Why I Support Barack Obama

Dr. King once said that, if given the chance by God to live in any epoch of history, he would “take his mental flight” through the struggle of the Jews in Egypt, through the promised land, onto Greece past the discourse of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, through the Roman Empire, the Renaissance, the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation. He said “Strangely enough, I would turn to the Almighty, and say, "If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the twentieth century, I will be happy... that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a way that men, in some strange way, are responding--something is happening in our world.”

I feel the same way at the point in history that we currently find ourselves. I feel that we are at a turning point in history – a point where we can choose 2 very distinct paths. One path leads down the same dark trail we have tread for many years. A path of division and apathy, bred from years of cynicism in our government and our fellow man. A place where the mantra seems to be “as long as I get mine”, rather than “we’re all in this together”. The other path is a path of hope – hope that we are as good as our greatest history and better than our worst. That we can meet the challenges we face and overcome them in ways we can’t even imagine. That we can truly live the idea that is America.

This leads me to the question as to why I support Barack Obama. I remember the 2004 Democratic National Convention and the keynote speech that a then unknown Senator from Illinois gave. One that stated that “hope in the face of difficulty, hope in the face of uncertainty, the audacity of hope: In the end, that is God's greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation, a belief in things not seen, a belief that there are better days ahead” and that “there's not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America. There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America.”. Sweeping oratory from a man I knew could do great things for this country; gifts like those come by rarely. Little did I know what was in store. In February of 2007, as a Valentine’s Day gift, I received a copy of “The Audacity of Hope” – it was as if someone had taken everything I've ever felt about America and crystallized it. As the primary season approached, I would often tell people to not count out this man against the Democratic legacy of the Clintons. His thoughtful, nuanced and inclusive vision of American politics was a rallying call – change was coming.

Then came the primaries and his win in Iowa; the New Hampshire primary and his seminal “Yes We Can” speech – I could understand what Caroline Kennedy said “I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president”.

I feel that as a nation, we have forgotten what a leader looks like and what their mission is; to inspire their people to the greatness that is within. We saw that in Franklin Roosevelt with the New Deal and the fireside chats. We saw it in John Kennedy with the space race and the Peace Corps – the level of national service that Americans felt. I always wondered what that must have felt like – not an abstract love of country but a concrete showing of it. I feel this now. At 31 years of age, I am knocking on doors, writing letters, registering voters to try and positively affect the world in which I live and that my nephews are growing up in.

I look at this time with hope and, strangely enough, with some regret. I look with hope in what we can achieve with a leader who challenges us to pull the best from ourselves to help rebuild the country we love. I look to the time that I can tell my nephews the story that; at this time, in this election, we stood as a people and said “Enough” to fear and division. That we knew what it meant to be inspired, not from a movie or a history lesson; but because we saw it every day walking down the street. That we had a leader that helped us believe again.

As for the regretful feelings – they are minimal and I take comfort in the words that Dr. King spoke and the feeling that we are put in a time and place for a reason greater than we know. I regret that this feeling was absent in my youth – that I grew up in the greed and excess of the 1980’s – the feeling of isolation and being adrift in the 1990’s – the Bush years. Would I have joined the Peace Corps? Been a medic in the military? Entered some sort of public service? Known the love of America from more than old film reels of a JFK speech, a history lesson or a Hollywood movie?

Barack Obama is writing a new politic. Through his entire campaign, he has risen above the knife-fights that are modern American politics. He has shown a thoughtful, nuanced and patient vision that is sorely needed in this powder keg of a world we now live. He has put forth policies that reflect, in my opinion, the best of America and shown the pragmatism needed to make those policies a reality. But above all, and most importantly, he has shown us, in his words, that “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for”.

I think that that will make a great bedtime story someday.