Bloggers in the Middle East...

..weigh in on the elections. Apparently hope is contagious. Excerpt below:

Esra’a, Bahrain (mideastyouth.com)

I can honestly say that we can finally wave goodbye to the overwhelming anti-Muslim and anti-Arab bigotry that we have suffered with for the past eight years under the Bush administration. We can expect less wars, less corruption, less political abuse. It won’t be perfect, but it will get better. I am so happy and proud of all the Americans who worked extremely hard for Obama, understanding fully well the importance of change in every sense of the word. This moment is not just historical but crucial to us here in the Middle East.

This is a win for all of us, not just America.

This is a win for civil rights and justice.

For all the pessimists out there, allow us to enjoy this moment. If you learned anything from this campaign, you would learn that it starts with hope — not cynicism. And hope is what I have right now, for America and the Middle East.

We can do it, and this time, we can be sure that we can do it together.

I haven’t said this in a really long time, but I am loving America right now.

The View

Not my normal source of political opinion, but these two clips say a lot from different perspectives...(warning: get a tissue)

Shock and Awe

I've been wanting to post some reflections on this election for a few days now, but haven't had any time until now....

When I went to sleep on Monday night, I felt a vague sense of anxiety. I wasn't sure what it was all about, but I dreamt about the elections, and woke up in the middle of the night with this eery sense that I finally understood what Carl Jung meant when he talked about the power of archetypes. Archetypes (as I understand them) are those facets of the 'collective unconscious' that all humans can resonate with, because they exist at a level that goes beyond the personal or even cultural. The 'hero' is an archetype. The 'lover' is another archetype. These are personal symbols. But I would guess that racism is a type of archetype--at the very least oppression is. And democracy (literally the power of the people) is another archetype. Change, and resistance to change, both have deep archetypal senses to them. And archetypes play extremely powerful roles in our subconscious, often directing our behavior in ways we can barely fathom. And so it struck me at 2am, that this election had a lot of archetypes going on. The symbolism underlying this election was, to me, as strong if not stronger than the actual policies at stake. And this made me hugely nervous. Historically, and personally, archetypal shifts generate a lot of upheaval. And the history of non-violent democratic change is still relatively young. When emotions run this deep and broad, humans become capable of their best and worst actions. So yes, I was nervous.

But Tuesday went off gloriously. Not because the candidate I favored won, but because there does not seem to have been any sense of undue complications or aggression. This alone, to me, is a miracle. When the results started to come in, and the networks called it at 11pm, John McCain gave a gracious speech with the powerful words "the people have spoken clearly." With that, he blessed the incoming President.

And then it began to sink in for me. I realised the world had just shifted cataclysmically. I'm still trying to understand why. I'm not sure I ever will. I know it has to do with the breaking of the bondage of racism on this country. I know it has to do with the tears of joy and heads held higher that my African and African-American friends have experienced. I think it has to do with the children across the world who see in Obama some resonance to their own multi-culturalism and embrace of a global identity over simply national identity. I suspect it has to do with the hopes many of us have for wisdom and maturity and reality to be reinstated at the highest levels of leadership in this country. But whatever it is, it resonated around the world. It showed how much people other countries still want to look to America to lead and inspire. And how the world held it's breath while waiting to see what America would do.

The fact that we as a country created this movement for change, and did it non-violently, speaks volumes louder of the power of freedom and democracy than any 'shock and awe' tactic we would ever be able to contrive.

And while it's true that most people I know supported Obama, I have seen those who supported McCain share equally in the joy that is watching a country deal a death blow to the chains that bound it, for we are not more free than our brothers and sisters are bound. Their liberation is our own liberation.

This election doesn't just give hope for the overturning of deeply entrenched racism, but of the overall ability of America, as a democratic system, to wrestle, struggle and grapple with its call to 'mend its every flaw'. There is still bondage, but we have seen how change can happen, and in the past few days I have seen, heard and felt hope break into the dreams of blacks, whites, males, females, Christians, Muslims, adults and children. For this I am truly grateful, and to be an American at this time, I am truly glad.

Yes

Andrew Sullivan on Obama

His pre-election day endorsement. Wow.

Saddleback Saturday

So tonight McCain and Obama will meet at Saddleback Church, where Pastor Rick Warren will moderate a two hour long session, and allegedly they will meet in the middle. Obama is scheduled to go first, and McCain apparently will not be able to hear his answers.

I'm not sure whether I'm more horrified or fascinated. Actually, I'm pretty sure I'm more horrified, although peversely I'll probably end up watching it--at least for as long as I can. This is blurring church and state lines a bit too close for comfort for me, and I'm suddenly reminded of a reversal of Constantine convoking the Council of Nicea in 325 in order to have the various Christian bishops arrive at an ecumenical consensus around the nature of the relationship of Jesus Christ to God. In that case a secular power summoned the religious authoritiy figures to decide 'once and for all' a matter of great religious import (and one which was causing divisions that were threatening the stability of the empire, as I understand it). Today a religious power figure invites (summons?) secular authority figures to answer questions--I don't dare to assume what they will be--but I imagine around faith and also around the increasingly voiced concerns of the 'evangelical' world--poverty, HIV/AIDS, war, the environment and torture among others.

Based on their responses to these questions, they will be evaluated by hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of voters. Given that they have yet to meet in an official debate forum, and given the press around this event, this event could have the same impact a debate would have on the public, but it distresses me that this will be taking place in a church. Don't get me wrong, I suspect it will be an interesting discussion, but I wish it could take place in another setting, even if Pastor Rick Warren still were to moderate it. But to do it in the church subconsciously sets the church up as a forum, and authority, for examination of secular candidates, (who belong, by the way, to a country of immense religious pluralism), in a way that I can't help but feel is not part of the mission of the church originally founded by Christ.

At some level I appreciate the dialogue that Pastor Warren is attempting to start. But I also have my misgivings about the type of thinking around faith and politics that such an event may legitimize. Let's see what happens...

But, how do you really feel?

Andrew Sullivan speaks for a lot us in saying that if Clinton drops out, he will know what to do....

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I can't remember the last time I was so excited about politics in the US. Yesterday's primaries seem to have tipped the balance. It's too soon to say for sure, but could it be that it might really be over soon?

The Obama Factor

A reader, having noticed my somewhat obvious regard for Barack Obama, recently commented "I can't help thinking that you're going to be pretty disappointed if he doesn't make it through to the next round or even President."

At some level, yes, of course I would be disappointed. I would be disappointed because I would love to see what could happen in this country over time, with someone like him leading it. I would love to see how his facile grasp of complex issues would manifest in decision-making. I would love to see if the country would indeed become more unified--because I can't see anyone else right now who could do that better than he could. And finally, yes I would be disappointed because I think he has the most intuitive grasp of foreign policy that I have seen in a long time (a topic close to my heart).

But on the other hand, I won't be too upset because I know that over time, all politicians will show their flaws and he will be no exception. The other candidates have their strengths too, and a lot of responsibility for the well-being of the country still lies outside of politics altogether. And even if he doesn't make it, he has still indelibly altered the course of the US political landscape. To have Bill Richardson endorse him partly because 'he speaks to us as adults', goes a long way, imho, to naming one of the biggest problems in the way this country deals with critical social issues. The media and PR spinners tend to simplify and polarize issues, treating us like children, and we are rarely given the opportunity to explore nuance, let alone engage in authentic dialogue. Everything is broken down into soundbites and black and white solutions.

In my view, Obama is bringing some reality back in to those discussions (yes, I'm thinking of his 'race speech'), and that has already caused positive consquences. He wades into the difficult issues, and doesn't promise easy answers. But he inspires people to believe that we can find the answers, we can find the healing, without having to deny the very real difficulties we face. Some very real and hopeful dialogues are being held throughout this country right now--not because Obama has all the answers, but because he seems to be able to create the space that allows for the right questions. And hopefully, regardless of who wins what, we will not fall back into being satisfied with the status quo we have had thus far.

I support him as nominee and hopefully as President, as a leader for this country, in large part because I see he is already leading this country.

Dinner with Obama

This is pretty cool. Yes, it's a fundraising move, but it's very innovative, and I love that he 'thinks it will be a lot of fun'. And fundraising aside, it really is a great opportunity to reconnect with the base of his support, rather than only hearing the voices of those with millions to ensure they are heard. Well done!

Truth to Power

People are drawn to Obama for many reasons. My primary reason occurs around minute 12:00 on the following video:



Discussing the war and foreign policy, he says:

"But I don't want to just end the war, I want to end the mindset that got us into war. I want to end a politics based on fear...I want to rediscover the power of our diplomacy. I said early in this campaign that I would meet not just with our friends, but also with our enemies. And there were those in Washington who said 'you can't do that'. And I said 'yes I can'."

Yes, he can.

Now, here is a picture of another, far lesser known, man who also said 'yes I can'.


Bukeni T. Waruzi Beck is the Executive Director of Ajedi-Ka, a small organization located in the Democratic Republic of Congo, dedicated to the demobilization and re-integration of child soldiers. This picture, courtesy of the Ajedi-Ka website, was taken during one of their trips to a local village to sound the alarm about the usage of child soldiers (sometimes they are recruited forcibly, sometimes voluntarily). Early on in his university career, Bukeni courageously responded to the call to leave his comfortable academic setting to go meet with militia commanders--placing himself in very dangerous situations--and negotiate for the release of the children (sometimes as young as eight years old) they had recruited to fight their bloody wars. The story of children in warfare is horrific beyond belief, but in the darkness of that story, there is the light of people like Bukeni who go, unarmed and vulnerable, to meet and speak truth to power, relentlessly assaulting the powers of darkness to bring back those who have been captured by it. To date, they have negotiated for the release of over 300 children, boys and girls, and been instrumental in bringing the atrocities of the usage of child soldiers to the attention of the greater communities in Congo, the International Criminal Court, and the world at large.

Yes, they can.

The power of saying 'yes I can' in the face of the 'powers that be' is enormous. I am not saying that Obama is the only one who can or has done this. And I am always leery of getting too caught up in Obama-mania, giving him the status of prophet rather than politician and civil servant. But I like his message. I like his courage, and I like the way it reminds me to embrace my own and lift up that of others.

Yes We Can

Whatever you may think of his politics, I thought this video was remarkable...