Conflictología

At President Obama’s inaugural ball, Will.I.Am. and a spirited group of kids sang about it being a “new day”. A few minutes later Barack and Michelle were dancing “At Last”. Almost all the songs performed that night alluded to the fact that the US has its first African-American president. I won’t even attempt to describe the significance of such a positive event. Words would fail me, and the purpose of this brief entry lies elsewhere.

That said, I must admit I do not tend to focus on either “race”, gender, “ethnicity”, nationality, or any other label or socially constructed [and/or imposed, appropriated, denied, sold, earned, etc.] identity. Patricia William’s “Alchemy of race and rights” inevitably comes to mind, as does Poehler’s Hillary stating: “I didn’t want ‘a woman‘ to be President; I wanted to be President”. Thus, my hope for this “new day” is fueled by the ideas, acts and overall approach to government and to conflict resolution that this human being- Barack Obama- brings forth.

Gone are the days of “we will smoke them out” (”them” being of course the “evil doers” who “hate” the US and want to kill democracy). Gone are the days of bedding legal jargon and imperialist booty to create a space of non-applicability of the rule of law in which to torture these so-called “evil doers” or anyone who happens to look like “them”.

Obama’s determination to close Guantánamo, and his acts towards such an end, definitely bring forth a new day. Likewise, appointing George Mitchell as a special envoy to the Middle East also fuels the hope that non-violence is once again, “at last” (after Bush’s rule of hell), an option. Although I’m sure anyone wanting to criticize Mitchell could find something negative in this new scenario, the fact is he is an experienced peace facilitator. This helps him sidestep the common traps that kill or delay peace processes, such as excluding those associated with armed or violent parties from the negotiations. Those wanting to learn more about Mitchell’s work in Northern Ireland can read his book “Making Peace” (1999).