Obama, ISIS, and Gender Politics

   Over the past few days, there has been a heated debate over whether or not there should be a nonviolent response to Isis. Many liberals feel that a violent response would be too similar to Bush's response to the oil crises in Iraq, and no one wants to relive the Iraq war. Many people are also beginning to think that Obama is a hypocrite, because his whole election campaign was about how he would be the president that made change. As a matter of fact, I remember being around 12 years old and seeing youth and adults alike, of all races, cultures and ethnicities, wearing these shirts with Obama's face and the slogan "Change." Although there have indisputably been many social changes in the United States' foreign policy, and President Obama has arguably helped change some of societies' negative perceptions of African-Americas, many people feel that Obama has not pushed for policy change as much as perhaps he should have in the almost eight years of his presidency.

     One of the things I can't help wondering is if fate had worked differently, and Hillary Clinton had won the primaries, rather than Obama, would a female president be as willing to use arms against another country? Unfortunately I think the answer is no. Many people before me have made sweeping statements about how "wars would not exist if women were leaders" and the like, however it is difficult to generalize in the extremes. I think that if Ms. Clinton were president right now this situation would definitely be handled differently, however it is not an accident that she was not chosen.

     Our country was ready for change in 2008, no doubt about it. In many ways President Obama singlehandedly represented the voice of all marginalized groups in America, but particularly African-Americans, women, and gay people. His ability to appeal to a wide audience was a significant advantage in his winning. I can say from personal experience that my stepbrother (who is African-American and actually looks quite similar to Obama) sees himself in Obama: an intelligent, high-achieving man who can seamlessly transition from the Black world and the White World. In other words, men of color see themselves in Obama. However, in most cultures around the world, including ethnic minority cultures in America, women are unfortunately still viewed as primarily nurturers and caregivers, with men being the protectors and decision-makers. Therefore, in many ways people feel more uncomfortable with a white woman being president than they do with an African-Amercian man being president because men are ultimately viewed by society as being better leaders. 

   Going back to my original argument about Obama and Isis, Fox News is calling it "America's third Iraq War," thus exemplifying the ways in which this decision has become bate for Republicans to further vilify the president as a terrorist/communist. (Those two words have been exactly used by my Republican uncles to describe the president and his policies) However, the question people should be asking themselves is "How is this different from the Iraq War" and "Is it impossible for America to NOT repeat it's history?" Because it appears to me that despite Obama's attempts to illustrate the ways in which his plan of attack will be different from the Iraq War, the parallels are uncanny.

Works Cited

Derek Flood "Is There A Non-Violent Response to Isis?" sojo.net 08/13/14 Accessed 09/12/14

K.T. McFarland "Obama's ISIS plan=America's third Iraq war" foxnews.com 09/10/14 Accessed 09/12/14