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Election 2004: Oprah Winfrey
In April 2002, I proposed Oprah Winfrey for president of the United States. The reasons were complex. I am sure that Oprah is one of the more admired persons in the world. She has done much to help us discover ourselves, to focus attention where it increases psychological, sociological, and even spiritual well being. She is hugely successful, dynamic, effective, and most of all, humanitarian.
All this said, I today withdraw my nomination because of the reasons I will state as clearly as possible.
Our country is in crisis. It is in crisis not merely because corporate America has seized control of the government, but because you and I did not do our parts to prevent this takeover. Dwight Eisenhower, perhaps one of the last truly American and patriotic presidents, warned us to beware of the military-industrial complex. We ignored his prophetic admonition. We did so because we believed that America would not misuse its power. We deceived ourselves: we thought that we could invest heavily in defense and not be tempted to use the weapons we were stockpiling. We thought we could create despicable weapons of mass destruction and not get hit by a boomerang.
During our time of national crisis, there has been a media blackout. Congress went comatose. The public became hysterical over security, and out of this a few sane people emerged, people with common sense, conscience, and vision.
Oprah Winfrey hosted some of the most thought provoking debates on Iraq, debates that challenged us to reexamine what we knew as fact and what we swallowed hook, line, and sinker. She also kept us aware of the plight of millions of Africans who are battling AIDS, poverty, and water shortage, and she continued to expose us to the beauty of Maya Angelou, but the last times I have tuned into her show, she has played Santa Claus, not giving away books of treasured thoughts to audiences thirsty for inspiration, but summer wardrobes and gadgets. Last night, we saw her bumping fannies with Madonna and challenging her to build a bigger and better closet.
I reached my limit. While Dennis Kucinich is standing his ground; while Teddy Kennedy is keeping the pressure on the administration, and while Bill Moyers is still hosting relevant programs, Oprah has not just backed off politics and health but gone way the opposite direction: her program is obviously part of national and perhaps international entertainment, but does it have to be banal? I mean just because Phil Donahue is off the air, does it mean that to maintain ratings, one has to pander to the most decadent of habits: consumerism and keeping up, not just with the Joneses but super stars?
With California hosting a political circus for all the world to watch, it's really time for Americans to become serious about the future of our country. Do we want to be the Nation that rendered life on Earth non-sustainable? Are we going to ignore the environment? ignore the truth? ignore the injustices being committed with our tax dollars?
If so, where does the road lead? What can you expect two, five, or ten years from now? If we have more of the same, where will we be? It's time for leadership. Someone must show the way to balance, to harmony, to immortality of the air and water and forests. Someone must show the way to global community, but not with the French owning the water and Monsanto the seeds. Someone must see what is really happening and lead us to sanity.
Today, I regretfully realize that Oprah is not that person so I withdraw my nomination. Worse, I feel betrayed, not because she ever agreed to this role but because people with high profiles have greater opportunities . . . and with opportunity comes responsibility. Though I don't trust him completely, thus far, I only see a few people with hats in the ring who have been walking their talk. Kucinich is ones of them. Byrd is another. Ron Paul is another. Change is very difficult and sometimes painful, but the course Bush & Company have chosen is fatal.
Update:
I have received a number of emails from colleagues in foreign countries referring to Dennis Kucinich as the "American Gandhi."
Poulsbo, Washington
Copyright by Ingrid Naiman 2002, 2006, 2009
