Unleash Your Inner Obama
President-elect Barack Obama has captured the world's imagination. He has helped us believe that -- as he put it in his victory speech -- "all things are possible" and that we can put our hands "on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day."
Now, let's not wait for one man to save the world. Let's use the exuberant energy of his triumph to propel each of us forward. Every American can find his or her own way to make a difference. And one way to do it is through our work.
We can become New Radicals -- that is, find a way to leverage the skills we've acquired in our careers and put them to work on the world's greatest challenges. Already, thousands of people like us are doing precisely that (for more about the New Radicals, please see archived articles).
As a human being, Obama also embodies much of what mere mortals like us aspire to. Watching his campaign, I marveled at his ability to raise the tone of the discourse, to encourage people to remember that we exist not for ourselves exclusively but also for one another, and that each of us can choose how we interact with the world.
As I interviewed New Radical pioneers for my book, I was really struck by how they did precisely this. In fact, this is what makes these "radicals" "new". They believe in the pull of vision. They recognize the power of dialogue. They see the possibilities inherent in working together toward change. In fact, I began to think of "positive, constructive, hopeful" as the New Radicals credo.
And this isn't just a neat phrase, but a tool we can actually use -- a reference point for all of our choices and actions. "Try this experiment," I suggest to my clients. "The next time you need to make a decision, or when you're in a meeting and it's your turn to speak, run it through the 'positive, constructive, hopeful' filter first. I guarantee that something will shift. And you'll begin to see that we change ourselves and influence others even in the simplest ways. Forget the world stage: right in the middle of daily life, you can make a difference."
This is a great moment in America's history. My guess is that the remarkable man at the center of it all will soon echo JFK's immortal phrase, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." This is our chance to be one step ahead of him. To realize that, in adoring him, we are actually signaling a desire to reconnect with the deepest part of ourselves and to find a way to make a difference. And that is within reach of all.
Please share how you've been channeling your inner Obama by commenting below. Or email me directly at julia@wearethenewradicals.com.
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PART 1 of 3
Hmmmm.
Okay, so I totally agree with what you're going for here in an incredibly fundamental way, but I have to point out a few really important conflicting things.
""Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." "
This is SUCH an important quote. It embodies SO MUCH of what the world/ U.S. Should be striving to reach although Obama may want that, he's really doing the opposite.
The Democratic and Republican partys are both pushing more programs, more funding, more pork barrel side projects to get the biggies passed in senate.. like the 700billion stimulus thing. Health care... etc.
They are spending lots and lots of money on us. to take care of us. They want to even extend Welfare programs/funding and money for people that are losing their jobs.
All of this money is coming from everyone else. For the people, from the people. Socialist. I'm really conflicted on this whole thing.
I believe that we should have health care that doesn't rip us off, and doesn't deny coverage in any way when its serious, although, a huge part of me feels that many of the programs we are paying for, are going to people that aren't contributing to the system.. and it ends up draining the middle class of money to support the lower lazier class and I'm totally NOT down with that.
CONTINUED...
PART 2 of 3
I feel that there's not enough inspiration/leverage pushing people to want to really give back to the system.. instead we are just giving, giving, giving our hard earned money away in massive amounts of income taxes.
Part of me feels like we should all be forced to contribute to others when we consume (buy products, ie sales tax) but not when we work. That way we keep way way more of the money we work to earn. Then when we consume, the taxes are higher to compensate for the huge drop in our income tax.
"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." is what it should be.... but Most people it seems supporting Obama are saying, "Hey US Government, GIVE ME MORE." and I don't really like that.
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I'd rather we keep more of our money for ourselves, and then get to choose how we will spend it ourselves. Put the control in our hands, and when we ask "what we can do for our country." we can actually Choose to do it or not. Yes, Fix the health care system, but why should you or I have to pay for stoner joe that got hit by a bus cause he was trashed crossing the street, or why should we all have to pay for trying to cure people of lung cancer when they are the ones choosing to smoke their whole life.
You and I shouldn't have to pay for that. And Obamas plan is a lot of that. It stings of socialism, and I feel like yeah, we'll probably benefit from it in the form for programs and whatnot, but is it the right way to do it? I don't think its fair to us financially.
President elect Obama inspires the desire for service to country in ways that haven't been seen in far too many years. I'm not just talking about the great service that our men and women in the military chose, but service to country by walking out your front door and looking around your neighborhood. What are its needs, who are its inhabitants? What can I do to make a difference today? What a better world we would have if upon graduation from high school, young folks choose the option to give service to their local communites or even better the global community. How much better prepared are you to enter higher education after you have traveled some, spoken with people you never would have if you had gone directly to college, seen with your own eyes and experienced the real lives of the people of this world. Remember the Peace Corps! Give young people a stipend to explore the world, learning just what commonality abounds. People all over the world want what is best for their family. We have lived far too long in a U.S. that is fearful of diversity and global togetherness.
Good article!
But I must say that had I received this in an email fashion, I would have probably deleted as spam.
LOL: ''Unleash your innermost Obama'' kinda sounds like one of those ''enhancement'' mailings.
Why would I want to unleash an inner hypocrite who Votes FOR a $700 Billion dollar theft of taxpayer money while TALKING about helping " Main Street " and Votes FOR immunity to telecoms that illegally wiretapped American citizens while TALKING about restoring the Constitution & whose FIRST Cabinet pick is Rham Emanuel who, after leaving the Clinton White House, went to work for the Dresdener Bank, the Bank that during WWll was owned by the Third Reich, the bank that funded the construction of Auschwitz, the bank that funded the Nazi SS, & the bank whose original Director was Hjalmar Schacht, Hitler's Banker . " Obama embodies much of what mere mortals like us aspire to .." Are you daft ? To hell with hero worship. Obama embodies Elmer Gantry, a phony preacher hustling the faithful while skimming off the top of the collection plate. I prefer the OLD radicals who recognized the power of positive tar & feathering.
We all must get to work to heal our global wounds!
At last we have a leader who will speak for our voices...but one person cannot do it alone. Now that we have finally chosen a man of ethics and integrity, I believe we can enthusiastically rally behind him -and do for ourselves...so that we may do for the world!
Being inspired by a great leader can have a powerful rippling affect. I was so inspired by Barack Obama, I wrote this song/video, in support of our children -our future generations! It is titled, 'For the Children' and it is my gift of love to the planet. I hope it touches and inspires all who watch it -just as Barack Obama has inspired me! Here is a youtube link to share as you feel moved: -Lynn Zanetta http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gi3VNLhHq4
After the holidays and after Obama's inauguration I was thinking of having a womens group get together on a monthly basis and talk about politics and topics regarding women's issues. Possibly a small group of 7-9 ladies switching off every month and having them host it at their homes. Sort of a book club but instead of reading books, we would talk and discuss the latest headlines and newspaper stories about not just Barack, but also Michele Obama who will be a huge asset to the White House. Just coffee, tea, and dessert. Something to keep my many friends who were involved with the campaign stimulated and motivated.
I think this is a great idea, and I hope you actually do it. :)
I love planning a regularly scheduled get together to keep the energy going. Thanks for the idea. The more ways we can build on the election rather than going back to "business as usual", the better off we'll all be.... and our kids...
I'll start by letting all the gays I know and love know that I truly mourn the loss of their american right to freedom.
I took out the trash before the wife asked me.
I'll be adding one more can, box or bag of non-perishable food to my cart each grocery day to be donated to my local food bank.
A tiny, tiny thing, but if I do it and get my mother in law and just one friend to get on board, and each of THEM gets one or two of THEIR friends on board- it will make a difference.
If everyone does just one tiny thing, those tiny things will stack up faster than we might imagine.
Good Advice.
I feel really great about my participation in the Obama campaign as a volunteer and a donor. We've met really interesting people we would not otherwise have known and registered voters for the first time. I think change.gov will be helpful in keeping the community spirit alive.
Dear Julia -
Thank you so much for the inspiring post.
But I'm feeling sorta frumpy and need a makeover in the worst way.
Would it be OK if I released my inner Palin instead?
Sincerely,
Your Friend OtayPanky
Please don't use as much make-up as she does.
very nineties...
and not in a retro way.
If you've ever been to Hawaii you know the laid back contemplative zen vibe that inhabits the islands. Maybe we should pick all of our presidents from that state. We've become a loud mouth, trash talking, dumbed down country--typified by the McCain campaign, and GOP campaigns in general. It's hard to sell hope when you're always pissed off.
We are in a downward spiral because of policies emanating from our blustery, ideologically driven White House, and many realized that Senator Obama's intelligent, "let cooler heads prevail" philosophy was a better bet than Senator McCain's "impulsive hothead" to figure out solutions to our multiple crisises. We needed a thinker, not a fighter.
I lived in Melbourne, Australia for seven years and they have a very laid back "no worries" outlook on life that taught me how to put things in perspective. Aussies roll with the punches in a light-hearted way. I could feel my tensions dropping away by being constantly exposed to, and interacting with that kind of sensibility. I've brought that attitude back, and even over here it has made my life much easier when interacting with people, even prickly ones than it used to be. People, and friends are always saying how much at peace I seem to be. That doesn't mean that things don't get me down, or that I'm always happy, but through the ups and downs I'm finding I enjoy life more. I hope President Obama's attitude "trickles down" to the people.
I think Obama's Hawai'ian days contributed to his tolerance and patience. The people of Hawai'i are very much into family and acceptance of differences.
Your post makes a lot of sense.
You can all channel your 'inner Obama' by registering on change dot gov, President Elect Obama's new website. It is designed to allow all of us to have input into the ideas of the new administration. I believe it is one of the ways President Obama will keep his administration transparent.
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