A GREAT ELECTION -- HELP US INSPIRE --AN EXCHANGE

A GREAT ELECTION – HELP US INSPIRE – AN EXCHANGE

James R. Fisher, Jr., Ph.D.
© November 7, 2008

“There is a deity within us who breathes that divine fire by which we are animated.”

Ovid (43 BCE – 18 CE)

A WRITER WRITES:

Jim,

This was a good read for me. I am sad about your Chicago friend but I’m not quite sure why. I conclude that he is out of work in his field and looking. He has experienced nastiness in his city that we abhor (I love to be in Chicago, especially the Loop; I know what you mean by feeling alive there.)
He could be black or maybe not, but he does seem to know that Obama has to be the kind of President that we must have.

I have to admit I would like revenge for all the nastiness in the campaign that was unfairly directed at him. But that would not help us. I would like to tell Joe Lieberman to get lost! But that would not help us. Is that what your friend is saying? If so, I agree with him and I believe Obama can conduct the business of our country without that kind of bias. That’s why I voted for him.

Yes, to save us! Save us from all that he can save us from! Inspire us, too. I really think he is going to call on all of us in America to take a part in the recovery of our country! How? I don’t know but he will call on us to help! (I caucused for Joe Biden in the primary and when he wasn’t viable, we had to choose another candidate then and Gene and I went to Obama rather than Hillary or Richardson or Edwards as some of our Biden people did).

C

DR. FISHER RESPONDS:

Thank you C for your note,

First of all, my Chicago friend is as white as I or you are, but that is not even relevant. He is a passionate man who has paid his dues, and for no apparent reason has been made redundant and now has to pick up the pieces and go forward.

Proof of his character and, yes, viability is that he didn’t get depressed, didn’t retreat into himself, but wore out shoe leather calling on neighbors and other Chicagoans to bring out the vote. Moreover, he is focused and involved “in getting his grandkids” off to school.

I shared his situation with my readers because it is easy to be involved when everything is going swimmingly fine for us, but a true test of character and will is when things are not. I admire him, respect him, and applaud him for being the person that he is.

With regard to president-elect Barak Obama, now comes the hard part. He has made many promises to Main Street, but he cannot deliver even a fraction of them unless he gets Wall Street on board, and confident that he is its president, too. That is the challenge.

Currently, Wall Street has the jitters as a drop of 1,000 points in the DOW Jones Industrials since the election indicates.

Ultimately, a president has to move to the center, which means several difficult decisions concerning the Left, while appearing to give into the Right, which are unlikely to satisfy (totally) either constituency.

And he doesn’t have much time. In a short two-years, mid-term elections will reflect how effectively he has bridged this divide. That will be when he receives a major report card measuring his efficacy.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright gives president-elect good advice in a column in The Tampa Tribune today (November 7, 2008):

"To justify our confidence in you, you must show confidence in us. End the politics of fear. Treat us like adults. Help us to understand people from distant lands and cultures. Challenge us to work together. Remind us that America's finest hours have come not from dominating others but from inspiring people everywhere to see the best in themselves."

It is wonderful counsel from a sage woman. I hope our new president heeds it. I think he will,

Be always well,

Jim