Yesterday, I finished reading Barack Obama's book, The Audacity of Hope. The book is astounding, one that clearly allows the reader inside Obama's head and heart. It not only provides a background for understanding how the man came to embrace the virtues of grassroots organizing and bottom-up campaigning; it not only sketches in miniature the direction in which the man wants to take this country, replete with ideas, plans, opinions, facts, and stories; it also allows Obama to lay his hopes, dreams, doubts, and fears out on a literary platter, open to all who are willing to engage him. It is the perfect antidote to anyone who would say that the candidate is "too inexperienced, too little known, too untested, or too unaccomplished" to hold the office of president. Not only does Obama detail his many trips abroad and his work in the Senate, but he provides a glimpse into his life that will ring true to any American...to any citizen of the world. In her convention speech, Sarah Palin referred to the book as a "memoir," but it is much more than that--and in the instances when Obama does offer brief anecdotes from his life, they are always in support of a much grander idea, a much broader, all-inclusive American ideal, a much bigger hope for all peoples. The Republicans have gone to great lengths to publicize Palin as a relatable figure to many voters, but in Barack Obama's generous, insightful words, I see the full scope of the human experience, the unmistakably relatable element of honest humanity. I see myself in him; I see all Americans in him.
It is very telling that I finished the book--which is a very intelligent, very powerful document--on a day like yesterday, when this blog was swirling with a string of increasingly nasty comments, mainly from two individuals, one of which is me. And while there may be solid points cased within the nasty packaging, those points are not why the comments were made--they were made in order to up the ante on the opposing writer, to win a never-ending battle of wit, to win an argument not based on logic or truth, but based on who can deliver the most exacting zing.
That is not the kind of argument I want to get in, even if my stubbornness and loathing of perceived injustice compels me to ignore my desire to remain above the fray. So it is all done--at least on my end. I was angry before--but then I re-watched the glorious Obama-Biden video that K posted a few days ago. I re-read some of Barack Obama's words. And I realize that while zingers can be fun, and can also sometimes be appropriate, they better be in service of the underlying point and not the other way around. This election is about the hope for change...the opportunity to participate in change. It is a time to stop playing games and start working together to make a difference. That is why I support the candidate I support. That is why I wanted to take part in this blog.
"What satisfies me now [is] being useful to my family and the people who elected me, leaving behind a legacy that will make our children's lives more hopeful than our own. Sometimes, working in Washington, I feel I am meeting that goal. At other times, it seems as if the goal recedes from me, and all the activity I engage in--the hearings and speeches and press conferences and position papers--are an exercise in vanity, useful to no one.
"When I find myself in such moods, I like to take a run along the Mall. Usually I go in the early evening, especially in the summer and fall, when the air in Washington is warm and still and the leaves on the trees barely rustle. After dark, not many people are out--perhaps a few couples taking a walk, or homeless men on benches, organizing their possessions. Most of the time I stop at the Washington Monument, but sometimes I push on, across the street to the National World War II Memorial, then along the Reflecting Pool to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, then up the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial.
"At night, the great shrine is lit but often empty. Standing between marble columns, I read the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural Address. I look out over the Reflecting Pool, imagining the crowd stilled by Dr. King's mighty cadence, and then beyond that, to the floodlit obelisk and shining Capitol dome.
"And in that place, I think about America and those who built it. This nation's founders, who somehow rose above petty ambitions and narrow calculations to imagine a nation unfurling across a continent. And those like Lincoln and King, who ultimately laid down their lives in the service of perfecting an imperfect union. And all the faceless, nameless men and women, slaves and soldiers and tailors and butchers, constructing lives for themselves and their children and grandchildren, brick by brick, rail by rail, calloused hand by calloused hand, to fill in the landscape of our collective dreams.
"It is that process I wish to be a part of.
"My heart is filled with love for this country."
4 comments:
I've read it as well. It is a great and inspiring book.
Thanks for the very positive post. It's like a breath of fresh air.
Very nicely written book review. I would suggest possibly adding this to Amazon's customer review section.
Out of curiosity did you read Faith of my Fathers?
Excellent review! I loved this book and will read it again and again. I am inspired!
I've read it too. You might point out that he's written two books. By himself.
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