It has taken me awhile to articulate why I support Barack Obama for President. I share his views on energy independence, education, ethics reform, the war in Iraq and so much more. I think Obama can bring Americans together at this important time in our history. But to me these things don’t get at what I value most of all. And that is being one’s authentic self.
I missed Obama’s speech during the 2004 Democratic National Convention. When I did hear about it, I wasn’t really impressed. At that time I felt Barack Obama was the flavor of the month and would soon pass out of our national consciousness. Then my mother died unexpectedly. She had Obama’s book “Dreams from My Father” with her at the hospital and my father had given it to me in passing. Missing my mother and wanting to feel close to her, I read the book.
There’s a passage where Obama and his sister are visiting a friend during his trip to Kenya. This woman shared with them that she was not so concerned with her daughter being authentically Kenyan as she was with her daughter being authentically herself. This notion of being truly who you are despite the confines of race and class, was a conversation my mother and I had had my entire life. At age 35 and after her death, my mother’s message had finally hit home.
Barack Obama is very handsome, well educated, wealthy, intelligent, friendly, a skilled orator and writer, an experienced politician--all of those things that make one popular. But what interests me most is his willingness to learn from his mistakes, his vision for the future of America, his refusal to engage in petty politics, his self-examination and desire to change the world for the better--all of those things that make one great.
I’m not talking about greatness that comes from conscientious effort, but greatness that comes from being one’s authentic self.
This is why I support Barack Obama for President.
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