Without such spiritual change, the possibilities for major improvements at the level of policy will be limited. The power of the dark forces --and that power will remain great, even when their public faces leave office in January-- will hinder and thwart even the best of policy initiatives that a hard-working policy president like Hillary Clinton might propose.
"Inspiration" has within it a common route with the "spiritual." It is by inspiring the American public to believe in the possibility of transformation, and to lend their energies to a movement to achieve it, that the underlying correlation of forces between good and evil in America can be shifted, and that the soul of America can be healed.
And thus it is anything but empty words for a leader to come before us now, in 2008, at the end of this dark and destructive time, to sound the music of uplift and yearning and resolution and unity that will be required to achieve such a resurrection of the good in America. It is by such words that from the hearts and souls of millions of Americans a spiritual force might arise that is powerful enough to overpower the entrenched interests, the greed, the sadistic lust for power, that have gained so strong a foothold in the American body politic.
If we truly understand the nature and magnitude of the challenge we now face in America, we should not ridicule or belittle Barack Obama for using those times when the brightest of the spotlights is upon him to inspire us. We should welcome it. We should encourage it.
And like the Israelites whose combined trumpets brought down the fortified walls around the city of Jericho, we should lend our voices to the chorus of hope and determination for the forces of good to bring down the dark forces now garrisoned in Washington.
Andrew Bard Schmookler's website www.nonesoblind.org is devoted to understanding the roots of America's present moral crisis and the means by which the urgent challenge of this dangerous moment can be met. Dr. Schmookler is also the author of such books as The Parable of the Tribes: The Problem of Power in Social Evolution (SUNY Press) and Debating the Good Society: A Quest to Bridge America's Moral Divide (M.I.T. Press). He also conducts regular talk-radio conversations in both red and blue states.
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