The Audacity of Hope!

The Audacity of Hope!

Yes We Can…these three words were rocking everywhere. Black. White. Young. Old. Men. Women. People as diverse as the country itself poured by the hundreds into Mississippi University for Women's Pohl/Stark Recreation Complex to hear Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speak at a town hall-style meeting Monday morning. By this evening he has completed the marathon win of primaries with one more landslide victory. If all predictions go well, USA could get its Crown Prince in Barack Obama, the first Black president.

History is a scapegoat of its numbness & silence against exploitation and racism; rather moments spent introspecting a nation’s history like USA’s, amazes me as it surpasses through one more movement called “The Audacity of Hope”. Yes. Who else other than me can feel it as I am witnessing a black man swiping the emotions of most powerful nation & its citizens? His power of speeches has not only brought land slide victories across primaries & caucuses, but it has united a country that is currently suffering by fear mongers, recession like situation with economy that is going weaker day by day! People of this country are most like us in India. They wear & tear, fry & cry for growing vegetable & gas prices. The so-called Indian bureaucracy & corruption exist in great degree in this country powerfully controlled by lobbyist, corporate houses & cow-boy leaders! With strong anti-in combat waves, American citizens were truly expecting a leader who could motivate them to dream again! When Dr. Martn Luther King’s “The Great American Dream” was about to hide in darkness of history, here is a man who has nearly renamed Dr. King’s version with “The Audacity of Hope”.

He speaks about how a country can prosper by changing its outlook. “Change happens from the bottom up,” “It happens when ordinary people get involved.” “Hope is not blind optimism. Hope is not ignorance of the difficulties of the task ahead or the hurdles that stand in your way… It’s just the opposite. We all know how hard it’s going to be to pass healthcare reform; how difficult it will be to ween ourselves off our dependency on foreign oil. It’s understandable that reducing poverty or improving our schools don’t lend themselves to easy repair. I know because I’ve fought for these things on the streets. I fought in the courts. I’ve watched good legislation die because good intentions were not enough. And we didn’t have the political will or strategy or numbers to beat the powerful who held sway. I’ve seen this country get led into war because of fear and falsehood, and because nobody had the judgment or courage to stand up and ask the tough questions before troops were sent in to fight. I know these things. But what I also know is this… There is nothing this country has ever achieved where somebody somewhere didn’t have some hope.”

When Barack Obama stepped up to the podium at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, few outside of Illinois knew anything about him. That soon changed. Following his enormously well-received keynote address, his name began to take on almost messianic connotations. Democrats nationwide heralded Obama as the man who could best revitalize the party and reflect its ideals, while pundits of all stripes began to speculate that the White House may lie in his future. Increasingly aware of his growing celebrity, and also of the nearly-impossible expectations set out for him, Obama coasted to an easy election victory in November. The hard part lay ahead.

The day before he was sworn in, Obama was asked during a makeshift press conference, “What is your place in history?” Laughing, he reminded the reporter that he hadn’t yet cast a single vote. That question, however, encapsulates the conundrum that the junior senator from Illinois still faces today. Obama must strike a balance between maintaining his place in the national consciousness and projecting the image of a humble, diligent senator. The extent to which he has achieved that balance over the last year demonstrates the true depth of Obama’s political acumen.

The President of United States of America is widely regarded as the Leader of the world; since last two decades, the entire world has been missing its leader! This time around, the wave of change is in full swing. This time around we are watching Future fighting against Past. In this context, Sen. Obama’s presidential nomination win would create one more history singing the lines of change and reassuring a mass that Yes We Can bring Change!