Sitting a thousand mles away in Mumbai I was fighting back my tears as I heard Obama speak at the acceptance of his nomination. And as the crowd cheered I wanted to get up and cheer myself at this new inspirational messiah that has come to the world. Boy ! can the world do with some leaders like Barrack Obama. A new Neslon Mandela. But can he deliver on his promise ? As he went on with his speech, I got concerned that perhaps he was promising too much, going beyond the realms of practicality. Was this going to be the same situation like Nelson Mandela, who moved not only his nation but the whole world with the New Way forward, only to find his dream faltering in South Africa as the country began to fall apart with the anger and resentment of unfulfilled expectations.
Obama can succeed. But his success will depend on the will and passion of the American people who support him. Not without the American people re-evaluating their own lives, rethinking their own expectations of being the richest and most consumptive society in the world, will Obama’s incredible vision succeed.
Obama’s vision will not succeed till the American people are willing to make the sacrifices that underly his vision. Gandhi had the impossible dream of a free India. He succeeded because he moved an entire nation to change the way they saw themselves and were willing to make the sacrifices he demanded of them.
The American people must do the same to recover the American Heritage that Obama spoke about. I hope and pray that he succeeds.
Dear Shekhar,
I pray with you. There is hope that America instinctively feels that something extraordinary is happening, that there is a man who can ring in a future that will change the social climate forever, that will make America once more the beacon the rest of the world is looking for. Here is a man who can bring about the changes that will make it possible for the world to attach the label of decent, likeable and respectable to the political entity America instead of only to its people. I think we live in a world of flux, of changes that yesteryear were considered unthinkable. We are confronted with facts that threaten the survival of our whole species. The collective mind is forced to warm up to monitions that as recently as a decade ago were considered the fevered nightmares of a bunch of liberal scientists and prophets of doom. Nothing is as it used to be. The American people are forced to let go of perceptions of privileges they had grown fond of, they had considered their birth right, among other things the wasting of non-renewable energies.
What I fear more than anything is the fact that large segments of this society don’t get it. They still cling to the notion that anybody striving for social equity, health insurance for all, a better life for the middle class and is attempting to reduce the ranks of those who have slipped down to the underclass must be a shill for a socialist take-over. For too many years the Republicans have fueled such fears and have hidden behind a veil of patriotism their incompetence and unwillingness to lessen the vulgarity of the two class system – rich and poor – this society is slowly turning into.
If Obama wins the presidency, America will win with him and will acquaint itself and become comfortable with, the vision that is so uniquely his. I do not even believe that profound sacrifices will become necessary, it will be rather snippets of offerings the majority of people will be asked to make. It will be more of a re-thinking process, the shedding of old habits, the creation of a new awareness, the acceptance of a premise that America must become a moral leader again. As Bill Clinton so wonderfully said in his convention speech “people the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.”
The forces of the old and decayed precepts will struggle mightily to cling to a way of life that seems safe and comfortable for the privileged few. But I think something has been set in motion that can no longer be stopped, maybe delayed but not stopped. Make no mistakes, the Republican convention will work with vitriol, noxious insinuations and scare tactics to slow down the inevitable.
Much will now depend on the upcoming debates between Obama and McCain, between Biden and Palin to let America see the true and irrefutable differences between their agendas and to make America more comfortable, more familiar with this wondrous new face, this incredibly intelligent man, this visionary and human being who has so much to offer. He must make America forget the color of his skin and recognize that he is one of them, not an elitist and not a black man who wants to cater to his race but rather a leader whose passion belongs just as much to the poor miner in Appalachia and the struggling farmer in South Dakota as it is shrewdly applied to deal with the skeptics on Wall Street and the captains of the U.S. economy to gain their respect and trust. Barack Obama and those who are willing to help have now two months to accomplish this objective. Impossible? Tell this to the many millions of all races who have been climbing towards the mountain top ever since Martin Luther King so famously had spoken of his dream having been there.
With kind regards.
Horst
A Black leader needs to change the way the majority of population (whites) view themselves. Its not going to be easy. However what he represents is change and hope in this new world. After Bush messing up things as only he could, the American people should give Obama a chance!
There are several short-comings in those thoughts. First of all, I think a majority of the credit for a “Free” India is not because of any uprising of mass consciousness, but rather because India had just become more of a burden to the British after a few hundred years of subjecting India to crippling attrocities. The Quit India movement was a blessing to them at that point..after world war 2 and such, they just wanted to go home and chill..LOL
And, Obama ain’t gonna do much. As you mentioned, he’s too much of an idealist and he’ll be lucky if he can implement 20% of his promises. All these dreamy idealists are either playing the people, or playing themselves. One has to know the core functioning of human existence in order to implement any real solutions. The harsh facts are that there is an ever increasing rate of drug and substance abuse in America coupled with poor health choices and erratic lifestyles. This has also lead to an increasing usage of anti-depressants and other such “medications”. So, for these core issues to be addressed, America needs a deep change in social values and not just a shallow govennmental change. All such excitement and emotions are a product of needy minds looking for an external messiah or solution, when the real solution is within.
But having said this, Obama could be a step in that direction.
I have faith in Obama.. unlike earlier presidents he is not from an affluent family and has worked his way up to glory. He is half Kenyan.. who knows how ugly the life can get. His personal struggles and achievements are commendable (he was the first black guy to become the president of harvard law review)..
He may be an idealist.. but we cant just dismiss him as being impractical, he might just change the world by leading one of the world’s most powerful/rich nation.
“richest and most consumptive” – sure. also the largest private donorship of money for worldwide causes.
If you want to see a real leader in today’s world, please take a look at some of Narendra Modi’s speeches in Chennai on youtube.
This great person could easily be the best leader of recent times, and please do not let the UPA and its media allies, who have tainted his image on communal lines, to obstruct his path of secular development.