This is old news by now, but I was out of town for a funeral and was unable to post. However, I don't want to miss out on marking the occasion in this blog, and so here it is, better late than never, I say.
I had returned to the hotel room late afternoon after what felt like a full day of kneeling at the funeral parlor and watching others prostrate. I was bone-weary and my knees were bruised. The U.S. election had been on my mind the entire time, so I ignored the welcoming bed and switched the TV on instead. Upon seeing the word President-Elect under Barack Obama's image, euphoria took over and my mind commandeered the body to release its last dosage of adrenaline and I ended up bouncing on the bed, full of enthusiasm.
What is it about the man that manages to capture the minds and hearts of folks even 9000 miles away? That he is able to embody a sense of hope and to inspire lesser people like me to want to continue the fight to give voice to the seemingly small and insignificant issues on a daily basis in our everyday lives? Surely it can't all just boil down to a campaign well ran, or a team well assembled?
Personally, what impresses me when watching him speak and address the public is the integrity that he projects. Also, to me, his eloquence, like Hillary Clinton's, is the kind of stuff that legends are made of. However, unlike Hillary Clinton, who never failed to project the image of the consummate politician, Barack Obama somehow reminds me of a man, just a man, but a thinking man who is going to do his best and his most, and always for the better good, and that in turn, inspires me to be a better person.
I had returned to the hotel room late afternoon after what felt like a full day of kneeling at the funeral parlor and watching others prostrate. I was bone-weary and my knees were bruised. The U.S. election had been on my mind the entire time, so I ignored the welcoming bed and switched the TV on instead. Upon seeing the word President-Elect under Barack Obama's image, euphoria took over and my mind commandeered the body to release its last dosage of adrenaline and I ended up bouncing on the bed, full of enthusiasm.
What is it about the man that manages to capture the minds and hearts of folks even 9000 miles away? That he is able to embody a sense of hope and to inspire lesser people like me to want to continue the fight to give voice to the seemingly small and insignificant issues on a daily basis in our everyday lives? Surely it can't all just boil down to a campaign well ran, or a team well assembled?
Personally, what impresses me when watching him speak and address the public is the integrity that he projects. Also, to me, his eloquence, like Hillary Clinton's, is the kind of stuff that legends are made of. However, unlike Hillary Clinton, who never failed to project the image of the consummate politician, Barack Obama somehow reminds me of a man, just a man, but a thinking man who is going to do his best and his most, and always for the better good, and that in turn, inspires me to be a better person.
Thank you, and Godspeed, Mr. Obama.
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