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america
November 2008 
Barack Obama
Posted on Mar 31st, 2008
by 
Vivek
Vivek
Obama has a definite flair with words and oratory, and there exists a critique of his candidacy that thats all thats really going on. The other thing I've run into is the critique that he's trying to have it both ways: lofty rhetoric, but calculated politics. In an ideal world his recent speech on race should have destroyed these doubts for good, that doesn't seem to have happened however (though it may have brought Richardson over:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y62jhStuawA
One example that truly irritated
me was the harping on Obama's line about his grandmother being afraid of young black men, as though this represented some sort of calling out or family betrayal. I actually remembered the line from the book "Dreams of my Father". There he is discussing his disjointed feelings about being a young black man (an entity that is viewed with a certain level of distrust in much of America) being raced by his white grandparents... and how to resolve that essential dichotomy. Race is a complex and emotion laden quality in America (and India as well quite frankly) and deserves better than media driven driven soundbitism.
What is unique and exciting about Obama, in my opinion, is not necessarily his charisma, his life experience, his name, his particular political leanings, or even his race. Rather its the nuance and appreciation for the complexity of real world problems he seems to have. I actually disagree with quite a lot of his political views, but am personally beginning to believe that issue driven politics is inadequate and frequently dangerous.
Reading his two books (Dreams of my Father and the Audacity of Hope) what struck me the most was the fact that he seemed to genuinely spend time and effort considering complex problems and honestly admit that he didn't know exactly where the truth lies. The United States (and in many ways the rest of the world as well) seems to be entering a phase of history in which simple truths are just not good enough. The problems we face are complex, and cut across traditional boundaries.
Its become increasingly apparent, I believe, that Iraq is not just a military engagement its also a cultural, religious, economic, and ethnic nexus and minefield. A genuine solution there will require a systems level understanding of all of these components. To me the Bush administrations failure was not necessarily one of military execution... but rather a failure of imagination and scope. The idea that soldiers can go into a place, defeat an enemy and the rest will essentially just sort it out.
Other global problems: global warming, an increasingly baroque and possibly unhinged financial system, religious extremism in its many manifestations are similarly complex, multifaceted, and morally ambiguous. (will try to go into greater detail/back up that statement in a bit)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y62jhStuawA
One example that truly irritated
me was the harping on Obama's line about his grandmother being afraid of young black men, as though this represented some sort of calling out or family betrayal. I actually remembered the line from the book "Dreams of my Father". There he is discussing his disjointed feelings about being a young black man (an entity that is viewed with a certain level of distrust in much of America) being raced by his white grandparents... and how to resolve that essential dichotomy. Race is a complex and emotion laden quality in America (and India as well quite frankly) and deserves better than media driven driven soundbitism.
What is unique and exciting about Obama, in my opinion, is not necessarily his charisma, his life experience, his name, his particular political leanings, or even his race. Rather its the nuance and appreciation for the complexity of real world problems he seems to have. I actually disagree with quite a lot of his political views, but am personally beginning to believe that issue driven politics is inadequate and frequently dangerous.
Reading his two books (Dreams of my Father and the Audacity of Hope) what struck me the most was the fact that he seemed to genuinely spend time and effort considering complex problems and honestly admit that he didn't know exactly where the truth lies. The United States (and in many ways the rest of the world as well) seems to be entering a phase of history in which simple truths are just not good enough. The problems we face are complex, and cut across traditional boundaries.
Its become increasingly apparent, I believe, that Iraq is not just a military engagement its also a cultural, religious, economic, and ethnic nexus and minefield. A genuine solution there will require a systems level understanding of all of these components. To me the Bush administrations failure was not necessarily one of military execution... but rather a failure of imagination and scope. The idea that soldiers can go into a place, defeat an enemy and the rest will essentially just sort it out.
Other global problems: global warming, an increasingly baroque and possibly unhinged financial system, religious extremism in its many manifestations are similarly complex, multifaceted, and morally ambiguous. (will try to go into greater detail/back up that statement in a bit)
Access: Public
