Hope and work for change, yes, but beware of messianic faith in Obama

January 18, 9:38 AMPolitical Issues ExaminerJudah Freed

Previous Next

1 comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Political Issues Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

President-elect Barack Obama is seen as his train pulls away in Wilmington, Del., on Saturday,
Jan. 17, 2009, during inaugural whistle stop train tour to Washington. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

As the nation prepares for this historic presidential inauguration of Barack Obama, the excitement is palpable and contagious. Obama was elected on a wave of messianic fervor, yet such irrational exuberance cannot last, and this worries me.  

Once grounded reality settles in, once people realize that Obama above all is a pragmatist, albeit an open-minded one, I'm concerned about disillusionment causing renewed cynicism about the presidency and the ability of government to serve the common good.

Obama based his election campaign on hope and a call for change. This promise swept him into the White House with the largest public mandate we have seen in years. However, if we expect miracles, if we believe substantial change will happen overnight or without effort, such magical thinking will get us into trouble.

The root of the problem, in my opinion, is that the bulk of humanity still suffers from what I call "authority addiction." We have an habitual tendency to worship our leaders and follow them blindly.

Let's do a reality check.

let's pop the fantasy bubbles  of liberals and progressives that Obama will be the great savior of open democracy after eight years of the Bush administration ignoring the rule of law. Without solid support from the nation's established powers-that-be, please recognize, Obama never could have won the nomination.

Now that Obama has been elected and is about to take the oath of office, we're already seeing from his cabinet picks that Obama will govern from the center.
 
While I believe we are justified in hoping Obama will seeks positive changes in America and the world, there is only one way we can make sure such hope is fulfilled. We need to work hard as citizen activists to ensure that the Obama administration, Congress and the courts meet our expectations.

If we want to see changes in government that help shift society from the strategy of domination to the strategy of generosity as the path to security, we need to make a commitment now to hold Obama's feet to the fire of public opinion.  Without our activism, "change" will be a meaningless slogan.

Please hold in mind what President Franklin D. Roosevelt told a group of social change activists who visited him early in the New Deal, “I agree with everything you said. Now go out and make me do it.”

Other Examiner stories
on Inauguration Day 2009

Inauguration Roundup

FYI: January is the anniversary for the 1776 publication of Common Sense by Thomas Paine. Please click for my columns on Paine's life and work. 

A REQUEST: Please keep your comments relevant to the topic of the
posting above. And please practice civility. Thanks.