Ahmed has had an interesting life, born in Ghana to a Catholic White American mother and Muslim Ghanaian father of African descent. Immigrated to the US when his father passed away in the late 80s, educated in the US, he spent most of his life in Chicago and currently lives in New York. A chance meeting with Ahmed at a soiree in Mumbai had him talk about his unexpected political evolution from the Obama era to the Trump era. The following is a summary of the conversation.
“I admit that I had stars in my eyes in 2008 when Barack Obama was elected. I abandoned my usual cynicism. The supreme commander in chief was a mixed race man like me and has a middle name Hussein, identical to mine. This is the American dream I had always read about i.e. you can become whatever you want irrespective of who you. Obama was the perfect test case here, he did not possess all conventional attributes considered favorable for the top job and yet Americans overwhelmingly voted for him. It was just a surge of hope for me and many African Americans.” said Ahmed with a wry smile.
“We knew Obama was not like the typical politician. He would do a great deal to improve the lives of African Americans. I hoped he would start with Chicago, where he began his political career. In Chicago young African American men were massacred on a daily basis in gang-related violence. Many of these crimes are drug-related. There is abject poverty. A lack of the traditional family with young unwed mothers giving birth and abandoning their kids. Kids growing up with no prospect for education, role models, guidance or hope of upward mobility. African American kids are sent to prison for crimes they commit due to lack of supervision, but bad company inside prison turns them into hardened criminals. A very bleak situation!” Said Ahmed pensively.
“I am lucky to be born in a family where education was mandatory. But I felt despondent that my fellow African Americans were suffering. I did try to help at the local community center. But there is only so much one can do without support. So I waited for President Obama pass reforms and boost business growth. I am a reasonable man, did not expect miracles. But months went by but nothing changed. When news of the police showing force or killing black men hit headlines, I heard him talk about the race, call for gun control and sharply condemn police bias. At first, I was impressed by his compassion and frankness, quite soon I realized these were mere words, no action was followed. Black Lives Matter held protests and call the police pigs. But again it was only noise and no solutions. All this added to the victimhood perception and created division between the community and law enforcement. It played on my mind as well when I was stopped by the police for an innocuous random check” continued Ahmed.
“I waited for four years, but nothing changed. Obama hardly visited the city that started his political career, when he did it was for glitzy fundraisers. Ardent Obama supporters said, he can only bring about change during his second term, the first term is usually playing it safe to ensure a second term. Sounded pretty self-serving to me, but I played along. I voted for Obama again in 2012, much like most of my friends and relatives.” Said Ahmed.
“More endless waiting for change to occur. But the reality was that the unemployment was high with most of unemployed being African Americans. Small businesses shut down because of the mandating of healthcare and suffocating regulations. There were beautifully worded speeches about race relations and the need to bring about change, but no real change. A program launched called ‘my brother’s keeper’ for African American kids, once again not much follow-up. I realized that there was very little that was going to happen. I also realized that Obama and the people used his race to protect him. Whenever criticism (even fair) of the Obama administration got intense, they would call it racism and all the critics would go silent” said a despondent Ahmed.
“I naively thought Obama was different. I thought that he said what he meant. I believed he would really be the change we wanted to see. To be deceived by him, was a body blow to many of us. If our man could not help us, nobody could. Let me also make it clear, I did not expect handouts. I just expected him to create a climate where people would be allowed to prosper.” said a dejected Ahmed.
“In 2016, I voted for Hillary hoping she would have been tougher than Obama, maybe she would act, maybe Bill would be of help. I heard Trump talk about the Muslim ban and he was immediately off my list. I noticed Obama talking down to black folks telling us to vote for Hillary, but not for our good, but to preserve his legacy. I wasn't excited about Hillary, but what choice did I have." said Ahmed
"Then Trump was elected. The magnitude of dejection I felt was identical to the magnitude of hope I felt when Obama was elected. I thought that it was probably the end of my life in the US, perhaps I had better migrate to the UK that is more friendly toward Muslims. I saw protests all over the country. The attempted travel ban on Muslim countries, I was convinced that this was the end of America. But I had built a life here, I thought it would be most unpatriotic to flee when the chips were down. So I decided to carry on and join the resistance” said Ahmed.
"Then Trump was elected. The magnitude of dejection I felt was identical to the magnitude of hope I felt when Obama was elected. I thought that it was probably the end of my life in the US, perhaps I had better migrate to the UK that is more friendly toward Muslims. I saw protests all over the country. The attempted travel ban on Muslim countries, I was convinced that this was the end of America. But I had built a life here, I thought it would be most unpatriotic to flee when the chips were down. So I decided to carry on and join the resistance” said Ahmed.
“To my great relief, I saw the media give Trump the tough treatment he deserved. But pleasant surprises were on their way. A few months later, I read in the NYT that ISIS had been defeated in the Middle East by the US-local group coalition. As a Muslim, my life had turned into hell when those abhorrent ISIS videos of beheading of American relief workers and journalists. I knew it reflected poorly on my religion and gave people reason to be suspicious. I was impressed that he had delivered on what seemed like an impossibility. Removing ISIS in the Middle East, it is like shutting down the headquarters of an organization, the smaller branches automatically perish. You will note that the terror incidences in Europe have also reduced. Trump had decapitated the evil monster.” said Ahmed
“Then came the tax cuts and deregulation. I heard members of the media say that it would only help the rich. But as a student of macroeconomics, I know that only way to facilitate growth is to allow money to flow into the market both for individuals and corporations. I personally saw a bigger paycheck and a handsome bonus, the highest in a decade. I noticed board go up across places of hiring people. Quite soon I notice that the guys I saw hanging around aimlessly no more hang around because they have jobs.” Continued Ahmed.
"The community center I go to is no longer overflowing with people wanting help. It’s quite clear things have improved. Some of my friends who are moderately educated all have permanent jobs. This is the source of solving it all. A great deal of this is due to the reduction of illegal immigrants. I knew folks who were jobless because employers got cheap labor among illegals. Once again Trump has delivered monumentally by fixing the economy and putting all of us back on track” said Ahmed.
“I recall Obama saying that the best days of the US are behind us and we had to settle for a new normal of being second or third best. During his campaign for Hillary, he mocked Trump for promising to get jobs back and renegotiating trade deals. But Trump has done it all in just 500 days. Obama’s father was a Muslim, so was his stepdad. He has always talked favorably about Muslims, but his decision to prematurely withdraw from the mess that Bush created in Iraq and subsequent inaction caused ISIS to become a worldwide terror organization also providing the worst anti-Muslim propaganda.” said Ahmed.
“I was recently pleased to note that President Trump signed an order to bolster historically black colleges. That's an important step to improve our lives. More importantly, the Trump administration has introduced prison reforms such as inmate work programs, more partnerships with businesses to help ex-prisoners find jobs and more funding for programs to reduce state prison recidivism. This will help African American greatly as most are deemed unemployable upon release from prison.” said Ahmed.
“They said Trump was the opposite of compassionate Obama, but action speaks louder than words. I have seen this man act. Very recently he hosted an Iftar Dinner celebrating our tradition, I know there were protests but I still appreciate the move. I think he has delivered and everybody can see that.” Said Ahmed.
“These days when I hear the Democrats, the media or the ‘comedians’ attack and mock Trump apart I feel repelled. He won the election and now he has delivered. If you cared would have been happy for us. They call the tax cuts crumbs. They even wish for a recession so Trump can be impeached. They use foul language on live prime-time TV and are lauded in their echo chambers. They have suspended all notions of decency. The divisions may be irreparable for generations to come” said Ahmed.
"Clearly, the left wants a permanent underclass that serves as a guaranteed vote bank. They set us up based on group identity. They never fail to remind of our history so we feel psychologically defeated and yearning for welfare handouts. If they respected us they would not have derided African Americans such as Ben Carson and Herman Caine merely for choosing a different political party. They tell us that the GOP or the white man, or rich or successful are the reasons we are down. Even if that were true, they were in power for eight long years but failed to fix it. Under Trump we have opportunities, we are working for ourselves and building our lives. Celebrating achievement instead of victimhood.” said Ahmed.
"Clearly, the left wants a permanent underclass that serves as a guaranteed vote bank. They set us up based on group identity. They never fail to remind of our history so we feel psychologically defeated and yearning for welfare handouts. If they respected us they would not have derided African Americans such as Ben Carson and Herman Caine merely for choosing a different political party. They tell us that the GOP or the white man, or rich or successful are the reasons we are down. Even if that were true, they were in power for eight long years but failed to fix it. Under Trump we have opportunities, we are working for ourselves and building our lives. Celebrating achievement instead of victimhood.” said Ahmed.
“The dreams I had for the Obama Presidency are being realized during the Trump Presidency. Never did I think this would ever happen. This is a sentiment that is echoed among my friends, most of whom are African American. I am a Democrat but I am seriously considering going back to being an independent. In 2020, I will gladly vote for Trump for the simple reason that he has delivered. The success of Trump has also helped me to free my mind from all the erroneous preconceived notions about those who claim to care for us. I have broken the prison of my mind. I am glad that I can breathe freely and think freely. I know what is good for me, don’t need anybody to tell me about it. This is as valuable to me as my formal education” concluded Ahmed triumphantly.
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