Does a New Start Have a Chance?

Barack Obama's eloquence in the defense of idealism hasn't changed since Iowa, but reaction to it has. He is accused of favoring uplifting rhetoric over hard policy choices. Some commentators complain that for them, the thrilling speeches of the primary season now produce little or no reaction. Obama speaks of a renewed world, but most old-timers, cynical or not, expect the world -- especially the one inside the Beltway -- to roll on without much change. Inertia will prevail over hope. We are fortunate, however, that Obama himself doesn't believe any of this.

"Rhetoric" is what George Bush offered when he promised compassionate conservatism and insisted that he was a uniter, not a divider. The words were a cover up and a pretense, empty of sincere meaning. All along, one supposes, Bush's right-wing agenda was firmly in place. Canny advisers knew the agenda wouldn't sell, so they mounted a distraction that quite handily fooled enough of the voting public to achieve the desired results.

Obama's words ring of sincerity, but that's not the key thing: they grow from a much wider basis than one politician's desire to be elected. It may be true that he resorts to cliches when speaking of a new world and dignity for every person, but the impulse behind them is shared by millions, not just in this country but around the globe. Spontaneous upwelling like this occurs rarely, and it often signifies radical change. The mechanics of mass movements baffle historians. Many kinds of simmering emotions never coalesce into a movement. Eastern Europe changed under Communism for forty-five years to no great effect except mass grumbling and depression, and those uprisings that did occur in Hungary and Czechoslovakia were quelled in a matter of days by brute force.

We aren't talking about might against might now but something subtler. Obama was right to mention the Berlin Wall multiple times in his visit to that city, because the Wall was not pushed over by force, unless you mean the force of consciousness. Right timing and mass will came together perfectly; resistance and opposition were rendered powerless. Can the same magic strike again? We have immovable walls in the U.S., and no one knows if Obama will be like Woodrow Wilson, whose ideals about peace and international unity were crushed, or like Kennedy, who caught a wave of change stronger than he ever expected (his 1960 campaign, viewed objectively, was full of standard Cold War rhetoric).

Clearly millions of people, the majority of the electorate, want a new start on many fronts. Taken piecemeal, Obama's chances of reforming Washington, reversing the enormous national debt, updating the tax code, offering universal health care, and establishing a new image abroad seem slim. Idealism, we are told, will come a cropper when it hits its head against solid reality. But that so-called solid reality was built on intangible ideas, hopes, wishes, and needs. Obama grasps this. He understands that tough policy decisions, which of course must be made, aren't the stuff of inspiration. His campaign is a litmus test for whether a critical mass has formed or wether we are witnessing winds of change that will soon die down. The fate of the world doesn't hang in the balance, but the future of America's self-image does. National awareness has been stuck for eight years, and breaking it free needs the inspiration Obama is trying to apply.

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Comments

[avraamjack]

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Does Obama have the combination of principle and fortitude to do what is right when it is much easier to sell out to what is wrong?
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That is the most important question for any President and it is completely unanswerable until that person is elected.
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[Dap]

Dear Dr. Chopra,

Eloquently expressed, no doubt about it. Agape.

[AbrahamSadegh]

One of the greatest attributes of our society is its dynamism, its ability to change when it realizes that it is on the wrong track. For example, in case of segregation I remember when I came to the States from Persia for the first time in 1960 that there were separate restrooms for whites and black right in the middle of the Alamo Plaza in San Antonio. In less than two generations, we have traveled light years away from the America of 1960's in that respect.

Regarding our present situation, we have been on the wrong track for nearly a decade in many respects both domestically and internationally. A fundamental change in the current path we are treading on is necessary and Barack Obama may indeed be the person who can bring about the opportunity for such a change to take place.

He seems capable of inspiring the nation to free its "awareness" so that it can return to the path of greatness in dealing with vital domestic as well as international issues and bring about the kind of self-image we can be proud of again.

[AbrahamSadegh]

One of the greatest attributes of our society is its dynamism, its ability to change when it realizes that it is on the wrong track. For example, in case of segregation I remember when I came to the States for the first time in 1960 that there were separate restrooms for whites and blacks right in the middle of the Alamo Plaza in San Antonio. In less than two generations, we seem to have moved light years away from the America of 1960's in that respect.

We have on the wrong track for nearly a decade in many respects both domestically and internationally. A fundamental change in the current path we are treading on is necessary and Barack Obama may indeed be the person who can bring about the opportunity for such a change to take place.

He seems capable of inspiring the nation to free its "awareness" so that it can return to the path of greatness in dealing with vital domestic as well as international issues and the kind of self-image we can be proud of.

[nerakami]

Cynicism and brain washing, conditioned believing dogma will be the death of the human race and the birth of robotic beings....

we are in a place where we are fast losing touch with the higher nature of our senses where hope, faith, compassion, dreams and aspirations are being wiped cleaned from our awareness.... where is the balance? Are we to move forward in despair, hopelessness as our new security blanket because it breathes familiarity???

You're all choking me with this black cloud gathering ahead....

[IowaCali]

I have only one contention with Mr. Chopra's beautiful piece. I believe it is quite possible that the fate of the world COULD hang in the balance regarding this election. A continuation of the present regime can only precipitate more bloodshed in Iraq, more environmental havoc, less humanitarianism, and growing hatred among the world for the US and its policies. Barack Obama is not a messiah, but a man who appears to be enlightened and with a firm grasp on reality. We need him very much and can only hope that he is strong enough to withstand what will be thrown at him by those who refuse to give up power.

[Totto]

The reversal of the collapse of the ecosystem is contingent on the biggest polluter (US) finally recognizing the danger to itself . Change is inevitable, with or without human beings.

[MPeter]

The scavengers that constitute today's MSM, the old establishment Washington insiders and, sorry to say, those who have fundamentally failed to understand the depth of Obama's concept of change and continue to project their own polarized ideals have been coalescing to undermine him. It is the same sucking noise you hear trying to dismiss what Obama accomplished on this trip, claiming that it will backfire because he is not running to be President of Europe. These are the same polarizing, race-baiting clowns who kept saying America is not ready, or Whites will not vote for a person like Obama. Many of these so-called less than college educated have no idea or clear understanding of how globally intertwined America is with the rest of the world, yet we are told, they should decide the fate of this country!

[chagedorn]

It doesn't take a college education to understand how "globally intertwined America is with the rest of the world." It does however take a basic education, which people in this country, rich or poor, used to get with far greater frequency. Not to open up that can of worms, but we need to stop looking upon a "college education" as the line of demarcation as far as learning how to think goes. The systematic decimation of the public school system in this country is one of the root causes of the ignorance, incuriosity and lack of understand of our political system, its rights and responsiblities -- as well as our role on the world stage in all its complexity -- amongst an ever growing percentage of the electorate. Our current President is a mirror of what lack of good old fashioned public education for all has wrought -- he unfortunately reflects us, or at least the worst of us.

[RPLinNYC]

This comment has not yet been posted
Dr. Chopra, Thank you for yr wonderful teachings,
I've learned alot from you. A question: what do you make of Obama's recent shift to the right
(his FISA vote, especially)? Can we still believe that he will actually
implement the changes he speaks about so eloquently?
I agree he sounds more sincere than Bush's cynical slogans, but I
like many progressives am concerned about his actions (or lack thereof) not his speeches.
The proof is in the pudding, they say. So far, his pudding
looks very much like the status quo. I would love to hear what you make of this
discrepancy.

[LarBear]

RPLinNYC
This comment is NOT from Dr. Chopra... (chuckling here)
Perhaps, like you, I see no indication America is awakening... Stirring in our slumber? Perhaps...
For Obama supporters the Defining Moment for Hillary, was when she voted to Authorize the Use of Force... Her so called, "Vote for War"... ( defining - any process serving to define the shape of something)
A Defining Moment of Barack Obama's is when he voted YES on the FISA Amendment (HR6304)... He is a Constitutional Scholar... Clearly he knew the Bush Administration had been violating the Constitution, even prior to the 9-11 attack... Not only did he give consent to Immunity for the Telecom's who assisted in that Violation, but made possible the continuing to do so of the Bush Administration... Worse yet, as a possible future President he knowingly VOTED to give Himself the right to spy on American Citizens...
The Obama Campaign has divided the Democrats, NOT UNITED... Clearly, behind the scenes is Old Guard Democrats, attempting to remove Clinton Democrats, and regain complete Control of the Party, with Obama as a New Face... The MSM and BOTH BRANCHES, (DEMOCRAT and REPUBLICAN) OF OUR CORRUPT POLITICAL SYSTEM, act as though this is a sporting Contest of either WIN, or LOSE...
BOTH BRANCHES of a Corrupt Political System will still be in place... WE Vote good people into a Corrupt System and expect change!
POGO: WE have met the (sleeping) Enemy and IT is US...