Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

“The year I was born, President Kennedy stated in his inaugural address: ‘To those peoples in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required—not because the Communists may be doing it, not because we seek their votes, but because it is right. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.’ Forty-five years later, that mass misery still exists. If we are to fulfill Kennedy’s promise—and serve our long-term security interests—then we will have to go beyond a more prudent use of military force. We will have to align our policies to help reduce the spheres of insecurity, poverty, and violence around the world, and give more people a stake in the global order that has served us so well.”

- Barack Obama, in The Audacity of Hope

Earlier this year, I highlighted Barack Obama’s Dreams from My Father as the April book-of-the-month. At the time, many still knew little about the Illinois senator. Such is not the case today. “Obamania” has swept the country. His visage graces the covers of several popular news magazines; his second book is a best-seller; and speculation has become rampant among political pundits that the 2008 presidential race will include Barack Obama. I, for one, would support such a move (despite Obama’s lack of experience) in part because of the vision and ideas presented in The Audacity of Hope.

Where Dreams from My Father is a memoir, raw and full of personal history, Obama’s second book is more politically-oriented. It serves as a statement to the world: “Here I am, and this is what I believe.” Much of the book covers Obama’s beliefs about the state of politics in America today. He is concerned about the political division that hinders progress but genuinely believes the country’s people can overcome their differences to meet the challenges of the day. There are chapters on values, race, family, and faith. His thoughts on family and faith feel genuine, unforced. Obama speaks with ease about issues such as abortion and the war in Iraq, yet he doesn’t treat these divisive issues lightly. Obama is one of those rare individuals capable of genuinely contemplating other points of view while maintaining his own beliefs.

A common criticism of both book and author involves Obama’s tendency to weigh both sides of an issue. One columnist even counted the number of times he employed “excruciatingly judicious on-the-one-hand-on-the- other-handedness” in The Audacity of Hope (“no fewer than fifty instances”). Personally, I tend to deem this a positive attribute. When he needs to, Obama will pick a side. He demonstrated this by publicly taking a stand against a war in Iraq before the conflict began, a position both rare and unpopular at the time. He won’t always be right, but his tendency to fully contemplate an issue before he takes a stand would be a welcome departure from the standards of other politicians who act before carefully considering potential consequences.

It has also been asserted that the book lacks a certain gravitas when it comes to actual policy proposals. The assertion itself is true, but it’s obvious Audacity isn’t intended to be a collection of policy memos. Rather, the book is an attempt to communicate the author’s values and outline a foundation upon which future policy would be built. Barack Obama doesn’t have all the answers, but his basic approach to finding those answers becomes apparent in The Audacity of Hope.

One of the values Obama emphasizes throughout is a belief that we humans have “a stake in one another.” This is perhaps the principle most relevant to this site. Regardless of one’s race, religious faith, status as immigrant laborer or CEO, or tendency to vote with the Ds or Rs—we do have a stake in one another. We share a future with common challenges and opportunities and need to work together, building on points of agreement while respecting differences. Barack Obama believes this, and his political vision seems to include an America where this sense of collective destiny is re-embraced.

I encouraged readers to explore Dreams from My Father because it presented the uncommon personal history of a potential presidential candidate. Today, I suggest reading The Audacity of Hope because of the philosophies and ideas outlined within. We may well be choosing from among a field of presidential candidates in 2008 that includes Barack Obama; this book provides an advance introduction to the man’s vision and values.

There are others out there with the knowledge and experience required to serve effectively as American presidents. Very few have the ability to inspire or the audacity to hope as Barack Obama does.

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