Barack Obama

Barack Obama


From his tongue flowed speech sweeter than honey…Homer, The Iliad.

We all have watched and listened with rapt attention as the Senator from Illinois has stormed upon our collective consciousness with pitch-perfect delivery and Hollywood star-quality image. The political arena has not seen such an accomplished practitioner of the persuasion arts since the late JFK marshaled the finest writers, idea Meisters and image-makers to promote the astonishing notion of a modern day Camelot to cure all of our political and social ills. Even God appears to be a loyal Lieutenant of Senator Obama because how else could you explain his recent trip to Europe when in cloudy and dismal Germany, the clouds parted and the sun begin to shine brightly just as the would be President began to speak to the adoring multitudes. With the brilliant Sun bathing the splendid new-age Man, he seemingly without visible effort, passed out soaring oratory and idealistic manna to the spiritually hungry modern multitudes rather like the Man who preached love and passed out the loaves and fishes to feed the hungry multitudes so long ago. And I say, why not? Who among us is not hungry for a satisfying spiritual meal in this modern materialist world that grinds us down to our least idealist parts? We all want to believe and faith is the coin of the political realm and when you have faith, all things are possible because change has been promised and I have faith that change is going to do us good, right? However, there is something troubling and vaguely familiar about self-described neo-Horatio person. This splendid new-age man who would have us believe that the age of Aquarius is finally within our reach, if we only we have faith and believe, has conjured up an old memory and the memory is a troubling one. Why this man’s message is troubling and familiar is because I experienced a man just like this when I was a young boy. When I was at the impressionable age of around 10 years old, I would accompany my Grandfather, who I thought was the wisest man on earth, to a marvelous Black Church where my Grandfather and I were generally the only white faces in the congregation. I really don’t know why my Grandfather went to a Black Church but I loved it because of the singing, the music and the flamboyant hell-fire and brimstone preaching among other things. But the preaching was the best! Oh that preaching, it would always encourage participation by the congregation that responded with rousing Hallelujahs and head-shaking Amens from every seat and corner. Juicy sin and everyday human failings were the usual targets by the soaring Reverend as he carefully revved-up the assembled to a raucous climax that captured every soul within reach. The Reverend, whom I will call Reverend G, was the undisputed Maestro of the congregation and was much respected as a man of the cloth as well as a spiritual and moral leader. Then one Sunday we assembled in the church and to my surprise it was unusually subdued and solemn and I soon found out why. Reverend G was not there and standing in his place was an older gentleman that only got an occasional Amen from the elderly as he struggled with his sermon. When the service was finally over, I asked my Grandfather why Reverend G was not there. With a nervous and embarrassed look, my Grandfather finally relayed the news that the good Reverend G had absconded with the church treasury and took one of the female parishioners, who happened to be another man’s wife, with him and had departed to points unknown. I was devastated! This troubling memory that has been revived by Barack Obama is because both Reverend G and Barack have a common attribute and that is to use soaring rhetoric and carefully crafted generalities to inspire and motivate those eager for change and spiritual fulfillment. Of particular concern is the ease by which these orators can captivate our young with their idealistic posturing. Our young are still idealistic (thank goodness) and do not have the benefit of a lifetime of reality to help shape their opinions and judgments and so they are become easy prey to lofty generalities and become active supporters. The troubling part is that my experience to date suggests that those who have used these kinds of attributes have usually done so for reasons not always associated with altruistic endeavors. Now I’m not at all suggesting that if elected President, Barack Obama would abscond with the federal treasury and take off with Nancy Pelosi and if you thought I am saying that, you missed the point. The point being that the more one relies on lofty generalities and inspirational rhetoric, the more likely that the person is not what he appears to be and the more likely it is that it is the less inspiring common lust for power that is the hidden endeavor.