Supporting President Obama

Some weeks before Christmas, I read that the State of South Carolina was planning to eliminate, or modify, an aspect of their social welfare programme. It was calculated to save approximately $185 millions: the kicker was that the state would, as a result, forfeit approximately $550 million in subsidies from the Federal Government. I thought the action was unfair and discriminatory.

Recently I happened to learn that another state was reviewing its budget for 2009, including the level of financial support for the state college system. I suspect every authority in America is involved in a similar process. Suddenly my mind, apparently all on its own, put all of this together and presented its conclusions.

Every budget exercise with which I have been involved follows a pattern. An edict is given that spending will be cut by a certain percentage. The first to feel the weight of the instruction are those who do not have a voice, and the next are those who do not realise that you have to fight for what you believe.

When President Obama says he needs our help, he means exactly what he says. He cannot be at our elbow, prompting us what we should do. We must take what he has taught us from his own efforts as a social organiser in south Chicago, and in registering 150,000 voters, and use it to accomplish similar achievements in our own backyard.

When I was in Charleston, I should have approached the local state representatives and told them the concerns I had for the poor people, who would lose $4 in benefits, because the state wanted to save $1. I should have written the newspapers with my concerns. We must all raise our voices, when we believe that our representatives need to be reminded of the demands of equity, and our responsibility for the future of our young people.

We are President Obama's eyes, ears, and hands. We know exactly what he is trying to achieve, so we have no excuses for holding back.