Thursday, June 4, 2009
Obama in Cairo
In the past six months much of the greatest impact and best potential of having Barack Obama serve as President have been eclipsed by the US financial crisis and petty US politics. Those shadows ebbed on June 4, if not briefly, during his speech in Cairo to reinforce and reveal that we are in the midst of a great world citizen and statesman.
If you have not read and listened to this optimistic, aspirational speech, you owe it to yourself to take an hour and witness a moment instantly significant. He framed his remarks from an historical perspective stressing that Islamic world and the United States have a relationship that "includes centuries of coexistence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars."
The first major note or theme in his remarks came within his first three hundred words. "So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, those who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity." A short while later he states: "There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground. As the Holy Koran tells us, "Be conscious of God and speak always the truth." That is what I will try to do today -- to speak the truth as best I can, humbled by the task before us, and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart."
Good gracious. This is an American President, a world leader reaching out with hand and heart to the world at large. The lingering question is of course if the US and the world at large are ready for such a grand and elegant movement. If it is, Obama is certainly the one to make it. He cites his cultural and experiential credentials for this world view in the same way he made his case to become President or to be the point person to lead us out of economic woe. He carefully navigated the issues of trying to curb extremism in Afghanistan and Pakistan as well as Iraq ("a war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world.") He got down to business talking about Israel, Palestine, Iran, middle eastern women's rights and all of those who are extreme and drink the Haterade.
The Cairo speech is worth your attention unless you have allowed your mind to be branded by the likes of fundie church and become blinded by the nonsense of Fox News and alike. I suggest reading the transcript while it runs in a You Tube window. I found myself pausing over some of the best lines such as "Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail." I like my country more than I did seven months ago. Nowadays, it is kind of like having an herb-less Bob Marley in charge of things, especially on the deeper philosophical level.
Transcript of Obama's Cairo University Speech
posted by well-executed buffet at 9:46 PM
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