“Rosa Parks sat so Martin Luther King could walk. Martin Luther King walked so Obama could run. Obama ran so we could fly.” – JayZ
Imagine a World where each and every one of was committed to discovering who we are truly here to be, committed to unwrapping our gifts, to living from our deepest Being. Imagine a world where we support each other in that quest. Imagine a world where we are seen for our potential to Become – Buddha to be, Gandhi to be, Einstein to be. Imagine a world where we greet each other with compassion and an open heart – Dalai Lama to be, Amma to be, Mother Theresa to be. Imagine a world where we thirst for justice and respect – Mandela to be, Joan of Arc to be, Ang San Suu Kyi to be. Imagine a world where we dare to be ecstatically different – Rumi to be, Mary Magdalene to be, Wonder Woman to be. Imagine a world where we stand up for the planet as part of who we are – St. Francis to be, Julia Butterfly to be, Al Gore to be. Imagine a world beyond the constructed boundaries of class, colour or creed. Imagine a world where a black man can become president of the United States of America – Rosa Parks to be, Martin Luther King to be, Barack Obama to be.
Imagine a world where each person reached just a little bit further, towards compassion, sustainability, harmony and creativity. Imagine a world that stretched even further, to the place where ecstasy lives. Imagine a world of celebration for life in all it’s joy and all it’s pain. A world where nothing stands in the way but fear itself. Where fear is just a passing fancy, replaced by unyielding hope, undying trust, indestructible vulnerability. A world where everyone and everything that happens to you is part of an extraordinary opportunity to learn and grow and evolve. Imagine a world that reflected back all the love in your heart, beaming right back at you, blinding you with it’s brilliance. Imagine a world where the extraordinary life you are here to live is here. Imagine if you could start living that life, right now. Your fierce light shining bright.
You can. Yes, you can.
~Velcrow Ripper
www.fiercelight.org
Top Ten ReasonsWhy President-Elect Obama is Like a Greyhound
10. He's elegant.
9. He's lean.
8. He's smart.
7. He listens really well.
6. He knows how to handle a crowd.
5. He surrounds himself with smart people.
4. He loves his family.
3. He looks you in the eye when he talks to you.
2.He's unfailingly polite and well-behaved.
1. He knows how to run a race and win.
The Obama family needs a greyhound in the White House. Thousands are discarded yearly, so this would be a 'shelter' dog, needing rescue. They are perfect for people with allergies. They are quiet and don't bark, so wouldn't interrupt any major decisions being made. They don't shed a lot, so the White House furniture would not be destroyed. They look as gorgeous in public, as the Obama family, and so would fit right in, though Obama may have to budget for the greyhound's clothing. This Greyhound Guide tells more about what they are like as pets. A Washington, DC local greyhound rescue organization can answer questions and more.
I. and others in Greyhound Rescue, know we change the world for the better, one greyhound adopted at a time. We know "we must be the change we want to see" (Gandhi). We know President-Elect Obama is the change we need.
Claudia Presto & Greyhound Gang
On every street in America there are people going somewhere walking, driving, bicycling and pushing strollers. No matter what they are doing, each of them has an idea what they might do if they had a say about how to fix this economy, how to end the wars abroad, or to improve the educational system. I have been hearing all this talk about how we should get involved, how we need to work tirelessly so that we can put the right person in the Oval Office who will work tirelessly for the people of this great country. This is as it should be, but at the same time, there are some of those people who don’t have the funds to do their part. There are some of those people who would like to help in whatever way they could, but just don’t have the resources for whatever reason. It is a fact of life. No matter what the reason, ALL of those people would like to know that what they have to say, what they think about this issue or that can help in some way. That somewhere, somehow, their ideas might help to turn this country onto the road toward progress and help everyone realize a sense of achievement, a sense of dignity they deserve so very much.
“Whenever you are in doubt, or when the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest and the weakest man [woman] whom you may have seen, and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to him [her]. Will he [she] gain anything by it? Will it restore him [her] to a control over his [her] own life and destiny?” ---Mahatma Gandhi 1948
I would like to propose an idea for change that would directly respond to these last social thoughts of a man who worked tirelessly to help all of us.
Generally speaking, as a society, here in the USA anyway, we have a tendency to lean on the government. When we are down and out or when we need to make ends meet and our resources seem to have gone south for the winter, most of us just get up and beat a path straight to the unemployment line or the Social Security office; these perpetual monetary spigots attached to the backside of our government. I should also add, in this day in age, we can do this online and skip the lines at the door.
What if, we made a detour FIRST. What if, in order to tap into this seeming endless supply of wealth, we had to do a little something for someone else. What if, each of us was to use our innate qualities in order to fulfill the needs of another. It wouldn’t have to be anything extravagant taking up an enormous amount of time or resources. Just something that we can do that would benefit someone else. Everyone in this world has a unique talent, something they like to do that actually defines the person, that can make that person an intricate part of the whole.
Optimally, it may be necessary to create self-sustaining communities with enough diversity to meet the needs of each member of that community. As a community, they organize a community action team, which represents the basic needs of the community. Initially, there would have to be a definitive focus for the community in order to draw the necessary talents from a national registry. Let’s just say it was a community of artists. Everyone who is a member of this artist community would have an artistic talent to some degree. Essentially, this would be the keystone of the community’s self-sustaining economy. Given the prolific nature of the internet, a community of artists can provide a sustainable flow of product and/or services to the world.
Through a national/global registry, the innate abilities of every individual on this planet (almost 7billion) can be extrapolated. In most cases, people have more than one ability to share with their community. This will create an enormous pool qualified applicants from which to choose.
[Please take the time to comment on this important article which should be sent to every racist nook-and-cranny in the 9 Battleground States, and please also post your insights at the OpEdNews site below, where they will become part of a larger dialogue]
OpEdNews
Original Content at http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-2008-Election-by-Sally-Liuzzo-Prado-081011-815.html
October 12, 2008
Let us promote positive race relations instead of hate speech, especially in a presidential campaign.
BARACK OBAMA ON M.K. GANDHI, today at OpedNews!
http://www.opednews.com/articles/BARACK-OBAMA-On-Gandhi-s-B-by-Stephen-Fox-081010-196.html
Having studied Gandhi since 1974 with a reverence some reserve for the Bible and for the Koran, I am really happy to see Obama was strongly influenced by the life and teachings of Gandhi, as well.
Gandhi is ultimately the most practical and useful of all theologians, politicians, lawyers, strategists, and near-saints.
Notable that Obama mentions Gandhi's connection to Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, and the Dalai Lama. Your comments and insights are great, so please share them by also posting them after the OpEdNews posting of this article.
Thank you,
Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor, New Mexico Sun News
The local Libertarian candidate sent out another hilarious campaign letter. I quote: "HIRE me to represent you!" *ROTFLMAO*
The gist of his message this time is that he needs some money to finish out another leg of his campaign. This is the same guy that invited all the interested readers of the Libertarian news to show up and give to the government-run & Clintonite feminist food pantry to support his campaign without realizing a few things: #1: at the local level, we do know which food pantries are connected with corrupt political finances and which ones are not. It is always a risk for a young politician to identify himself with one if he is not privy to the food pantry's back office, and frankly, young men are not privy to most of the corruption among feminist activists that has crippled the legitimate womens' rights movement.
So his food-pantry gamble backfired and now he needs money.
And I guess maybe he did learn something from the female crack-heads that the food pantry staff keep out front in order to discourage close contact with honest women, because he is openly asking for money for his services!
I laugh, but at the same time I cry. The Libertarians have a couple of important things going for them: a strong reminder of the original character of American constitutional government, and a damn good reggae band.
Which brings me to another thing: if the lengthy, unedited video I watched on Austin Public Access the other night is any indication, my fears that we are headed for a period of serious civil violence is unfounded. The tape was made by one of the Austin citizen-journalists who was documenting the protest "demonstration" outside the Republican Convention.
PUUULEEEEZE!!!! I could not tell if the demonstrators were Democrat activists, disgruntled anarchist Republicans, or what.... There was nothing but one apparently leftwing woman yelling through a bullhorn about ending the war and stopping bombs and a bunch of people kind of ambling around in a disconnected fashion. The woman's statements made some sense, but there was no back-up team, there was no MUSIC facrissake, and her statements were not part of even a short speech. There were no signs, no banners. At one point the camera showed a young man with apparently the same bullhorn reading a statement about "Congress shall make no law....." etc from the Bill of Rights.... at other points the camera followed a street performer who tried in vain to get attention to Satanic paraphernalia and gestures, and the camera man speculated that this was a police-planted provocateur but a bystander told him the performer was a homeless man well-known in the neighborhood for his antics. A few activists wore kerchief covers on their faces and looked kind of strange, given the total lack of any reason for anyone being concerned about the crowd's behavior.
The camera cut back to the woman with the bullhorn and another woman who were acting as if they led a rally but no rally appeared, just, as I said, a disconnected collection of bemused pedestrians. Some police rode up and announced that the "parade permit" was about to expire and everyone would have to disperse at 5 o'clock. The bullhorn yellers tried to inspire social outrage as people began to amble more or less away from the area. Lines of police in riot gear stood around the perimeter,. They were probably, by their fence-like posture, more responsible for the gathering looking slightly like a crowd than any intention of people to actually gather for any purpose. A couople of bystanders were caught discussing the way they had to drive around police blockades just to get about the city, and they strengthened the impression this was a randomly herded cluster of pedestrians, not a gathering of people with a political purpose of any kind.
I want to tell you all something, ok, just IN CASE we Americans need to act together as a group: PICK UP SOME VIDEO FROM THE '60'S AND TAKE A LESSON!
Lesson #1. Get SOME MUSIC out there, and with a message in the lyrics! It serves the ancient human purpose of signalling people that there is in fact a gathering point. Make it easy to sing and relatively upbeat and energetic. Give people the impression that victory is possible without bloodshed.
#2. Provide at least a few large, multi-person banners that spell out your grievance in a full sentence, without cusswords. This not only identifies your demonstrartion in photos around the world, it gives your group a sense of team leadership. Let other people get creative with individual small signs, and provide a stack of posters and markers off to one side to encourage that.
#3. Don't focus your bullhorn rage on the cops! Those are just men and women doing their job. They do not act independently. Focus on their bosses and the poltical beliefs that drive them, which ultimately, is YOU, and YOUR political beliefs.
Back in the Sixties, after the initial shock of the gunning down of the students at Kent State, cops and others who were sent in to do the state's dirty work often showed sympathy with the crowd and reluctance to carry out arrests. This is important. It happened because most of the big demonstrations were filled with people who followed Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr's teachings of nonviolence and we made friendly eye-contact with the police, and appealed to them as fellow citizens. And, by the way, Gandhi and MLK WON the day! Please remember that!
The jackasses who did the Bill Ayer Bernadine Dorn thing did take control of the money side of politics, but the victory of the people was not at all a result of their ignorant hate and violence.
The movements of the Sixties scared the government into redesigning police gear to actually make it more difficult to make eye-contact and a friendly social connection with the individual police officer, and that is because such human contact is, by itself, far more powerful than bullhorns and angry gestures.
That ambling crowd of bemused pedestrians was truly a sad sight to see. The only good thing I can take away from it is that perhaps we will not see civil collapse in the next few years, but the bad thing is that there is NO popular muscle-coordination to resist the state machine when it comes to mow us all down at once.
G'day from Australia!
Obama and Biden, in my humble Englishman-living-in -Australia opinion, are the new start that America needs. The standing of America as one of the world's most respected leading nations has taken a serious blow thanks to 8 years of mismanagement and Bush-led buffoonery.
From this side of the world Obama and Biden seem like two genuine, caring men who can help drag the world out of the mess Bush has created. Let’s hope that McCain doesn’t win the race to the Whitehouse; if he does the whole world will be shaking in their boots!
As former Nixon/Reagan aide-turned media commentator, Pat Buchanan stated: “He (McCain) will make Cheney look like Gandhi,”.
Talk about the Science and Art of Persuasion! Gandhi said he brought the British to their knees that showing them to themselves.
How did this pay off
Let's look at what Gandhi did to free his own people. Against the orders of the British, he stood up to the false authorities. He marched his followers on to the famous march to the sea so that they could mine their own salt. He led them to harvest their own green tea, and then, to begin to spin their own clothes -rather than import these below market value, for which then tainted the currency and economy that drove wages below a living wage Hartmann, in radio broadcast, 2008 and in the Documentary Movie Gandhi.
Gandhi reflected to the British the vile, heinous bully oppressors they were; exuding their lust for power on the peaceful and sovereign people of India. He embarrassed and shamed them while conducting himself in a dutiful and respectful manner holding them to higher standards.
Our Barack did something similar yesterday Tuesday August 19, 2008 at the Veteran's of Foreign War chapter in Florida. He discerned his and our truths regarding the facts of our stance from that of how McCain misrepresented these. He reminded all of America that we all love our country. He spoke to those that would challenge or now perhaps as a result of having heard such denigration that such a charge was unfounded and that the focus was not on our patriotism, but of the cheapness of the person who would have led such an empty charge and a desperate and despicable lie.
Randy Rhodes referred to those who would lead such a false charge against those of innocent conscious in her broadcast today on novamradio.com as projection. This is when something that is true for you that you can not deal with is easier to project onto someone else, for which then allows you to attack another person, rather than confront and deal with it yourself.
Barack showed these and USA veterans around the world [of whom 6 to 1 are sending their hard earned pay to Barack CBS NEWS Aug. 18. 2008] that we all love our country and that to question your patriotism will not be a card for which the desperate campaign opposing us will be able to play.
Deal with America, it's diversity, it's opposing views- McCain-what lies beneath your caustic temper.
From: John N. [mailto:jnerikaat@gmail.com] Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 12:54 PMTo: 'karenhansen'
Subject: RE: The Use of documents of our founding fathers in promoting what is right
Hi Karen,
Yes, it took me a while to understand the attitude/mindset of people who reject the Constitution. And I think, that is the key to the problems we face today. Our Constitution was founded in ironic circumstances - oppressed Europeans gaining freedom by becoming oppressors in another land.
The deeper psychology of it is that many Europeans descendents have truly accepted that that is the way it will be forever so nothing to do or they use it as an excuse to do nothing. In either case the result is the chaos of today. Add to that Biblical predictions of Armageddon, rapture etc. and many people think why bother. There is very little arguing with the Bible quoting folks but with the others, my argument is that - Europeans (whites) are not the only oppressors, they just happen to be the latest oppressors in the history of humankind.
Oppressive Empires start from Egyptians, Greeks, Spartans, Romans, Persians, Turks, Mongols, Moghuls, Huns, Chinese, Arabs, Cholas and Mauryas (of India) and most recently Britain, Spain, France, Holland and Portugal (all of them had some piece of India at some time), Germany (WWII) and now the US. When we see it this context we see oppression not as a problem of a particular race of humans but of the human race and at best the male kind of human, in the present time. There are people who say that before males went on the domination rampage there was once a female, Goddess dominated culture (5000 - 15000 years back).
The bottom line is that the human race has been authoritarianism driven and the root cause of authoritarianism is fear; fear of being dominated, which then says I/we better dominate the other before they dominate me.us (pre-emptive strike doctrine). When we see that humans have killed each other forever and called it the glory of conquest and patriotism (Sparta was most notorious for this - movie 300) we can start the forgiveness process and in our world of fast moving information (Internet) bring about real change - which I hope and believe is what Obama is about.
Today blacks and immigrants and minorities are not the only ones suffering; among each class there is an oppression of hierarchies of domination and oppression. So among whites and blacks there is gender and economic oppression and among women there is race, age, power related or economic oppression and so on - in other words - fear related authoritarianism and oppression which violates Equality and Justice which is rooted in Love and the value of Hope when Love is no where in sight.
And Hope is definitely what Obama has talked about and I hope he is talking about it from a very profound place in his heart and soul. I have thought about talking Constitutional values without bringing up the Constitution and do balance my approach based on whether it’s a new acquaintance or not. But my passion frequently overtakes me and I stand my ground firmly and never compromise on Equality and Justice, why should I/we and why should anybody.
This is where the limits of persuasion comes in; how can I persuade someone that we are all Equal, if they have a hard time with that idea (whether because they feel inferior or superior) because if I do then I am forcing my Equality value upon them and that is not Equality (catch22). So despite my passionate debates I always make it point to offer frequently and often the olive branch of, "agree to disagree in peace". That is the paradox, we cannot force Equality just as we cannot dictate, democracy - it can only be shared frequently and often, so people get it.
This is our challenge to make Obama's effort a real success. I agree with Hartmann that we have merely exported slavery - the US as an empire has become the primary intentional unabashed controlling class on earth with other G-8 and UN Security Council members, like Russian and China lurking in the shadows. Walmart - when more and more people get it that :
We are about 'We the People' before 'we the profiteers', Walmarts will die of natural causes.Gandhi - my grandfather was a freedom fighter of the Gandhian brand (ironically my other grandfather was a sort of high powered British government employee - go figure). Gandhi's approach was about going down to basic values when oppression became unbearable. The environmental/sustainability movement of small farms, grow your own stuff in the back yard etc is the application of Gandhi's idea which really is about going back to basic values.
Even big corporations go back to basics when their acquisitions and mergers start going out of control. Example - Intel got into IT services and other stuff and then when it got all screwed up (AMD cut into their market share) they spun off all their fluff acquisitions and went back to their basic strength - chip manufacturing. And with the Constitution I am proposing the same - its common sense not rocket science. Our politics has become a game (which is bad enough) but it has become a game where we have shredded the rule book (Constitution).
It's like a hockey game riot, its like an English soccer riot between MU and Chealsea with the crowd thrown in, it is a social, political, economic, environmental, religious, free market, free for all mayhem. So what other option is there but to stop the game and put the rule book together and prosecute the violators according to the Law? This is what Kucinich is trying to do and I support him as well. In fact I started off this election as a Kucinich supporter.
Equality 4 Justice 4 Peace 4 AllJohn Nerikaat
PREFACE:
Daily, I watch and listen to folks with the courage and commitment to appear on television and radio in furtherance of this campaign. But, while I invariably admire them for doing so, I often hear myself asking "What!? - why did you let that false claim go unanswered" or "you should have told her . . ."
So, I am hoping this will become a place where ideas will be shared about how the campaign can be more effectively presented, or how the candidate and/or all of the rest of us might best combat the (Karl) Rovian (ok, I mis-spelled that, but it was just too tempting) tactics already launched against Barak.
I am also hoping that civility will prevail here. Last week, I saw a poster bearing a quote by Mohandas Gandhi which I recall as: "Be the change you want to see in the world". Please picture those words over the portal as you enter here.
FIRST POST
Today was one of my favorite days yet for the Obama campaign. This is because I have been saying for the past few years that if we had a worthy leader among us, he/she would challenge this country with a Kennedyesque ten-year plan to get us free of foreign oil and on the road to environmental responsibility and leadership, where we belong.
In doing this, Barak delivered much more than just words, as did JFK's 10-year moon landing challenge nearly 50 years ago. Today was a big step forward for Barak, and a small step for . . well, you get the point.
As for the Brittany and Paris comments, perhaps Barak should brush them off with something like: "I'll leave discussions of teen magazine covers to the other party" - or "I can't believe they actually think they can distract you from the serious problems their party has caused by invoking teen magazine covers", then "but, what I want to talk with you about this afternoon is how together we can return this country to its . . . "
How do you believe Barak ought to respond (if at all) to their seemingly already desperate personal attacks? Is it dangerous to fail to strike back, or is doing so handing them a win in their effort to take the campaign off-issue.
I also want to urge Barak to be very careful at the upcoming debates to speak plainly and not encourage such characterizations as were effective against (the great) Al Gore, and which lead to people actually come away having seen George Bush "win" debates. You may recall that they portrayed Gore as aloof, condescending, cold, etc. I'm afraid my head might explode if that actually happened again.
Lets all build an even better campaign, and save this country from further downhill slide by the same team in older clothes.
And, maybe we can have a little fun, too.
Michael
20. The only people who find what they are looking for in life are the fault finders. (Foster’s Law)
19. Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events . Small minds discuss people. ( Eleanor Roosevelt)
18. Thee world is full of willing people, some willing to work, the rest willing to let them. (Robert Lee Frost)
17. Losers visualize the penalties of failure. Winners visualize the rewards of success. (Unknown)
16. If you want to test your memory, try to recall what you were worrying about one year ago today. (E. Joseph Cossman)
15. You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want. (Zig Ziglar)
14. The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. (Gandhi)
13. Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well. (Voltaire)
12. A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes. (Hugh Downs)
11. Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. (Einstein)
10. We see things not as they are, but as we are. (H. M. Tomlinson)
9. What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. (Emerson)
8. The man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones. (Chinese Proverb)
7. Do not worry if you have built your castles in the air. They are where they should be. Now put the foundations under them. (Thoreau)
6. Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. (Leo Tolstoy)
5. What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say. (Emerson)
4. An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind. (Gandhi)
3. Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right on both counts. (Henry Ford)
2. Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. (Mark Twain)
1. Man is the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes. (Gandhi)
So, I'm at my hometown Point Pleasant, in the WV tourism office, sitting here drenched. I just got through a 2 hour single man campaign for Obama, at the foot of the Bartow Jones bridge, which clears over the Kanawha river. Across the intersection, there were two middle aged women with their honk for Hillary signs.
And yes mostly everyone honked for Hillary. I wasn't really prepared for this one man shouting match into the heart of the bridgefoot, but I'm proud I stood up for what I believed in.
You see, I work in my hometown of Point Pleasant West Virgina, as a tourism Coordinator. The town of Point Pleasant has many historic homes, river museums (the town is situated at the crossing of the Ohio and Kanawha river), a claim as the first battle of the American Revolution, and one scary mothman.
I've lived in West Virginia most of my life, since my parents moved here (when I was 3),I've had to deal with some racism that every person of color deals with in America, but today it was scary to see Hillary supporters getting OVERTLY RACIST!!!
As my work was ending, I went to confront the Hillary supporters with an Obama sign I keep in my trunk JUST IN CASE ;) Luckily I was able to stop the honking frenzy and get peoples attention, MUCH to the chagrin of the women across the street.
I couldn't believe IN MY TOWN, the Hillary supporters would yell things like " Go back to where you came from" and, "Speak English, no one understands you" (I was born in the US, and graduated college, so I think I speak pretty well actually)....one 50 year old stopped in front of me and asked if I was an Arab and tried to grab my sign, before his wife drove off.
My parents are Indian, so I guess he wasnt TOO far off lol.
Anyways, after we traded car honks for a few hours, and after Hearing things like "I wouldn't piss on Obama (he forgot to finish the insult , its 'I wouldn't piss on Obama if he was on fire' anyways)," It started to rain and those two old Hillary gals went off to be dumb and be happy about it.
I made sure I stood there for 15 minutes in the pouring rain, just so a few at the only busy intersection in Point Pleasant understood, Obama will be their president, whether they like it or not.
Sad to say it but too many West Virginian's don't like black people, because they don't know any black people, because black people were scabs in their coal mines, or whatever stupid reason their grandpa has passed on as a gem of wisdom. One guy in his car guaranteed me Obama would be assassinated.
No one said a 50 state strategy would be easy, but its just disheartening when you don't even have respect to be heard or your own hometown. Is this America?
Wow Hillary, with supporters like these, who needs Reverend Wright?
I don't care, i'll be there waving my signs tomorrow, if anyone wants to help let me know...i'm sick of West Virginia being ignorant. I'm proud to be West Virginian, but I am also equally proud to have some of that Gandhi spirit.
BY desiunion
Found on digg.com : http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/5/10/11954/8412/702/512901
an open letter to Barack Obama
i believe the way to win is to continue to appeal to the best of america in the remaining states to vote for Obama, completely ignore the Clinton's, and set sights on the future. As each state's election comes up and he adds to the number of voters and delegates it is inevitable that enough super delegates to win will come aboard a little at a time. the message is the method, and the method is the message. no matter how much she or pundits may scream and want blood, or think that this movement can be stopped, remaining true to the message is the way forward. We must have the courage to endure doubt, questions, fears, errors, anger, apathy, attacks, deceptive tactics, distractions, and most importantly conventional wisdom.
if we are the change we are waiting for, then we must Be The Change.
We are all reading posts calling for "getting dirty," "hitting back," and other comments along those lines. Just some reminders from a great soul:
Hatred ever kills, love never dies; such is the vast difference between the two. What is obtained by love is retained for all time. What is obtained by hatred proves a burden in reality for it increases hatred. (When we hit back at the other side we do not get closer to seeing the change that Senator Obama envisions.)
An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind. (And we need clarity of vision now more than ever.)
To forgive is not to forget. The merit lies in loving in spite of the vivid knowledge that the one that must be loved is not a friend. (Yes, there will be attack ads, but we are called to love Hillary Clinton even when we are attacked.)
What kind of victory is it when someone is left defeated? (Let us focus on hope and the message of change, not on the defeating of Senator Clinton. Keep it positive!)
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. (Doesn't this remind you of where we are in the campaign? Pre-Iowa ignoring Obama, then mocking his speeches, now the down and dirty fighting, and soon the victory.)
Be the change that you want to see in the world. (We all can be part of this new and exciting movement for change if now, right now, we become the change we want to see.)
...please don't bother about putting on make-up and nice clothes. Just answer the phone. That goes for all of you.
Whatever you say about the Clinton campaign phone advert, it certainly was effective. And I think that Senator Obama cam across as fumbling and imprecise in his responses to the accusation of not being ready to answer the phone. Or for some reason being responsible if your children had nightmares. The same goes for the whole Rezko saga, as well as the Canadian incident. To convince people he needs to be more direct and come out with clear statements.
In the Rezko case, Senator Obama make sure that all that he knows is available to the public. Make it open and complete. That way nobody can come and say that he hides things.
In the Canada case it would have been better if he had said something like "I am not aware of any such meeting, and whether it happened or not, I, and nobody else, dictate my policies."
I know it's tempting to get lured into the politics as usual fight, but just as Mahatma Gandhi won over the British empire by sticking to his non-violence beliefs, I think that the only way Senator Obama can come out of the process standing straight is to stick to his unitarian visions and rejecting politics as usual. I'm saying respond to attacks and point out where they are lacking, but stick to the strenths of being the true agent of change.
Though we talk about a variety of diseases in America, one of the largest and most predatory we have to face now is one we're unaccustomed to talking about: cynicism. It travels far faster and proves far more insidious than so many others we spend hours and days and years exploring.
Cynicism works to corrode our belief that something better is possible. Cynicism says, "Be satisfied. Be a realist. Life is not about growth. Life is about status-quo."
Barack Obama rejects this kind of proliferated cynicism. In its place, he advocates a sense of hope and belief that is intellectually rigorous, morally sound, and unconditionally necessary if Freedom and Love are to prevail.
What is at stake in this country right now is much: how will we gather with our families around dinner tables and in our children's bedrooms at night if we are unwilling to see a better, more hopeful future? What stories will I tell my children about this time? I believe that I will be able to say to them that to believe is NOT ignorant; that to hope is NOT foolish. Instead, working alongside one anther, hope and belief are the two greatest tools we have to employ.
What if someone had told a tiny man who said he wanted Inidan independence: "No, it can't be done. What you speak of is ludicrous!" In fact, many told Gandhi such tings exactly. But he saw a higher purpose; he worked according to a higer value--something that suggested that the only way real change ever occurs in our world is this: someone first believes it is possible.
Barack Obama is that someone. And that time is now.
I was reading the Houston Chronicle's endorsement of Obama, and I found a link to a sermon by the Rev. Matt Tittle. I was raised an Episcopalian, although I have gotten very disillusioned with how many people loudly proclaim their Christianity while espousing hatefulness and bigotry. I really liked the message of the sermon, which echoes Senator Obama's rhetoric of unity, hope, and personal involvement in government. Tittle says, "We are the keepers of the dream," not Jesus or Gandhi or Dr. King, so it's up to us to keep the message of love and acceptance and equality alive, and work to help these ideas come to fruition.
First, they ignore you.Then they laugh at you.Then they fight you. <-- We are here *****Then you win.
-- Mohandas Gandhi
QUESTION:
Obama's previous position as a state senator warrants me to cast doubt on his ability to run a country, especially the United States. In comparison to past presidents Obama does not measure up.
RESPONSE:
a). George Bush Sr. (Mr. Experience himself) should have walloped Bill Clinton in 1992 if we were following your logic.b). George Bush Jr. (2-term governor of one of the largest States in the Union) should be one of the more successful Presidents, following your logic.c). In Presidential elections, the fact that something hasn't happened before doesn't mean it won't happen. Prior to Kennedy, there were no Catholic Presidents. Two of the more successful 20th century Presidents (Teddy and 4-term Franklin Roosevelt) had no business running for office since they were neither English nor Scottish, as were previous Presidents. If there is something that can be said for the American character, it is that this country embraces pragmatic change perhaps more than any other country in the world. And that has served us well, as we become a more perfect Union.So, your point about Obama not having enough "traditional" experience is no predictor that the country will not elect him. More to the point, how much "traditional experience did the following transformational leaders in history have?
Jesus of Nazareth (carpenter's son up till age thirty something);
Alexander the Great (who conquered most of the world well before he was Obama's age);
Martin Luther King Jr. (who had done all he could, almost a full 10 years younger that Obama's age);
Mahatma Gandhi (a struggling lawyer in South Africa prior to kicking out the world super power from India);
Tony Blair (an upstart politician who took over the Labour Party, kicked out the entrenched Tories and ran Great Britain successfully (well, except perhaps for Iraq) for the past 10 years, retiring at the ripe old age of mid 50s). Fact is, the Presidency (and leadership at the highest level) isn't so much about specific technical experience as values and judgment. In this, Obama has the "right stuff".
