Four More Years!
I
want to start out by saying that what I’m about to write, I write as a citizen
of the United States, not as a pastor. I
don’t claim to represent my congregation or my denomination with these words –
though I think I can speak for my immediate family.
Last
night President Barack Obama closed out the 2012 Democratic National Convention
with his Acceptance Speech. Some critics
said it didn’t soar, but that it was workmanlike. Well, you’ll have to be the judge of
that. What I heard was a powerful
statement for staying the course with him at the helm. What I heard was a man who admits to
mistakes, who accepts that things haven’t gone as smoothly as he and the nation
might have hoped, but we’re moving forward, and that we can move forward with
hope that America will fulfill its potential. He reminded us that since he last spoke to
the convention, he’s not just a candidate; he’s the President. He reminded us that the journey forward isn’t
yet complete. There is much to do going
forward. Indeed, today’s job’s reports,
which were below expected levels, along with a stubbornly high unemployment
rate remind us of this reality. But, the
movement, though slow and uneven, is still forward moving.
As
I think back to last night, I think one of the most powerful lines of the
speech was this:
But we also believe in something called citizenship. Citizenship, a word at the very heart of our founding, a word at the very essence of our democracy, the idea that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations.
He defined citizenship
in terms of mutual obligation, not self-serving individualism. He hailed individual initiative, and affirmed
the premise that outcomes can’t be guaranteed, but we the people can work
together to invest in education and research, providing a foundation for
success. We can provide a safety net for
those who falter, often due to no fault of their own. It is a reminder that “we the people” is a
community of persons.
And as Elizabeth Warren
eloquently put it on Wednesday evening corporations aren’t people, contrary to
what the Supreme Court and Mitt Romney believe.
“People have hearts, they have kids, they get jobs, they get sick, they cry, they dance. They live, they love, and they die. And that matters. That matters because we don’t run this country for corporations, we run it for people. And that’s why we need Barack Obama.”
The economy is an
important issue, perhaps the most important issue of the election cycle, but
the President’s first order of business, the job with which he has been
entrusted most fully is that of “Commander-in-Chief.” The President is charged with our foreign
policy. The President needs to have a
broad vision and an awareness of what is going in the world. In a global age, when the world is getting “smaller,”
we need a President who understands these realities and is able to be present
on the world stage. Although there was
perhaps more bellicosity in the speeches than I’d like, and the embrace of the
idea that “Osama bin Laden” is dead – as a sign of national healing – seemed to
go beyond what I’m comfortable with (and my more pacifist friends likely were
even more uncomfortable with it), but he did project an understanding of the
realities we face in the world. Mitt
Romney hasn’t shown that understanding.
He still talks as if this is the 1980s and the Soviet Union still
exists. The very fact that he could
accept the nomination and not say anything about Afghanistan was telling – and opened
up an opportunity for the President and the Democratic Party to honor soldiers
and veterans.
Yes, there is much more
to do, but do we want to throw out the coach right now, and hire back someone
recycling old ideas that got us into trouble in the first place?
Now, I’ve been a Barack
Obama supporter from day one and I’ve never wavered. And, by day one, I mean the day that he
announced in 2007. I knew that he was
young and relatively inexperienced, but I sensed something special in him. I didn’t see him as a messiah, and I didn’t
expect that he would turn things around over night, but I thought and still
believe that he offers a vision for the nation that can take us forward into
the future. He represents a new
generation. He’s a couple of years
younger than me but older than my brother, so he grew up in the some cultural
context as I did. Of course, his context
of Hawaii was different from mine in Klamath Falls, Oregon. He’s black and I’m
white. Still, I think I understand where
he’s coming from.
With
this said, it should come as no surprise that I remain a strong supporter now
and into the future. Like Bill Clinton
said Wednesday evening, the Republicans left Obama with a big mess in 2008 and
expect him to have cleaned up with great dispatch, and since he didn’t work
miracles, they want to have the reins back. As Clinton so expertly laid out -- the hole was so deep that it's going to take a lot longer than we might like to get out of it. But he also noted that neither he nor any of his predecessors could get this all done in four years. So, I think that this was effectively answered. The road forward is a long one, but if we
keep a steady hand we will achieve lasting success. One thing I learned about Obama early on is
that he plays the long game, not the short one.
We’ve been marching slowly forward over these past two years, and as for
me I’d like to continue this forward march, with Barack Obama at the helm.
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