Barack Obama "A More Perfect Union"
and then go and read this blogpost:
He wrote that himself...
For all of my concerns that Obama would not, could not deliver real change either through his pursuit of the Nomination of the Democratic Party, or on achieving that the Pursuit of the Presidency as the Democratic Nominee, or even as America's next President, I am starting to see that there is little chance that he couldn't, as real change seems to be truly at the core of his politics, his motivations and his person. To make the speech that I hope you have watched or will watch, linked above, took political courage of which we have not seen the like in the USA for a long, long time and frankly we have not seen here in the UK or elsewhere for that matter in far too long. To trust in the people that his argument can stand on its own merits, no matter that it might be unpopular to speak of it out loud or to give credence to the very real concerns on both sides of the race issue in the US shows rare integrity and purpose in a Presidential Candidate.
I know that my interest in US politics leaves a lot of the non-Americans who see and occasionally read this blog cold, but I do not see how anyone can make the argument that the politics of the last remaining democratic super power are irrelevant to the rest of us. The election that is coming in the US in November will directly affect our lives outside of the US, perhaps not so immediately as it will affect the lives of the people living in America, but it will nonetheless.
There is little doubt now that climate change is a real phenomenon, and not only that but that we are indeed a part of the process that has brought this phenomenon to bear upon our planet. When presented with a choice between John McCain and Barack Obama (for I am now certain despite my earlier doubts that he will be the Democratic Party's Nominee), there is no doubt in my mind that as one of the largest contributors of Greenhouse Gases, America will better serve the needs of the rest of humanity if led by Obama.
When we think of the war in Iraq and of the war in Afghanistan, do we want America - the lynchpin in the forces and political coalitions perpetuating these two conflicts - to be led by a man who still espouses a belief that they should be continued and potentially escalated (McCain), or by a man who has stated time and again that they should be brought to a close with all due speed, taking care to do as little further damage to the civilians of these two blighted nations and taking care to make certain that non-military, nationally and politically neutral assistance is rendered to them to ensure that they can recover and pursue their own destinies as sovreign nations (Obama)?
When we think about the future, and we see the inevitable shadow that the US casts on our popular culture, economies, international realtionships and general freedoms, do we want an America led by a man who despite his centrist tendencies is still wedded to the special interests of corporate America, or do we want an America led by a man who has not wavered in his challenge to the American people that together they can stand up to the financial elite and build a fairer, more just society?
It's hard to say isn't it, because here in the UK at least we have been hood-winked in the recent past by a powerful and apparently principled master of rhetoric - "Where is our social revolution? Where is __our__ hundred days?" where indeed is the social justice, educational excellence and revitalised community that we were promised by Tony Blair, a man who gave all the appearance of integrity and idealistic yet achievable vision? Even despite this hard, bitter lesson of our experience, is it not better to hope and believe that this message of unity between races and creeds, between rich and poor, conservative and liberal may indeed be true? For as America casts her shadow over all of us in so many ways, is it not possible to find some blessed shade from these times of greed and self-aggrandisement at any cost if the shadow were cast by a country united in purpose, striving to make their country a better, fairer, cleaner and intellectually revitalised place?
I ask my friends and acquaintances in the US to heed this man's message, not just for your own sakes, but for all of our sakes. I ask all of my friends and acquaintances outside the States to make the same plea of your American friends and acquaintances.
I am not a Christian, but I can see the wisdom in many parts of the Bible, particularly the New Testament while still acknowledging a good deal of the Bible's teaching to be arcane, though no doubt having been the best wisdom of its time, now superceded by greater, broader wisdom. Still in the Bible we can find the core of Obama's message to America and by implication to the World:
"Be subject to one another" (Ephesians 5:21)
We are a race of one people, what hurts one of us in the long (and sometimes short) run hurts all of us, whether that is asserted through faith or just through an understanding that there is no other logical way to perceive our lives. Whether you or I or anyone acts on the above quotation on its own merits as a philosophical truism, or in the context of the phrase that follows it "in the fear of Christ" as a command from God, or acts on comparable wisdom from every great religion on the face of this planet either as an act and article of faith or because even in the absence of faith one can see this sentiment as ultimately righteous and beneficial, then he is my brother and she is my sister. I truly believe that humanity has at its core the potential for great good and though that potential co-exists with the potential for great evil our own intelligence can be the executioner of that evil because we can see that what helps others can in turn help our own and all we have to do is start to help.
"This guy's walking down a street, when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep, he can't get out. A doctor passes by, and the guy shouts up "Hey you! Can you help me out?" The doctor writes him a prescription, throws it down the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up "Father, I'm down in this hole, can you help me out?" The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by. "Hey Joe, it's me, can you help me out?" And the friend jumps in the hole! Our guy says "Are you stupid? Now we're both down here!" and the friend says, "Yeah, but I've been down here before, and I know the way out." (stolen unashamedly from The West Wing - "Noël", Season 2, Episode 10)
For this one moment in time, let us be subject to one another; let us jump into the hole and show our friends that the way out of this hole is to choose to change, to pick a leader who really has a vision for how to make their part of the world a better place. And America, be subject to us in our need for the direction of your nation to be set by someone that in uniting your nation will make your influence over the world a kinder, fairer influence that will help us all to save our planet, to end some wars and to truly come together as one people for the good of all mankind - albeit by the tiny, tiny increments that we can only hope to see in my lifetime and the lifetime of the children I hope to have and the grandchildren I hope to see...
