The Audacity of Hope

The year must have been 1998. I was sitting in front of the Television watching a film called 'Deep Impact', which was a mundane film where America once again saves the world - from a comet this time. But what caught my attention was that the role of the American president was played by Morgan Freeman - a black man. I started wondering whether such a thing could happen in real life. Can a black man in spite of his color and America's history become their president. Can Martin Luther King's dream of seeing the black man treated as an equal to the white man be realised?

Come January next year all the above questions will be laid to rest as Barrack Hussein Obama takes oath as the 44th and most importantly the first African-American president of the United states of America. The 'dream' that Martin Luther King Jr foresaw 40 years ago will strut onto the pristine premises of Capitol hall and take the solemn oath. It is a fantastic achievement and what amazes the world is the rapid pace at which Obama has captured the top job. Also amazing is the number of obstacles crossed by Obama in the process - a first time senator with limited foreign policy exposure , a black man at that, a man having a Muslim parentage at that. The obstacles were many but he conquered them all to become Mr. President.

Achievements of this magnitude are not to the sole credit of the individual. The society that creates the atmosphere that enables the achievement also deserves as much credit. As much as a charmer as Obama is he would not have succeeded in the past when America was neither ready nor aspired for a black president. This was a society which refused voting rights to the black man untill the 1960s and considered slavery legal almost a 100 years after its formation and even fought a civil war over it. The American society has changed furtively to embrace pluralism and diversity. The black man who was forever seen as a rogue , a labourer is being now seen as the person to lead the nation. The American society needs to be congratulated on the change. Obama's rise is as much an endorsement of the man as that of the progressive American society. This is not to take away anything from Obama who put in his all to win the presidency and truly deserved it.

The difference between Obama and the previous 'black' contenders for the job is very interesting and discerning. The other contenders were the rabble-rousers who always concentrated on the bad state of the blacks and how 'white' America oppressed them, they spoke with an almost rebellious mentality and thought of themselves as victims. Unlike them Obama dint see through this victim-tinted glass and instead spoke about the opportunities that were ahead of them. He spoke not only for a small clique of people but for the entire nation. He engendered a pan-american identity by raising national issues.

This has a lesson for India, especially for Indian politicians who claim to espouse the cause of the minorities and dalits. Similar to Obama they have to speak about the larger nation and national problems instead of harping about the state their communities. In this way they get a wider audience and increase their chances of attaining power which once attained can be used to uplift their people as well as the rest.

Obama, being a shrewd politician and also a man of letters intelligently, named his autobiography - The Audacity of Hope. It is a quite brilliant title as it managed to capture the essence of the man and attach with him the word 'Hope'. 'Hope' is a much needed commodity in today's America, struggling with an impeding economic recession, a losing war and a tarnished image abroad. Amidst the prevailing gloom someone holding aloft the torch of hope seemed attractive and hence Obama became the torchbearer of hope. It has also raised expectations about Obama and he will be having one of the toughest challenges of any American president in recent years. He is confronted with a problem whose magnitude can only be matched by that faced by Franklin Roosevelt who went on to face those problems boldly and become one of the best American president's ever.

The mark of a real leader they say is to leave a legacy which is in a better state than it was when he inherited it. As America and the world braces up for an Obama presidency, only time will tell what legacy he will leave behind and whether the world will be better or worse for it. Obama will do well to emulate Roosevelt and prove that hope indeed can be audacious.