Why I Can’t Stop Smiling

Lately, I keep catching myself smiling so big; sometimes tears leak out. For the past eleven days. I just can’t stop. It hasn’t gotten old. Not for one moment. And maybe it never will. Every time it’s mentioned on the radio, Internet, television, “President-Elect Barack Obama…” I catch myself breathing a deep sigh of long awaited excitement and thanksgiving.

I’ve known since it happened that I needed to write something here. If you’ve read my blog over the past two years, you know I’ve been enthusiastic about Obama for a long time. But now that this is official, it is difficult to know just what to say.

I think part of the struggle for me is my awareness of the sharp divides each political season can create between friends and loved ones, let alone strangers. I know many people who are beyond delighted about Obama’s nomination. And I know many who are not. There are such different opinions when it comes to politics, and many are sharply contrasting. Here is where I would invite you, no matter which way you find the winds of your enthusiasm blowing, to consider one of the reasons why I can’t stop smiling.

Obama’s worldview is wired for complexity. If you look at his family, you will find members spread out over three continents, each with vastly different viewpoints on how the world works. If you examine his life experience, you will find significant years lived in numerous dissimilar portions of this global community, all impacting who and what he considers as he makes decisions, speaks, and acts. And while the multiplicity of influences themselves have been profoundly important in shaping who he is today, it is the deep and honorable personal work he has done to integrate these differences within himself that brings me a sense of hopeful confidence that he can legitimately offer his value for respecting difference to the rest of us in a time when coming together to do good work is so needed and so badly required.

Obama’s ability to hold together vast differences, to stay present in the tension of conflicts and diversity of thought, to build bridges between others who see and understand things in remarkably divergent ways makes him just the kind of leader we need right now. For if we take him up on his commitments to lead us in this way, there is potential that he can be a remarkable leader for all, even and especially when we find ourselves with strikingly different viewpoints. Obama said something like this himself in his speech on November 4th, and he’s been laying groundwork for it in other quieter ways too. I believe our voices matter to him because he knows that our voices matter to one another. Soon, we may actually be lead by an administration that takes the transparency of government and the democratic process to levels never before considered, and I am very curious about all that lies ahead.

But for now, I will continue to savor this chronic smile. It has certainly been a long time coming.

Comments

[Josh Sandoz]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-11-26/obamas-third-culture-team/