[Peace-discuss] SNAPSHOTS FROM OBAMA'S VISION OF WHAT AMERICA SHOULD BE

[Chuck Minne]

SNAPSHOTS FROM OBAMA'S VISION OF WHAT AMERICA SHOULD BE
October 15, 2006
  
Chicago Sun-Times
By Cathleen Falsani Religion Reporter
(http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/97008,CST-NWS-obama15.article)

In his second memoir in 11 years, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the 
American Dream, Sen. Barack Obama paints a picture of America as it is and as he 
believes it should be.

Obama, 45, tackles faith, politics, values, race, opportunity and the United States' 
place in the global village in the 288-page tome from Crown Publishing Group 
scheduled to hit bookstore shelves Tuesday.

The title of Obama's new book comes from the keynote address he delivered at the 
Democratic National Convention in July 2004, in which he said the "audacity of hope" is 
"God's greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation. A belief in things not seen. 
A belief that there are better days ahead."

The phrase, "audacity of hope," Obama explains in his book, is one he first heard in 
a sermon by his pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright of Chicago's Trinity United Church 
of Christ.

Here are some snapshots from Obama's vision of "hope" and his observations of the 
political world:

On democracy and values:

"In a country as diverse as ours, there will always be passionate arguments about 
how our democracy works. But our democracy might work a bit better if we recognized 
that all of us possess values that are worthy of respect: if liberals at least 
acknowledged that the recreational hunter feels the same way about his gun as they feel 
about their library books, and if the conservatives recognized that most women feel as 
protective of their right to reproductive freedom as evangelicals do of their right 
to worship."

On his guiding principle:

"I find myself returning again and again to my mother's simple principle -- 'How 
would that make you feel?' -- as a guidepost for my politics. It's not a question we 
ask ourselves enough, I think; as a country, we seem to be suffering from an empathy 
deficit.

"We wouldn't tolerate schools that don't teach, that are chronically underfunded and 
understaffed and underinspired, if we thought that the children in them were like 
our children. . . . And it's safe to assume that those in power would think longer and 
harder about launching a war if they envisioned their own sons and daughters in 
harm's way."

On political ideology:

"I reject a politics that is based solely on racial identity, gender identity, 
sexual orientation, or victimhood generally. I think much of what ails the inner city 
involves a breakdown in culture that will not be cured by money alone, and that our 
values and spiritual life matter at least as much as our GDP."

On phony politicians:

"Nothing is more transparent than inauthentic expressions of faith -- such as the 
politician who shows up at a black church around election time and claps (off rhythm) 
to the gospel choir or sprinkles in a few biblical citations to spice up a 
thoroughly dry policy speech."

On foreign policy:

"Why invade Iraq and not North Korea or Burma? Why intervene in Bosnia and not 
Darfur? Are our goals in Iran regime change, the dismantling of all Iranian nuclear 
capability, the prevention of nuclear proliferation, or all three? . . . Perhaps someone 
in the White House has clear answers to these questions. But our allies -- and for 
that matter our enemies -- certainly don't know what those answers are. More 
important, neither do the American people."

On his first impressions of President Bush:

"I had found the president to be a likable man, shrewd and disciplined but with the 
same straightforward manner that had helped him win two elections; you could easily 
imagine him owning the local car dealership down the street, coach ing Little 
League, and grilling in his backyard -- the kind of guy who would make for good company so 
long as the conversation revolved around sports or kids."

On many Americans' yearning for spiritual connection:

"They want a sense of purpose, a narrative arc to their lives, something that will 
relieve a chronic loneliness or lift them above the exhausting, relentless toll of 
daily life. They need an assurance that somebody out there cares about them, is 
listening to them -- that they are not just destined to travel down a long highway toward 
nothingness.

"If I have any insight into this movement toward a deepening of religious 
commitment, perhaps it's because it's a road I have traveled."

cfalsani @suntimes.com

© Copyright 2006 Sun-Times News Group







  

Before you call 9/11 conspiracy nuts crazy, explain what happened to 7 World Trade Center (WTC7) and how it was accomplished. (Never heard of WTC7 before, have you? – that’s not surprising, it’s the camel in the tent that everybody ignores.)
  



 		
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