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My expectations of Obama: between hope and fear
Related to country: United States

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By: ABDULLAH AL-AHSAN*



All human expectations always involve some degree of hope and fear. Barack Obama's election victory is certainly a huge transformation in history, and naturally it engages us in both.

"Yes, we can" has created dreams and hopes, and under the circumstances, the expectations are very high. "If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer," was the first sentence of the president-elect's victory speech at Grant Park in Chicago. It is this dream of our founding fathers that continues to generate hope for humanity's future in a world mired by vicious ideas of a clash of civilizations.

Enthusiasm and hope! These were undeniable characteristics of this 2008 election. I was driving along Lake Shore at around 4 p.m. on Election Day, and I saw large groups of people were already gathering around the Grant Park area to listen to Obama's victory speech. Most people I spoke to about this crowd told me that they wanted to be part of this historic moment for change in world history. I watched the event on the screen, and when I opened my e-mail, I found the following message:

"I'm about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first. We just made history. And I don't want you to forget how we did it. You made history every single day during this campaign -- every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends and neighbors about why you believe it's time for change. I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent and passion to this campaign. We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next. But I want to be very clear about one thing ... all of this happened because of you."

The message was addressed to me with my first name and signed from "Barack." This was impressive: The president-elect took his grassroots supporters into account even before heading to deliver his victory speech. He wanted to share his joy first with those who were away. I guess he wrote this to three or so million donors to his campaign fund, because I don't have any other connection with him other than occasionally donating to his campaign. I was also receiving messages from Michelle Obama, David Plouffe and others in the campaign team. This personal touch inspired me: Both my wife and I managed to travel all the way from Kuala Lumpur to vote in Chicago. Our youngest son, who became a voter in June 2008, worked for www.moveon.org first to register new voters and then to call voters on behalf of Obama campaign in Richmond, Virginia. Since Virginia was considered a swing state, he worked so vigorously that even on Election Day he spent most of his time calling voters in the area. We all were eagerly waiting to get the Virginia result, and as soon as Virginia went blue all the news channels declared the final result estimates and John McCain conceded defeat. This was a very joyful moment for all of us in the family, and we congratulated our son who had worked so hard in Virginia. We also congratulated our relatives in Florida.

Although I am registered as an independent, I was a supporter of Obama even before the primaries. I was disturbed by his speech at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), in Washington, D.C., when Obama declared his imprudent support for Jerusalem to be part of the state of Israel. To me this would constitute a major departure from his stand on justice. I was particularly impressed with his stand on justice throughout the campaign. When during the early days of his campaign his former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, blasted what he understood as white-controlled American democracy, Obama didn't immediately abandon the pastor for the sake of his immediate political goal. Instead, he delivered one of the most outstanding speeches in Philadelphia by explaining the history of race relations in America. The choice of the location for this speech was superb. What other site could have better echoed the dreams for human dignity! This defense of the pastor was very risky; this could have jeopardized his credibility to mainstream white voters, and yet he stood for values. However, when the pastor continued with his rhetoric, he disassociated himself from the cleric. Again this was very meaningful; How long must we blame one generation for the misdeeds of an earlier cohort?

But did Obama manifest his respect for human dignity on the question of Jerusalem? Let us remember one event of 1948 when the question under consideration turned grave. The UN unanimously appointed Swedish diplomat Count Folke Bernadotte, a grandson of King Oscar II who had earlier risked his life to rescue about 11,000 Jews from Nazi concentration camps, to mediate between the Jews and Palestinian Arabs. After studying the situation carefully, he recommended that the city be part of Arab territory, but he came under heavy pressure both from the British and US to revise his proposal. He then submitted another proposal and recommended the city to be placed under international supervision. The next day, Sept. 17, 1948, he was gunned down in Jerusalem by terrorists. Obama's stance on Jerusalem will do a gross injustice not only to Palestinians and the great soul of Bernadotte, but also to the world body -- the United Nations. Only by restoring the UN to its dignity and by recognizing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will we fulfill the dream of our founding fathers.

Dream? I have one too, Barack. During the campaign you succeeded in invoking renewed patriotism not only in Michelle, but in many of us at the grassroots level as well. As for me, my dream is to be able to live in a world where everybody recognizes everybody else's dignity, where everyone's interests are settled by upholding human values. I believe that this dignity originates from God's act of creation. All human beings are equal, all of us are created in His own image, He has blown His spirit into all of us. I long for the day when we all shall be civilized enough to live on this planet peacefully.


todayszaman

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Professor Abdullah al-Ahsan is an instructor at the department of history and civilization at the International Islamic University, Malaysia.



13 November 2008

November 15, 2008 | 9:11 AM Comments  0 comments

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