You are all probably aware that I have supported Obama's campaign this go-around. Initially, I wasn't picky about whether he or Hilary got into office, I just wanted to end the Republican era in the White House and for that reason did not vote in the Primaries. It was only after he won the Democratic ticket that I really began to perk up and listen to what he had to say and realize that I needed (and wanted) to read his books. But it wasn't until I wandered down to the cafeteria at work one evening to get eat some pasta and watch a snippet of the news with the bellmen and valet on their dinner break, that I heard something that has stayed with me.
Michelle Obama was speaking at the Democratic National Convention, describing how she first met Barack and what he was doing. And he was doing exactly what he is doing now: empowering people. He was, and is, an activist. Acting locally, thinking globally. As he said in his victory speech last night, this campaign and this victory isn't really about HIM, it's about US. He didn't choose Joe Biden to get votes so he could get in the White House; rather, he selected him as a running mate to complement his role as our president, so they could give the best leadership to us.
I looked up the definition of hope in the dictionary and it lists three words: believe, desire, and trust. It's a trinity where each part is equally as vital as the other and none can stand alone or the essence of the concept is weakened or compromised. You know what it makes me think of? Mind, heart, soul. It's brilliant, really, because there is truth in what he represents, and every person watching him and hearing him and feeling the impact of what he is doing, and asking us to do, every person resonates with this event because it is not just true, it is the truth of who we are individually and as the phenomenom of being human beings and sharing this planet with so many other people who are worlds away and yet frighteningly similar.
There is a subtle but profound difference between someone who is powerful and someone who empowers others. A powerful person holds, controls, posseses and often uses force. An empowering leader bestows or transfers that power. As a life-long activist, Obama understands that difference. He believes in us as much as, or maybe more than, we believe in him. And when he took the stage last night he graciously and rightfully handed that power right back to us.
Michelle Obama was speaking at the Democratic National Convention, describing how she first met Barack and what he was doing. And he was doing exactly what he is doing now: empowering people. He was, and is, an activist. Acting locally, thinking globally. As he said in his victory speech last night, this campaign and this victory isn't really about HIM, it's about US. He didn't choose Joe Biden to get votes so he could get in the White House; rather, he selected him as a running mate to complement his role as our president, so they could give the best leadership to us.
I looked up the definition of hope in the dictionary and it lists three words: believe, desire, and trust. It's a trinity where each part is equally as vital as the other and none can stand alone or the essence of the concept is weakened or compromised. You know what it makes me think of? Mind, heart, soul. It's brilliant, really, because there is truth in what he represents, and every person watching him and hearing him and feeling the impact of what he is doing, and asking us to do, every person resonates with this event because it is not just true, it is the truth of who we are individually and as the phenomenom of being human beings and sharing this planet with so many other people who are worlds away and yet frighteningly similar.
There is a subtle but profound difference between someone who is powerful and someone who empowers others. A powerful person holds, controls, posseses and often uses force. An empowering leader bestows or transfers that power. As a life-long activist, Obama understands that difference. He believes in us as much as, or maybe more than, we believe in him. And when he took the stage last night he graciously and rightfully handed that power right back to us.
"May the Power Be With You."
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