Imagine, if he wins the presidency we will have not one but three black women in the White House; one tall, two somewhat shorter; none of them carrying the washing in and out of the back door...so here we are. america at a crossroads. humanity at a crossroads. what path will we choose? further destruction, death and extinction...or something else?
We have come a long way, Sisters, and we are up to the challenges of our time. One of which is to build alliances based not on race, ethnicity, color, nationality, sexual preference or gender, but on Truth. Celebrate our journey. Enjoy the miracle we are witnessing. Do not stress over its outcome. Even if Obama becomes president, our country is in such ruin it may well be beyond his power to lead us toward rehabilitation. If he is elected however, we must, individually and collectively, as citizens of the planet, insist on helping him do the best job that can be done; more, we must insist that he demand this of us. It is a blessing that our mothers taught us not to fear hard work. Know, as the Hopi elders declare: The river has its destination. And remember, as poet June Jordan and Sweet Honey in the Rock never tired of telling us: We are the ones we have been waiting for.
another author/activist who i embraced during the 90s was starhawk. one of my favorite stories is her novel "the fifth sacred thing". in this near future world, the san francisco bay area has undergone an "uprising" and has broken free from a totalitarian united states. i haven't read the book in more than a decade, and i have no idea how i would perceive it today. but here is starhawk describing what they did about defense:
After the Uprising, the city recognized that it did not have the resources to both repair its infrastructure, develop the new systems of energy and food production it needed, and mount a standing army.when i read alice walker's essay today, i immediately imagined her being part president obama's administration, serving on the "defense council". in terms of defense of the united states, this is symbolic of course. but what a beautiful thought, to dream of a u.s. president's administration where the wisdom, courage, compassion and vision of someone like alice walker would even be valued. maybe, just maybe, in the "currents of probability" that are swirling all around us these days, the hope that alice walker would have a role to play is not such a far fetched dream.
“We chose food over weapons and so here we sit, lovely but as unarmed as the Venus de Milo.” p.3
They do, however, have a Defense Council, comprised of ‘nine old women who listen and dream.’ Older women were chosen because they were seen as least likely to be carried away by emotion or testosterone. They spend most of their time in deep meditation, watching the currents of probability and weaving a protective, energetic shield for the region.
to see alice walker speak about her support of obama, check out this video.
2 comments:
Barack Obama promised that his foreign policy would be a return to what he says was the realist approach practiced by George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan.
"My foreign policy is actually a return to the traditional realistic policy of George Bush's father, of John F. Kennedy, of in some ways Ronald Reagan," he said Friday.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/03/29/837657.aspx
Hey Michael,
Awesome! And cool blog by the way, reading what you're up to!
Have you read Toni Morrison's letter to Obama?
anne
Dear Senator Obama,
This letter represents a first for me--a public endorsement of a Presidential candidate. I feel driven to let you know why I am writing it. One reason is it may help gather other supporters; another is that this is one of those singular moments that nations ignore at their peril. I will not rehearse the multiple crises facing us, but of one thing I am certain: this opportunity for a national evolution (even revolution) will not come again soon, and I am convinced you are the person to capture it.
May I describe to you my thoughts?
I have admired Senator Clinton for years. Her knowledge always seemed to me exhaustive; her negotiation of politics expert. However I am more compelled by the quality of mind (as far as I can measure it) of a candidate. I cared little for her gender as a source of my admiration, and the little I did care was based on the fact that no liberal woman has ever ruled in America. Only conservative or "new-centrist" ones are allowed into that realm. Nor do I care very much for your race[s]. I would not support you if that was all you had to offer or because it might make me "proud."
In thinking carefully about the strengths of the candidates, I stunned myself when I came to the following conclusion: that in addition to keen intelligence, integrity and a rare authenticity, you exhibit something that has nothing to do with age, experience, race or gender and something I don't see in other candidates. That something is a creative imagination which coupled with brilliance equals wisdom. It is too bad if we associate it only with gray hair and old age. Or if we call searing vision naivete. Or if we believe cunning is insight. Or if we settle for finessing cures tailored for each ravaged tree in the forest while ignoring the poisonous landscape that feeds and surrounds it. Wisdom is a gift; you can't train for it, inherit it, learn it in a class, or earn it in the workplace--that access can foster the acquisition of knowledge, but not wisdom.
When, I wondered, was the last time this country was guided by such a leader? Someone whose moral center was un-embargoed? Someone with courage instead of mere ambition? Someone who truly thinks of his country's citizens as "we," not "they"? Someone who understands what it will take to help America realize the virtues it fancies about itself, what it desperately needs to become in the world?
Our future is ripe, outrageously rich in its possibilities. Yet unleashing the glory of that future will require a difficult labor, and some may be so frightened of its birth they will refuse to abandon their nostalgia for the womb.
There have been a few prescient leaders in our past, but you are the man for this time.
Good luck to you and to us.
Toni Morrison
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