many nations and backgrounds” — together and focus on humanity.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st, 2012.