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Obama's Race Talk

By John Taylor; 2008 Apr 04, 15 Baha, 165 BE

Presidential candidate Barack Obama gave a speech about race recently that impressed many, or at least the commentators that I read. Although I studiously ignore ephemeral news items carried in the media, I had to sit up and take notice. It is hard to ignore politics and the American presidential race, what with the questions the kids are firing at me at random times. Evidently their teachers are of the opinion that this election affects the whole world, not just the tiny proportion with a say in its outcome. That may be so, but to me the question is, if it is a world election, why do I not have a vote? Anything else is a waste of my time. As an example of the questions, Silvie, who is in Grade Eight, asked who McCain, Hillary and Obama are (I barely know myself) and Thomas asked why George W. Bush is so evil (a loaded question, unanswerable by a Baha'i).

I ask you, what are you supposed to say to questions like that?

I really do not want to know the answer to these questions. For one thing, I cannot stand to look at any American president, never have. I cannot listen to a political speech for more than a minute or two. It does not matter who it is, left or right, I have a visceral aversion to leaders, and especially to the Presidents. I suppose in a past age a Gaul or Goth might have had this aversion to an image of the Roman Emperor. It took a transcendently detached Mind to hold up a coin and declare: render unto him what is his and unto God what is God's.

Actually I just thought of an exception to my revulsion rule. I confess that from time to time I wait until nobody is home, lock the door and shut the curtains tight, and then listen over and over to a recording on our ipod of FDR's "we have nothing to fear but fear itself" speech. Chills run up and down my spine as I hear an American president actually berate the wealthy and browbeat the privileged. Such talk has not been heard in Washington, well, in my lifetime anyway. I thrill to imagine hearing this from a modern leader of any stripe. What FDR says, especially in the latter half of this wonderful oration, is truly for the ages. He does not let the truth slip out indirectly or diffidently, he positively lambastes the elites.

"... the rulers of the exchange of mankind's goods have failed, through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and have abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men... Yes, the money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of that restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit."

Note the Biblical reference -- this is no pious invocation designed to garner favor, it is a bold application of what Christ taught at His most angry and revolutionary moment. FDR goes on, expressing the mirror opposite of the Friedman fundamentalism that infects the brain of the present president,

"Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy, the moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days, my friends, will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves, to our fellow men." <http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/fdrfirstinaugural.html>

Contrast this iron integrity in the face of the powers that be (now known as handlers) with the complacent, hyper-casual speech recently given by the man in the same office to nervous Wall Street investors threatened by a market China syndrome. Oh well, at least he persuaded them that he would be a great guy to invite to an informal barbecue or cookout.

In spite of my inability to listen to an Oval Office dweller directly, I did catch a very popular Youtube extract showing GW Bush throwing a pitch at a baseball game. He did not say a word, but gave the throw while being roundly booed. I cannot express how I felt to hear that angry crowd roar. When Caligula gets in bed with his horse, even Romans cannot fail to see what he has become. According to a comment from a person in the audience, nine out of ten were booing. I was so impressed that, in belated answer to Thomas's question as to why he is so evil, I told them about this little video clip. I was surprised at how strongly both kids reacted. They were incredulous at first, then immensely gratified, dancing around in joy. Either my indignation is rubbing off or there is a lot more political discussion in school than in my day.

Oh yes, I wanted to talk about Barack Obama.

It seems that Obama's pastor made some inflammatory comments. The budding leader had damage control to do. According to one editorializer, Obama gave a "pitch perfect" response. He did not shirk or minimize the divisive issue of racism. You can read the full text of his address at:

<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/03/18/obama-race-speech-read-t_n_92077.html>

I will only touch upon the opening words of Obama's talk. He starts by pointing out that the American experience is not perfect, never was, never will be,

Obama: "`We the people, in order to form a more perfect union.' Two hundred and twenty one years ago, in a hall that still stands across the street, a group of men gathered and, with these simple words, launched America's improbable experiment in democracy."

Government indeed is a controlled scientific experiment, incomplete and ever-improving.

Obama: "The document they produced was eventually signed but ultimately unfinished. It was stained by this nation's original sin of slavery, a question that divided the colonies and brought the convention to a stalemate until the founders chose to allow the slave trade to continue for at least twenty more years, and to leave any final resolution to future generations."

Slavery, tyranny and exploitation are indeed the original sin, not only in the U.S. but the entire history of humanity. That is why the success or failure of the American experiment in democracy is at the heart of every world citizen's concern. Racism corrodes hearts and minds, but mostly it undermines the confidence and belief that keep us alive and striving from moment to moment. The Guardian wrote,

"To the faithful followers of Baha'u'llah who fully grasp the essential implications of the principle of the oneness of mankind so much emphasized in His teachings, racial prejudice, in all its forms, is simply a negation of faith, a repudiation of the belief in the brotherhood of man which is beyond doubt the cornerstone of the Religion of God. Loyalty to this basic principle should, therefore, be whole-hearted and unqualified." (Shoghi Effendi, quoted in, Lights of Guidance, 531)

If prejudice negates faith, this explains why polarization threatens American unity. We need iron resolve at a juncture of history when it is clear to the most pigheaded denier: our very survival as a species depends upon whether we act decisively, or continue to dawdle.

Obama: "Of course, the answer to the slavery question was already embedded within our Constitution - a Constitution that had at is very core the ideal of equal citizenship under the law; a Constitution that promised its people liberty, and justice, and a union that could be and should be perfected over time."

Maybe the problem in America is that this ideal was just that, an ideal. Maybe equality requires a total shift in vision, in how we look at one another. That, the Master taught.

"Intense is the hatred, in America, between black and white, but my hope is that the power of the Kingdom will bind these two in friendship, and serve them as a healing balm. Let them look not upon a man's colour but upon his heart. If the heart be filled with light, that man is nigh unto the threshold of his Lord; but if not, that man is careless of his Lord, be he white or be he black." (Abdu'l-Baha, Selections, 113)

This different way of looking at one another cannot stay and ideal. It must be taught in school from the earliest age. It has to diffuse into our art, movies, book, and work into every cultural endeavor. Between individuals and groups we must reconcile, love, build friendship and let harmony take the place of the present ill-concealed hatred and resentment. The Master recognized that this takes tremendous determination on our part:

"Such an attainment is not possible without will and effort on the part of each; from one, expressions of gratitude and appreciation; from the other, kindliness and recognition of equality. Each one should endeavor to develop and assist the other toward mutual advancement.... Love and unity will be fostered between you, thereby bringing about the oneness of mankind. For the accomplishment of unity between the colored and white will be an assurance of the world's peace." (Shoghi Effendi, The Advent of Divine Justice, 38)

Later on in his speech, Obama says something that I sincerely hope is true,

Obama: Throughout the first year of this campaign, against all predictions to the contrary, we saw how hungry the American people were for this message of unity...

May God confirm those who hold to hope, who believe in our ability to make a turnaround that Abdu'l-Baha held sacred too,

"Inasmuch as this century is a century of light, capacity for action is assured to mankind. Necessarily the divine principles will be spread among men until the time of action arrives. Surely this has been so, and truly the time and conditions are ripe for action now." (Abdu'l-Baha, Promulgation, 121)