I don’t know how anyone can listen to Obama’s campaign platform and not agree with the goals and principles he expresses or not feel the swell of pride and hope, despite the cynicism.
More than anything, as I’ve said before, he seems to be a man who embraces balance and cooperation, who is studied, thoughtful, and purposeful with his actions and inspiring with his words, and who believes in the power of hope more than the threat of fear. Our nation desperately needs that kind of change.
If you haven’t yet listened … if you’ve only been hearing the sound-bites and negative smears … give thirty minutes to consider the future of our nation.
Most of the arguments I’ve heard against him are obvious misinterpretations of his stated goals or xenophobic attacks based in ignorance and fear. There is a valid question, though: What if he doesn’t do what he says he’s going to do?
First, if it turns out that he is truly only interested in grabbing power so that he can abuse that power, then he will be revealed as among some of the most deceptive, evil, and duplicitous men in history. That’s a hard role to pull off, and to what benefit? The level of depravity necessary to deliver a speech like this while intending the opposite is nearly unthinkable. I won’t live with that level of fear, distrust, and paranoia. There have been evil and powerful men before, and they will come again. But I will, so long as I’m able, live for hope rather than fear.
Second, it may be that he will not achieve everything he hopes to achieve once he gains office. There are obstacles from every direction. So, even with good intentions, he may fall far short of his stated goals. Even if that turns out to be the case, I have two responses. First, if he achieves even half of his stated goals, he will have done a great favor to this nation. And second, I would rather have a leader who believes in and strives for the best we can be than one who cannot articulate a clear vision and would rather we live in division and fear.
November 4th, 2008 at 10:03 am
Great points, Eric…but, he sat in the pews of Rev. Wright for over 20 years, and listened to that man preach hate against another race…your race…AND our country. Obama will win, but I expect there’s sooo much more baggage we’d yet to discover about his past…
Hope is just a four-letter word just like so many others.
Either way, let’s hope for a violence-free Election Day/Eve, and a more peaceful country and world over the next four years. At some point, I agree: We gotta get past this division and reunite as a country. I’m just not seeing Obama as the man who can make that happen (and I’m not saying McCain could either).
November 4th, 2008 at 10:32 am
I hear your concern, and it troubles me, too. And I agree … it’s one thing to campaign, it’s another to fulfill your campaign promises (or even be able to, depending on outside factors). I *hope* Obama does his best to fulfill those promises, but we can never know.
At minimum, Obama seems much more capable of bringing unity than McCain does (at least, the 2008 McCain … where did the 2000 McCain go?). The fear mongering and divisiveness of the campaign alone was enough to lose this election for him. Add a weak economic policy, glorification of military might, overly-conservative approach to environmental problems, xenophobic stubbornness on foreign relations, and Sarah Palin, and it’s a recipe for disaster that I just couldn’t support.
November 7th, 2008 at 8:18 am
Well…it’s done. We can only hope for the best. After eight LONG years of Bush, I think that’s the least we can ask for…
Congrats on your man’s victory…hopefully one day I’ll say “our victory.”