Letters to the Editor

Like fish in a barrel

It’s over. The real-life heroes and villains adventure on the seas off of Somalia’s coast came to an end. Too bad for the villains — they might have been teenage fishermen had things worked out differently in their short lives.

It’s difficult to feel sorry for a gunman who threatens innocent life. Yet dying is a natural consequence of living in a lawless society controlled by warlords. I’ve often wondered why nations of one of the richest continents in natural resources and wildlife could allow themselves to be continually plundered by outside forces and ravaged by their own.

For example, Nigeria is one of the world’s giants when it comes to oil reserves, yet it is at the center of the worldwide market for mail fraud and swindling. Why does it seem that the riches of the continent have yet to benefit most of the citizens of its nations, who seem to exist in a perpetual state of poverty? Ironically, both American ships attacked by the pirates were delivering humanitarian food supplies to Kenya, some of which were set aside for Somalia.

It’s long been said that America can’t afford to be the world’s policeman. Unfortunately, in these perilous times, you can’t always choose your battles. Luckily, in this case, the hunters were taken off by the game. There was a groundswell of euphoria that swept the nation after the three pirates were put down. Even Rush Limbaugh tried to tamp down the accolades to the president by referring to the pirates as “black teenagers,” sounding a “boom, boom, boom!” in his sarcastic way.

To many Americans, the action validated our reputation as a superpower — we finally had something to feel good about in our war against terror. Many black activists felt the same way, although there was some hesitation about joining in the celebration with those who had continually criticized the president as being “weak” and “not ready for prime time” during the ordeal.

But those of us who have supported President Obama weren’t very surprised at the outcome of this adventure. His low-key style can be deceptive to the unenlightened who are used to hearing a lot of patriotic bluster from our politicians. Vice President Joe Biden has described the president as having a spine of steel as a way of acknowledging his courage under fire.

It’s about time the nagging question about whether President Obama’s capabilities would be enough to fulfill the office of the presidency was put to rest.