Audacity of Hope number four

Our officially new president is a strong leader with many priorities and aspirations.  He is also one of the most selfless people in terms of his way of thinking.  He is a man who's fighting for what America stands for- equality.  He writes in his auto-biography, "I am angry about policies that consistently favor the wealthy and powerful over average Americans, and insist that government has a important role in opening up opportunity to all. I believe in evolution, scientific inquiry, and global warming; I believe in free speech, whether politically correct or politically incorrect, and I am suspicious of using government to impose anybody's religious beliefs---including my own---on nonbelievers." (Page 10)  Barack considers the needs of others before himself, especially those with the most needs.  His goal is to change our society for the better; give everyone a fair chance at the American dream.  However, Obama is as realistic as he is idealistic.  He writes,"... another tradition to politics, a tradition that stretched from the days of the country's founding to the glory of the civil rights movement, a tradition based on the simple idea that we have a stake in one another, and that what binds us together is greater than what drives us apart, and that if enough people believe in the truth of that proposition and act on it, then we might not solve every problem, but we can get something meaningful done." (Page 2)  He believes that we can all help to make a difference in our country, even if it doesn't solve the entire problem it will still help to make our nation a greater place for everyone.

The entire country believes that Obama will make many amazing changes.  I know he will.  Not only does he have the support of every American, but also a great sense of determination.  He has everyone chanting "yes we can!"  It's the simplest, most optimistic motto a president has ever used and it does its job; motivates everyone to do the unthinkable.  I believe in Obama because his idealism is held in check with his awareness of reality, and that's as efficient is they get.  He's determined to change our country, and quite possibly, the world.

Audacity of Hope... 4?

As most americans know, Barack Obama is a moral, upstanding person with an unbreakable belief system.   Barack reaches out to everyone, keeping everyone's well-being in mind.  He's a man who does his best for others so they can become the best they can be.  He speaks about the economy and wealthy Americans who should consider others before themselves, "I admire many Americans of great wealth and don't begrudge their success in the least. I know that man if not most have earned it through hard work, building businesses and creating jobs and providing value to their customers."(193)  He understands that people have worked incredibly hard their whole lives to get where they are today and also that they have earned everything they have.  Barack worked hard his entire life; eventually getting him into the Illinois Senate, and later, President of the United States.   Barack, however, does feel that the wealthy citizens should give back to their community and help others in need.

After living in an impoverished neighborhood for a long period of time, Barack has a great amount of respect and care for people in poverty.  He wants the wealth to be spread around so everyone can enjoy life and success.  He wrote in his book, "I simply believe that those of us who have benefited most from this new economy can best afford to shoulder the obiligation of ensuring every American child has a chance for the same success."(194)  Obama believes that everyone deserves a chance to grow up with wealth and success.  He wants the wealthy people to give back to their country and help develop younger people with great potential.  I admire and respect Barack Obama more than any political figure I have ever learned about.  Of all of them, he is the only one with legitimate morals and motivation.

Audacity of Hope #3

In this chapter, it tells Obama's feelings on the US constitution.  Barack Obama knew the constitution well and believed there were only a few ways to interpret it.  He acquired this belief after his first couple of weeks in the Senate.  Because he was new, he was not familiar with many senators and soon became friends with the old-guard lawmakers.  After learning much from them about how the Senate worked around the Constitution, Barack came to the conclusion that, 
"What the framework of our Constitution can do is organize the way by which we argue about our future" (p 92).  Barack knew the constitution wasn't just a set of rules; it was created to be ever changing and to allow adaptation to modernization.  The old-guard were wise and had much respect for the constitution and the forefathers that created it, but the newer, inexperienced youth of the senate were quite different.

Barack was upset with the younger members of the Senate for disregarding the constitution and focusing on what they believed to be the solution to our nation's problems.  They always wanted action to be taken without thinking things through, but the experienced members knew better and shut them down.  Obama thought the Senate should fix the country's problems through healthy debate, not rash decisions.  In regards to the constitution, he believed, "The answer I settle on--which is by no means original to me--requires a shift in metaphors, one that see our democracy not as a house to be built, but as a conversation to be had" (p 92).  Barack tried all he could to learn from the older members, but he soon learned from experience.  He understood the frustration of the younger members for being restrained, but knew it was wiser to view all possible solutions.  Barack learned to be a very understanding person.

Obama's Ethics

Barack Obama is a man of great ethics.  He knows the difference between wrong and right and no matter the pressure, he always selects the good decision.  He was raised with strong, moral family values, which he applies to everyday life.  He also intends to apply them to the country as president.  If family members support each other, help each other, and are willing to do anything for one another, then his ethical beliefs are incredibly strong and good-natured.  Obama spent a long time in the rough city areas to help the impoverished, (202).  He believed that he had to help his "family" in the poor areas because, after all, they were his brothers and sisters, his sons and daughters.  Obama wouldn't do anything wrong to keep his family well though; he would do anything within reasonable measures to keep them safe and comfortable.  He is a man of strong morals.

On the Waterfront: Traitor or Crusader?

In the movie, On The Waterfront, the characters believed that by ratting out the mob on a crime they committed, you would be considered a "stool pigeon."  The mobsters believed that if you ratted them out, you were no good and they'd get rid of you.  They believed that rats had something to gain from tattling on them.  Terry believed that what he was doing was right; he knew that what the mob was doing was wrong and he wanted to stand up to them and help everyone out.  He thought he was a moral crusader, or a whistleblower, the mob thought he was a rat.

I think that if you rat someone out because you can gain something out of it for yourself, you're a tattle tale.  Selfish acts are for traitors.  If you stand up and point something out that someone's doing wrong because you know it will benefit society, then you are a moral crusader.  I think there should be more moral crusaders in the world.

All My Sons is pretty dramatic.

In the play All My Sons, Arthur Miller, the author, shows how a man places the needs of his family before those of society.  Joe Keller is the father of the Keller family, as well as the owner of a machine parts factory.  He sells broken machine parts to the military which end up taking the lives of twenty-one pilots.  After putting the blame on his partner, who goes to prison, his son finds out and he explains to him how he did what was best for his family.  Joe tells his son, "For you! The business was for you!"(70).  Joe's life's goal was to create something for his son, otherwise he felt like his life meant nothing.  He wanted to support his family and leave his son wealthy; he didn't care about leaving anything for others in society.  Joe was a family man, a man who'd do anything for his family.  So, he killed twenty-one pilots to keep his family off of the streets.

 I don't judge Joe on what he did.  I know that if I were in his shoes, I'd try to do what was best for my family too.  Except killing innocent pilots is crossing the line.  Joe should've made a better decision but given little time he did the best he could.  Anyone would put their family first.  Some would call that selfish but deep down they wouldn't give up their children.

Barack Obama's Virtues

Barack's virtues are based off of the opposite of what he saw in corrupt politicians.  He saw how the political system made it hard for the politicians to stay true to their virtues, even Democrats. In fact, the Democrats' recent loss in power made them more likely to fall into corruption and bribery, just to maintain electability. In his book he states,"I think Democrats are wrong to run away from a debate about values, as wrong as those conservatives who see values only as a wedge to pry loose working-class voters from the Democratic base." (52)  

Barack also claims that he learned most o his values from his mother, and that he takes these values and applies them in his decision making in office.  He wrote,
"Like most of my values, I learned about empathy from my mother. She disdained any kind of cruelty or thoughtlessness or abuse of power ....Whenever she saw even a hint of such behavior in me she would look me square in the eyes and ask, "How do you think that would make you feel?" ... I find myself returning again and again to my mother's simple principle -- "How would that make you feel?" -- as a guidepost for my politics."(79)  Barack uses the morals he grew up with and learned as a child and applies them to his adult life.  This works well because I believe that children are innocent, and adults are not. So by using what he learned as a child, he can help to 'purify' our nation with the innocence of children.  Barack is very interesting when he comes to politics; not every politician would turn to his childhood for guidance.