Sincerity of Obama’s tears

Posted on 5 months ago

Fauzia Saleem Niazi
President Obama’s tears in public over the massacre of schoolchildren in Connecticut are under discussions since then. This is not the first time. Earlier Obama burst into tears over his election win for the second time in the presidency. This shows his kind heart and leads to two basic questions: whether such a kind-hearted man is capable of holding the office of president, which demands nerves of steel; whether Obama as president can go for giving go-ahead to drone attacks inside Pakistani territory, which have so far killed thousands of innocent people including women and children.
Yasmin Ali, the author of her recently published book of media laws, while opening the debate says “As I count the minutes for my kids to come home from school, I don’t, for a second doubt, the sincerity of Obama’s tears. His kids’ ages are similar to mine, and as I parent I too weep for innocent pure little kids being murdered in so vile away. What I don’t understand is how can he weep for little kids in Connecticut, and allow for crimes to be committed by his army or his country’s weapons against children in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Gaza and other places? Is the senseless murder of a 5-year-old any less senseless if it carried out by an American drone? Are the tears of their parents any less worthy? If Obama’s heart is large enough to appreciate the atrocities committed in Afghanistan and Gaza, he will spend the rest of his second term weeping.”
While defending Obama, Mr Portugheis Alberto comments, “How strange, the writer above seems to think the President of the United States of America has a very large heart and should cry for all the innocent children in the world who die victims of armed violence. Assuming this was the case that Obama is very sensitive and cries after every dead child in the world, what can the hapless man do? He was voted by a majority of American citizens, to run the US, the economy being his number one priority. Majority of voters seem to agree - I don’t see them protest against - with the Washington administration, United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, all major banks, etc that the best way is to do this is by promoting the arms trade. The USA citizens happily accept that millions of their compatriots earn their wages making bullets, guns, grenades, bombs, drones, warships, etc. They also seem to agree with the salaries of nearly half a million military scientists been paid (much of it with their own tax money) by Washington to develop better, faster, more powerful guns, bombs, etc. The USA citizenship also expects President Obama to continue signing multi-billion dollars arms deals, not allowing other countries to take over from USA the position of “main exporters of Death”. So, Mr Obama is doing very well, he can even produce tears when necessary (just like any other President).”
Syed W. Hussain’s response is thought-provoking. He says, in USA it takes very large amounts of money to get elected. Individual wealth very rarely covers this expense. So candidates auction themselves off in exchange of favours and policies that ensures a presidential executive order benefits his financial supporters. It is wrong for anyone to believe that the President of USA, or for that matter, of any democratically elected government can run around pointing his/her finger in a direction and immediately his desires and thoughts are put into action.
The reason Obama grieves and shows tears is because he wants to be accepted by the public. Who is his only support as corporations will consistently oppose all or any of his moves. He does not shed tears for the destruction that is being caused throughout the world because it is due to US policies which are justified as necessary for the defence of his country. This is all a play on the stage of a theater. Just as Shakespeare so wisely wrote in in his play Midsummer nights dream, “The world is a theatre and we are all players”. There are no genuine actions based on right or wrong. Rather it is an act to please those who paid to watch a play being executed. The entertainment is created to please and entertain just those audience so they may come back for more of the same.
What is so apparent in events at Newtown and in Aurora and all other instances of school massacres, the gunmen were fully prepared to perform with utmost efficiency. This never comes about unless they were trained and equipped. Once again, these are manipulated events, just like the Arab spring or the 9/11 merely to cause terror and unrest in the population. The issue is how to identify the stealth entity that works behind the scenes. One entity that comes to my mind is the snake oil salesmen. Remedy is to stop buying the snake oil and you have eliminated the basis of the Snake oil Salesman’s survival.”
It has to be seen how the American people take such incidents, which are in no way a reprisal or in reaction to the American forces’ killing sprees in the world at large, but out of personal psychological behaviours. The Oklahoma bombing aside, a number of incidents have occurred only in schools, where the gunmen of different ages opened firing on the innocent school kids and killed a number of them, including teachers. Psychiatrists believe that such incidents might have occurred due to the blockbuster movies produced by the Hollywood. But many in American citizenry believe that this is Nature’s revenge as the people in America are not on the same page with the American administration over sending troops to other countries, sending home body bags and killing thousands of innocent people around the world, in the name of extending democracy.
I mourn the deaths of 26 children and six adults in the shooting, but, writes Taj Hashmi, I mourn most the death of sanity among Americans. I simply fail to understand the American “logic” that “guns do not kill” and I can hardly differentiate an American from a mullah as both justify some past law, regulation, beliefs and customs. As mullahs believe that Shariah is sacred and unalterable so does the average American believes in the infallibility of the Second Amendment of their Constitution that permits citizens to carry arms. As mullahs/fanatic Islamists love to kill “others” in the name of their religion so do many Americans glorify the killing of “others” in the name of their freedom and liberty. Any society that justifies killing of human beings under this or that pretext is bound to remain violent. So, we have no reasons to be ever surprised at the growing incidents of killing of innocent human beings by Islamist and American fanatics. There are two other similarities between Islamist fanatics (and Muslims in general) and Americans, both love to play the victim and both love to believe in conspiracy theories.
It’s time that Americans start believing “guns do kill innocent people”.


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