Out of so much political partisanship has grown a fundamental distrust about far more than politics. Many are disaffected, not just with the direction of the country or its economy, but with how our country is managed. Many feel betrayed by their politicians, and Congress' popularity has sunk, but individually we tend to think that our representatives are fine and reelect them.
Obama's victory speech delivered on the night of his election in Grant Park spoke of reconciliation rather than revenge. Many of us probably thirsted for a bit more Republican-bashing, especially in the heat of the moment. Yet Barack restrained us, made us "make up" and play nice. Obama has demonstrated his patience, and grace, acting like a parent would in dealing with a pair of feuding children. We owe it to him to extend ours.
Change not here yet
Inexperienced voters might assume that getting Obama elected is the grand accomplishment, the be-all and end-all, a culmination of all that hard work.
Let's get real. This particular transfer of power is only one turn in a revolving door that's gone on since the beginning of human history. Every new chieftain, king, prime minister and President has brought their own set of hopes and dreams. All too many go unfulfilled, casualties of internal squabbles, economic necessity, or some setback or another.
We risk putting Obama on a pedestal, lifting our expectations beyond the capabilities of any mortal. Obama is not a celebrity, though he has been packaged as such. So much of our media-crazed society revolves around celebrity worship. Celebrity worshippers objectify the celebrity, inflate them into figures of gigantic proportion and style epitomized by their image presented through the media. The celebrity is objectified, and turned into some kind of superhuman they aren't nor could ever be.
Nobel laureate Alice Walker explains this issue in her open letter to Obama. [Preferable to reading is listening to the author's own words, available on the DemocracyNow podcast from November 11th through iTunes or the mp3 can be downloaded at the DN site.] Obama will need to keep focused on his family, and his inner compass pointed in the right direction if he's to succeed.
I do think Obama is flawed yet he's begun to face a torrent of criticism before he's assumed office. I have criticisms of Obama, I think we all probably do. Can't we just wait a little bit longer before rejecting his approach?
I wouldn't confuse disagreeing with Obama's decisions to contradictions within his moral principles or disavowed campaign promises. It's too early to say that Obama has betrayed progressive principles. Obama's picks do tempt a lot of skeptics about him, many of whom may have held their viewpoints secret out of fear that McCain might win.
All progressives hope that Obama can succeed, and that's is the true power of political change. We can't just accept that Obama will change the world. Rather all Americans need to push issues and get informed. As Ghandi said, "be the change you want to see in the world." Exercised collectively, the confidence which we place in our new leader gives us reason for hope and optimism--the fuel needed to mobilize people and get them to accept the need for changes.
The end of Bush's reign might not be enough to bring change. It's not like Washington's inner desire for change has been imprisoned all these years and is ready to crawl out. Yet still Obama's achievement has birthed a sense of optimism, of what can be. Simply complaining about Obama's flaws won't achieve much, nor will Obama's election by itself produce real change.
Obama can't change anything without lots of friends and lots of help. His administration seems to acknowledge this. Obama likes to build consensus, and therefore he likes to reconcile with potential rivals. This is an approach which sees conflict and tension as bad energy which will produce bad results. In this regard, retaining Defense Secretary Bates might be a olive branch to the defeated, as well as a nod to the risks of trying to change what's become an exit plan in Iraq.
Obama clearly values the benefits of cooperation and respect for other's opinions. People with different or opposing viewpoints aren't challenged, mocked, or overcome but rather listened to and respected. That in itself is a massive change from the Bush years.
Maybe Obama is the anti-Bush, wielding positive energy like Bush used his malevolence. Or maybe he's just a man who believes in the power of respecting our differences. By agreeing to disagree we can do so much more.
Modern Americans have shunned political discourse and remain uninvolved and apathetic about the way our country is run. This disaffection has elevated partisanship and turned it into a winner-take-all extravaganza, with pain and sorrow for the loser. Left to partisans, this has heightened the Red-Blue divide.
It's time now to turn from our unfortunate tendency to shun our political differences as a symbol of divisiveness. Instead we should embrace differing opinions, not crush or be intolerant of them. We should cherish the latitude with which we can express such a wide range of opinions in our nation, not cower from the passions they might arise.
