Update: I wrote this a while back but hadn’t gotten my act together yet on the blog but still thought this would be an appropriate first post…
When Barak Obama responded to recent criticism of his relationship with his Pastor, Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., he did something that I haven’t seen in government in many years – he inspired belief in a better world. He didn’t take the well-trodden route of disavowing association to distance his campaign from a difficult issue – one that plays on the hearts and souls of virtually every single voter, if not publicly. He stood up in front of the American people and reminded us that these issues have been hidden under the (polished mahogany cocktail) table for far too long. He reminded America that race, religion, and personal beliefs do matter. And, until we are able to talk about them openly, they will always haunt our minds and conscience in a way that breeds fear and contempt.
This was not the easy road to take. And unfortunately, the easy road has collected far too much toll money over the past few Presidential administrations.
I fear there are far too many voters in America today who have never known a President other than a Bush or a Clinton. Far too many people who too quickly associate the Presidency with phrases such as, “Strategery,” or “Fool me once, shame on me…,” or “I did not have sexual relations with that woman,” or “Read my lips…” I fear there are far too many people who have either never known, or simply given up on, the Highest Office in the Nation as a source of inspiration strong enough to pull millions of Americans out of, or through the deepest economic or cultural crisis. Words matter. And we need better, bolder words.
I truly believe that in politics, as in business, people are motivated by people. People need a leader they can believe in. In a leadership vacuum, individual issues and personal frustrations fill the void and lead the agenda. Inspiration from above lifts us all higher than our petty differences and motivates a “people” towards a goal.
I need bold, intelligent speech from leadership. I need to hear things like:
“I have asserted a firm conviction, a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people, that working together, we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds and that, in fact, we have no choice. We have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect Union.”
Or cold water in your face challenges like:
“For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division and conflict and cynicism. We can tackle race only as a spectacle…We can do that. But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election we’ll be talking about some other distraction, and then another one and then another one. And nothing will change.”
Where are our bold leaders? Why has bold come to be equated with aggressive? Why has the past not taught us more about the better path to the future? Why do we mask true intentions with politically correct make up?
It pains me that I have come to see the term “Politically Correct,” similar to the name “Patriot Act,” as representing a distorting shield that protects only those guilty of hiding behind it to save their careers, believing mistakenly that they have masked their true intentions and fears.
I believe that…
We, the American People, are not stupid. (There should be an official document that starts that way!) We the American people want a better future for everyone, not just our college buddies. We, the American people are willing to face difficult issues head on if it means a path to a better place. We, the American people are black, white, Asian, Catholic, Muslim, atheist, agnostic, men, women, heterosexual, homosexual, short, tall and fed up!
I believe that we, the American people, still…have a dream. And we need leaders that inspire us to work together to get there.
