Cliches were created for moments like the one on Nov 5, when America elected its first Black President. But I shan’t indulge, – saturated as I am by the soundbite-culture-gone-overtime on the telly, blogs and even seemingly amongst everybody in my workplace (bar one person who insists that Tony Blair would take Obama to town).


But the enormity of the occasion does not escape me. The Black experience in America has been studied by scholars and academics, viewed first hand by activists and journalists. Shackled by the centuries-long effects of America’s own Original Sin, Obama’s victory is a monumental step in the struggle for progress.


And in the midst of excitement and euphoria, we should never forget that it is presently merely a step in the right direction – America is still nowhere close to achieving equality. As commentators have noted, it is difficult to argue that Obama’s victory was brought about by a fundamental ideological shift – the (re-)banning of gay marriages in California serves as a reminder of the fact that Conservative values still underpins much of America.


It would be more accurate to say that a faltering economy, an unpopular war and eight years of Bush proved too difficult to win in 2008 as a Republican. Thus, on its own, having a Black president with lofty ideals and unwavering belief in the American Dream will not necessarily make America less prejudiced, much less guarantee equality for Blacks and other minority groups.


To be sure, for purposes of being realistic, I see equality and justice to be more usefully understood as processes of negotiations, where the voices of the marginalised are given ample space to be heard – how these voices are expressed is a separate issue which I will not elaborate here. As ideals they (equality and justice) will never be  conclusively achieved – social structures are constantly in flux and power imbalances may change in character but never disappear.


Yet, as a friend duly pointed out, Obama’s electoral victory in was in one way, an unmistakable success for the minority and marginalised. For the first time, minority voters have been mobilised to stunning effect for the Democratic cause – figures show the Hispanic community is now a more consolidated Democratic voting bloc and expectedly, Blacks have increased their voting capacity. It is further significant that White women voted in the majority for Obama, whilst their male counterparts reached only 40% or so – it is noteworthy however, that among a Democratic candidate has never accrued even this level of White male support since Carter.


Thus, the challenge for the Democratic Party after Obama is to ensure these mobilised minority votes become permanent. The Democratic Party’s future fortunes aside, as a keen observer, it is quite surreal to view America’s minorities realise their political potential as a bloc. It remains to be seen whether this realisation gets at least partially translated in other spheres of the societal experience.


When it comes to exploiting Obama-mania in Malaysia, the test is similar. Malaysians too, have embraced the man as a cult personality. This alone will not make Malaysians more informed of the history of Black oppression and the contemporary manifestations of it. More significantly, it will not, in and of itself , make Malaysians more aware of systemic discrimination and persecution of certain groups in our country.


To come even close to making Obama-mania ‘work’ for us, we need to attempt to internalise his gripping rhetoric and localise the Obama struggle in our similar quest for (okay, so I do indulge a little in cliches) a More Perfect Union. I hesitate to suggest specifically how we should go about doing so – for unsaid reasons ;) – but at the very least, intensified private and shared engagements, of Malaysia’s sizeable middle-class and affluent youths, with issues of injustice and marginalised voices, are prerequisites. Floating about in bliss will not do.