Between Iowa and New Hampshire, I read Barack Obama’s first book, Dreams from My Father. Between New Hampshire and Nevada, I read Barack Obama’s second book, The Audacity of Hope. I cannot impress upon you through mere words how deeply these books touched me. Whether you support Barack Obama in his candidacy for President or not, I encourage you to read these books. The pages swell not only with eloquent recountings of who he is, where he comes from, and the people and events that motivate his ideas and inspire his actions, but also with a concrete presentation of his proposed policies to heal this nation and the world.
I believe in and support Barack Obama as the next President of the United States of America. He embodies empathy, intellect, and fairness. He understands multiple cultural contexts from having been immersed in them himself, as a child and as an adult. He is, above all, humble, not taking for granted this call he hears to lead all of us to new and better places.
Listen to him. Read his words. Tune out the cacophony of untruths spawned by media outlets and insecure opponents. Think about the best parts of this country and what it will take to sustain, if not expand upon, them. Think about the worst parts and what it will take to soothe them, to wipe them away.
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood.”
Barack Obama is the great disciplined nonconformist of our time who will unite us in justice, peace, and brotherhood. Our duty is not to be deterred in our hope for these things.
1 Comment
January 22, 2008 at 1:57 am
Preach, sista. Amen.