Thank Goodness for Obama

"Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and to let him know that you trust him." ~ Booker T. Washington

This has been a seriously crazy Thanksgiving weekend; a fearsome reminder of the violent world we inhabit. My thoughts and prayers have been for those innocents in Mumbai. Barack Obama announces his foreign policy & national security team tomorrow; January 20 can't come soon enough!

Gratitude for Family & Contentment

Blessings for the Obama family on their final Thanksgiving weekend in Chicago before the White House and Washington, DC overwhelm, but hopefully do not overcome, the contentment they find together.

"There are nine requisites for contented living: health enough to make work a pleasure; wealth enough to support your needs; strength to battle with difficulties and overcome them; grace enough to confess your sins and forsake them; patience enough to toil until some good is accomplished; charity enough to see some good in your neighbor; love enough to move you to be useful and helpful to others; faith enough to make real the things of God; hope enough to remove all anxious fears concerning the future."

~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Thankful for a Bounty of Intelligence!

David Broder in the Washington Post on Thanksgiving Day, 2008:

Good Time for a Brainy President

". . . I am struck by how lucky this country is, at the moment, that the president-elect is a super-smart person like Barack Obama. With each passing day, it becomes more evident that even the smartest and most experienced managers of the American economy are struggling to understand -- and fix -- what has gone wrong in our markets. . .

I have talked to two people on the fringe of the transition team -- both members of Congress with major responsibilities in the economic area. Both have been asked for input by Obama, and both say that the quality of his questions -- and his follow-ups -- were a measure of the depth of his knowledge of the situation.

He has not been tested that rigorously in the news conferences he has held so far, but his ability to respond to the questions he has been asked, to make his points in a coherent, balanced way and to avoid any misstatement has certainly been a treat to watch.

The appointments he has made to his economic team have been impressive, and the response to them has been almost uniformly positive from Capitol Hill to Wall Street. But it is not just the incoming White House and Cabinet people who have been reassuring; it has been Obama himself.

As well as he handled himself during the long campaign, he has been equally sure-footed in the transition. And behind the smooth public performance is a mind that seems able to stretch to encompass even the most complex of policy choices.

I am sure that in coming weeks and months, there will be judgments that will jar this confidence and decisions that Obama himself may come to regret.

But for a nation in crisis, it is worth giving thanks for the performance the next president has turned in so far -- and for the mind that is working on the nation's behalf." read the whole thing here.

And Roger Cohen in the New York Times:

A Command of the Law

"It’s Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for many things right now, despite the stock market, and first among them is the fact that the next U.S. commander in chief is a constitutional law expert and former law professor.

Before I get to why, allow me to add two other reasons for thankfulness. The first is that Barack Obama is a man of sufficient self-confidence to entrust the critical job of secretary of state to his former rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton. She has the strength and focus to produce results.

The second is that he’s a man of sufficient good sense to retain the remarkable Robert Gates as defense secretary." read the whole thing here.

Giving Thanks for the Prospect of Peace

A Blessing for Peace

from the book, Benedictus

As the fever of day calms towards twilight

May all that is strained in us come to ease.

We pray for all who suffered violence today,

May an unexpected serenity surprise them.

For those who risk their lives each day for peace,

May their hearts glimpse providence at the heart of history.

That those who make riches from violence and war

Might hear in their dreams the cries of the lost.

That we might see throught the fear of each other

A new vision to heal our fatal attraction to aggression.

That those who enjoy the privilege of peace

Might not forget their tormented brothers and sisters.

That the wolf might lie down with the lamb,

That our swords be beaten into ploughshares

And no hurt or harm be done

Anywhere along the holy mountain.

~ John O'Donohue

Being Thankful for the Truth

My generation, the Baby Boomers, grew up with one version of Thanksgiving Truth: the Pilgrims joined with the Indians after a year of extreme hardship to share a meal in celebration of, and in gratitude for, their mutual survival. The Indians got religion; the Pilgrims got food. Good times!

Overlooked was the part that came next. Within 50 years, the Native American population of the Plymouth area was almost completely exterminated by war, sold into slavery, or driven from their land. So began the long, bloody, and sad history of America’s brutal dominance of those who came before us, a dominance justified with the words, Manifest Destiny. As a great-granddaughter of 19th century European pioneers to Colorado, my personal pride in a trail-breaking heritage mingles with great national shame. It’s a complex internal conflict not easily resolved.

Is there hope for more national healing and better understanding under an Obama Administration? There are some promising signs.

Obama’s October 24, 2008 statement on a Full Partnership with Indian Country:

"For 20 months now, I’ve traveled this country, often talking about how the needs of the American people are going unmet by Washington. And the truth is, few have been ignored by Washington for as long as American Indians. Too often, Washington pays lip service to working with tribes while taking a one-size-fits-all approach with tribal communities across the nation.

That will change if I am honored to serve as president of the United States.

My American Indian policy begins with creating a bond between an Obama administration and the tribal nations all across this country. We need more than just a government-to-government relationship; we need a nation-to-nation relationship, and I will make sure that tribal nations have a voice in the White House.

I’ll appoint an American Indian policy adviser to my senior White House staff to work with tribes, and host an annual summit at the White House with tribal leaders to come up with an agenda that works for tribal communities. That’s how we’ll make sure you have a seat at the table when important decisions are being made about your lives, about your nations and about your people. That’ll be a priority when I am president.

Here’s what else we’re going to do. We’re going to end nearly a century of mismanagement of the Indian trusts. We’re going to work together to settle unresolved cases, figure out how the trusts ought to operate and make sure that they’re being managed responsibly – today, tomorrow and always.

Now, I understand the tragic history between the United States and tribal nations. Our government hasn’t always been honest and truthful in our dealings. And we’ve got to acknowledge that if we’re going to move forward in a fair and honest way.

Indian nations have never asked much of the United States – only for what was promised by the treaty obligations made to their forebears. So let me be absolutely clear – I believe treaty commitments are paramount law, and I will fulfill those commitments as president of the United States. . .

. . . And so I want you to know that I will never forget you. The American Indians I have met across this country will be on my mind each day that I am in the White House. You deserve a president who is committed to being a full partner with you; to respecting you, honoring you and working with you every day. That is the commitment I will make to you as president of the United States.” Read the entire statement here.

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Another example of Obama's outreach to Native Americans was reported by The New York Times in May, 2008 in a story that tells of his adoption by the Crow Indian Tribe in Montana. Obama was given the name “One Who Helps People Throughout the Land.” Read the whole article by Jeff Zeleny here.

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The Thanksgiving holiday is linked to America’s history. But as a modern, secular, national festival, it also stands on its own as a day to simply be grateful for what is good in our lives, and should be celebrated guilt-free – including second or third helpings of everything! As a nation, we should look to the past without blinders, and move forward vigilantly seeking the truth.

“To state the facts frankly is not to despair for the future nor indict the past.” ~ John F Kennedy

Thanks be for Sweet Potato & Pumpkin Pie!

Remember near the end of the campaign when the news was filled one day with sound bites of Barack singing the praises of Sweet Potato Pie? I do, so this morning I searched for that bite, thinking it would be a great addition to today's Thanksgiving post on the pleasures of holiday pie.

My search turned up this incredible morsel, penned by Mark Danner for the New York Review of Books. I'm exerpting the sweet potato slice here, but read the whole pie for yourself - it is one of the best pieces of campaign reporting I have ever savored, starkly exposing and compassionately revealing the difference between Obama and McCain and their supporters. This excerpt is followed by a traditional American poem by John Greenleaf Whittier on that Thanksgiving favorite, pumpkin pie. Enjoy!

From "Obama & Sweet Potato Pie," (you must read the whole thing!) by Mark Danner:

(In front of a crowd of thousands in Germantown, Pennsylvania) ". . . Obama's riff on sweet potato pie. It came as he told a story about his campaigning "the other day in a little town in Ohio, with the governor there," about how he and the governor suddenly felt hungry and "decided we'd stop right there and get some pie." Now here began a little gem of a story, which had at its center the diner employees who wanted to take a picture with Obama, not least because, as they told him, their boss was a die-hard Republican and "they wanted to tweak him a little with that picture." All this was heading toward a carefully choreographed finale, where the owner appeared personally with the pie for candidate and governor and Obama looked at the pie and looked at the pie-carrying die-hard Republican owner and "then I said to him"—perfectly elongated pause—"How's business?"

This brought on great gales of laughter from the crowd. For the joke turned on a point already precisely made: How can even the most die-hard of die-hard Republicans, if he is thinking of his self-interest, how can he vote Republican this year? "If you beat your head against the wall," Obama demanded of that faraway Republican with his pie, to a blizzard of "oh yeahs!" and "you got that right!" from the crowd, "and it hurts and hurts, how can you keep doing it?" But it was those two words, "How's business?"—that casual greeting thrown at the Republican diner owner that showed that there simply could be no other choice this year—that showed the case proved, wrapped up, unassailable.

And yet what struck me in this little model of political art was a tiny riff the candidate effortlessly worked into it from his banter with the crowd. When Obama launched into his story with "Because I love pie," a woman out in that sea of cheering, laughing people shouted back, " I'll make you pie, baby!" and to the general hooting laughter the candidate returned, "Oh yeah, you gonna make me pie?" Then, after a beat, amid even more raucous laughter, and several other female voices shouting out invitations, "You gonna make me sweet potato pie? " More shouts and laughter. " All you gonna make me pie?"

"Well you know I love sweet potato pie. And I think what we're going to have to do here"—and the laughter and the shouting rose and as it did his voice rose above it—"what we're going to have to do here is have a sweet potato pie contest.... That's right. And in this contest, I'm gonna be the judge." The laughter rose and you could hear not only the women but the deep laughter of the men taking delight in the double entendre that was not only about the women and their laughing, teasing offers and about their pie that that lanky confident smiling young man knew how to eat and enjoy and judge, but even more now, amazingly, as people came one by one to recognize, about something else. To those people gathered in Vernon Park that bright sun-drenched morning, it was an even more titillating and more pleasurable double entendre, for it was most clearly about something they'd never had but hoped and dreamed of having and now had begun to believe they were within the shortest of short distances of finally tasting. "Because you all know," their candidate told them, "that I know sweet potato pie." read all here

From Sweet Potato Change We Can Believe in to Traditional Americana and John Greenleaf Whittier, our nation and people encompass vast spaces and ways of life and thinking. Our heritage and culture are diverse; we are all Americans.

The Pumpkin, by John Greenleaf Whittier

Oh, greenly and fair in the lands of the sun,
The vines of the gourd and the rich melon run,
And the rock and the tree and the cottage enfold,
With broad leaves all greenness and blossoms all gold,
Like that which o'er Nineveh's prophet once grew,
While he waited to know that his warning was true,
And longed for the storm-cloud, and listened in vain
For the rush of the whirlwind and red fire-rain.

On the banks of the Xenil the dark Spanish maiden
Comes up with the fruit of the tangled vine laden;
And the Creole of Cuba laughs out to behold
Through orange-leaves shining the broad spheres of gold;
Yet with dearer delight from his home in the North,
On the fields of his harvest the Yankee looks forth,
Where crook-necks are coiling and yellow fruit shines,
And the sun of September melts down on his vines.

Ah! on Thanksgiving day, when from East and from West,
From North and from South comes the pilgrim and guest;
When the gray-haired New Englander sees round his board
The old broken links of affection restored;
When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more,
And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before;
What moistens the lip and what brightens the eye,
What calls back the past, like the rich Pumpkin pie?

Oh, fruit loved of boyhood! the old days recalling,
When wood-grapes were purpling and brown nuts were falling!
When wild, ugly faces we carved in its skin,
Glaring out through the dark with a candle within!
When we laughed round the corn-heap, with hearts all in tune,
Our chair a broad pumpkin, - our lantern the moon,
Telling tales of the fairy who travelled like steam
In a pumpkin-shell coach, with two rats for her team!

Then thanks for thy present! none sweeter or better
E'er smoked from an oven or circled a platter!
Fairer hands never wrought at a pastry more fine,
Brighter eyes never watched o'er its baking, than thine!
And the prayer, which my mouth is too full to express,
Swells my heart that thy shadow may never be less,
That the days of thy lot may be lengthened below,
And the fame of thy worth like a pumpkin-vine grow,
And thy life be as sweet, and its last sunset sky
Golden-tinted and fair as thy own Pumpkin pie!

Thanksgiving and Bipartisanship

I love Thanksgiving; it's all about friends, family and food, pure and simple. So, I'll be giving thanks here all week.

Monday's thanksgiving is for bipartisanship. A couple of days ago I featured David Brooks, conservative columnist for the New York Times. Today, it's Bill Kristol, a REALLY conservative columnist for the New York Times (and editor of the Weekly Standard). While not exactly a rousing endorsement, his words are at least a cautiously hopeful, "I'm willing to give the guy a chance because even the Republicans haven't a clue about how to save the economy," reality check.

THANK YOU, Bill Kristol!

From his column in today's New York Times:

"But, basically, it seems to me, we’re all flying blind. The markets are spiraling down, and our leading experts don’t have much of a clue as to what to do.

Given that, one has to welcome the expected appointment to senior positions in the Obama administration of economists like Lawrence Summers, Timothy Geithner, Jason Furman, Peter Orszag, and Goolsbee himself. They’re sober and competent people who know we face a real crisis — and who, importantly, may be more willing than many of their colleagues to adjust their thinking early and often. . . .

So I hope the best and the brightest who will be joining the new president will at least entertain the possibility that a lot of what they think they know is wrong. . .

I’ve worked in government. It’s hard to do much thinking there at all, let alone thinking anew. But Obama and his team will have to think anew, and those on the outside who wish to help will have to think anew too, if we’re to have a chance of rising to this daunting occasion."

Read the whole thing here.

Here's more about bipartisanship in the news:

Initial Steps by Obama Suggest a Bipartisan Flair,

by Jeff Zeleny in the NY Times

Whither the Cabinet Republicans?,

by Jonathan Martin in Politico.com

Team of Rubins,

by Robert Kuttner in the Huffington Post

And one purely partisan because I am thankful for the end of the Bush Administration:

Why America Feels Like it's Been Ruled by a Foreign Occupier,

by John Hallmann in the Huffington Post

Another Anthem for America

"Lift Every Voice and Sing," aka, the Negro National Anthem, was written by James Weldon Johnson as a poem in 1900, and set to music by his brother, John Rosamond Johnson, in 1905.

Lift every voice and sing
Till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty;
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the listening skies,
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us,
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us,
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun
Let us march on till victory is won.

Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chastening rod,
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died;
Yet with a steady beat,
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears have been watered,
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
Till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who has brought us thus far on the way;
Thou who has by Thy might
Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, Our God, where we met Thee;
Lest, our hearts drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee;
Shadowed beneath Thy hand,
May we forever stand.
True to our GOD,
True to our native land

~ Johnson & Johnson

Remembering JFK

Today is the 45th anniversary of President John F Kennedy's death in Dallas. I was almost 6 years old, and remember the event, the images, the mood, the tremendous sadness well. I pray we as a nation never have to go through the same again.

As a tribute, I offer Robert Frost's poem, "The Gift Outright." Frost read this poem at JFK's inaugural in 1961 instead of the one he had written especially for the event, called "Dedication." From the JFK Library:

"Frost had planned to read a typed copy of the poem during President Kennedy’s Inauguration, but due to sun glare reflecting off the snow, he was unable to read his own draft. Instead, he recited The Gift Outright from memory. On the backside of the framed poem, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy wrote in pencil, “For Jack. First thing I had framed to be put in your office. First thing to be hung there.” "

The Gift Outright

The land was ours before we were the land's.

She was our land more than a hundred years

Before we were her people. She was ours

In Massachusetts, in Virginia,

But we were England's, still colonials,

Possessing what we still were unpossessed by,

Possessed by what we now no more possessed.

Something we were withholding made us weak

Until we found out that it was ourselves

We were withholding from our land of living,

And forthwith found salvation in surrender.

Such as we were we gave ourselves outright

(The deed of gift was many deeds of war)

To the land vaguely realizing westward,

But still unstoried, artless, unenhanced,

Such as she was, such as she would become.

~ Robert Frost, 1942

Rest in peace, JFK.

The Transition Continues

I like conservative columnist David Brooks' words about the transition in today's New York Times:

"Obama seems to have dispensed with the romantic and failed notion that you need inexperienced “fresh faces” to change things. After all, it was L.B.J. who passed the Civil Rights Act. Moreover, because he is so young, Obama is not bringing along an insular coterie of lifelong aides who depend upon him for their well-being.

As a result, the team he has announced so far is more impressive than any other in recent memory. One may not agree with them on everything or even most things, but a few things are indisputably true.

First, these are open-minded individuals who are persuadable by evidence. Orszag, who will probably be budget director, is trusted by Republicans and Democrats for his honest presentation of the facts.

Second, they are admired professionals. Conservative legal experts have a high regard for the probable attorney general, Eric Holder, despite the business over the Marc Rich pardon.

Third, they are not excessively partisan. Obama signaled that he means to live up to his postpartisan rhetoric by letting Joe Lieberman keep his committee chairmanship.

Fourth, they are not ideological. The economic advisers, Furman and Goolsbee, are moderate and thoughtful Democrats. Hillary Clinton at State is problematic, mostly because nobody has a role for her husband. But, as she has demonstrated in the Senate, her foreign-policy views are hardheaded and pragmatic. (It would be great to see her set of interests complemented by Samantha Power’s set of interests at the U.N.)

Finally, there are many people on this team with practical creativity. Any think tanker can come up with broad doctrines, but it is rare to find people who can give the president a list of concrete steps he can do day by day to advance American interests. Dennis Ross, who advised Obama during the campaign, is the best I’ve ever seen at this, but Rahm Emanuel also has this capacity, as does Craig and legislative liaison Phil Schiliro.

Believe me, I’m trying not to join in the vast, heaving O-phoria now sweeping the coastal haut-bourgeoisie. But the personnel decisions have been superb. The events of the past two weeks should be reassuring to anybody who feared that Obama would veer to the left or would suffer self-inflicted wounds because of his inexperience. He’s off to a start that nearly justifies the hype."

Read the whole thing here.

Late edition: Even "The Fix" in the Washington Post likes Brooks' article.

Happy Birthday Joe Biden!

"Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." ~ Mark Twain

The Vice President Elect is 66 years old today. Yesterday, Barack Obama surprised him with birthday cupcakes in their Chicago transition office.

Heartfelt wishes for good health, a clear mind, and a steady hand during the coming year!

More Praise & Hopeful Good Wishes

From author, educator and spiritual teacher David Spangler:

"Watching the election returns Tuesday night was like watching the moon landing forty years ago. Then, a man took a step onto a new world and all humanity took a step with him. Tuesday night, the voters of the United States of America took a step and because of that, a man took us all into a new world of possibility and hope. Watching President-Elect Barack Obama, I felt like I'd been waiting for this moment most of my life. As tears of joy and exclamations of wonder and delight burst forth from Americans of all color and race, I felt for this evening I was seeing the true America, the United States that can rise to be a planetary nation, a place of blessing for all peoples and all life. This was echoed in Senator McCain's gracious concession speech and in President Bush's marvelous and graceful statement of appreciation for the significance of Obama's victory at a news conference the next morning from the Rose Garden.

Obama decreed that no fireworks be set off as a victory celebration over Grant Park in Chicago because he felt it was inappropriate to the solemn tasks ahead of us and because this was not a triumph over an opponent but an opening to working together as a community to meet those tasks. But the fireworks were still there in our hearts and you could see the light of their explosions in the eyes of those who watched the returns and saw a black man—a family man, a loving man—step forth to take on the burden of our common future.

There is hard work and sacrifice ahead for all of us; the promise of the election will not be realized overnight, nor even, as the President-Elect said, in four years. The challenges ahead are immense. But for a shining moment the best in us rose to the surface and said to those challenges and to our future, "Yes, we can!" It was a truly spiritual moment, a moment transcending politics, a moment that all the world has joined with us in rejoicing. It was—and is—a moment of hope.

And now we all move forward, not into Utopia but into the bright freshness that each day always brings every day of our lives, vibrant with promise even when filled with challenge. The spirit within us is inexhaustible, and to it, each day is like the first day of creation. Possibilities abound, and love is but a choice away from being the radiant power of our lives. We forget this, and when we do, life can press down upon us and we feel shadowed. But then there are those moments, precious and empowering, when we remember. We remember who we are and what we can do and the promise of the light within us.

Tuesday night, when a black man of a minority population and of global ancestry was voted into the most powerful office in the world on a wave of transformation and hope, was one of those moments. Tuesday night, we all remembered."

David Spangler is founder of the Lorian Association.

An Open Letter from Alice Walker

Nov. 5, 2008

Letter from Alice Walker to Obama

Dear Brother Obama,

You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us. Us being the black people of the Southern United States. You think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the flame of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear. And yet, this observation is not intended to burden you, for you are of a different time, and, indeed, because of all the relay runners before you, North America is a different place. It is really only to say: Well done. We knew, through all the generations, that you were with us, in us, the best of the spirit of Africa and of the Americas. Knowing this, that you would actually appear, someday, was part of our strength. Seeing you take your rightful place, based solely on your wisdom, stamina and character, is a balm for the weary warriors of hope, previously only sung about.

I would advise you to remember that you did not create the disaster that the world is experiencing, and you alone are not responsible for bringing the world back to balance. A primary responsibility that you do have, however, is to cultivate happiness in your own life. To make a schedule that permits sufficient time of rest and play with your gorgeous wife and lovely daughters. And so on. One gathers that your family is large. We are used to seeing men in the White House soon become juiceless and as white-haired as the building; we notice their wives and children looking strained and stressed. They soon have smiles so lacking in joy that they remind us of scissors. This is no way to lead. Nor does your family deserve this fate. One way of thinking about all this is: It is so bad now that there is no excuse not to relax. From your happy, relaxed state, you can model real success, which is all that so many people in the world really want. They may buy endless cars and houses and furs and gobble up all the attention and space they can manage, or barely manage, but this is because it is not yet clear to them that success is truly an inside job. That it is within the reach of almost everyone.

I would further advise you not to take on other people's enemies. Most damage that others do to us is out of fear, humiliation and pain. Those feelings occur in all of us, not just in those of us who profess a certain religious or racial devotion. We must learn actually not to have enemies, but only confused adversaries who are ourselves in disguise. It is understood by all that you are commander in chief of the United States and are sworn to protect our beloved country; this we understand, completely. However, as my mother used to say, quoting a Bible with which I often fought, "hate the sin, but love the sinner." There must be no more crushing of whole communities, no more torture, no more dehumanizing as a means of ruling a people's spirit. This has already happened to people of color, poor people, women, children. We see where this leads, where it has led.

A good model of how to "work with the enemy" internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet. Because, finally, it is the soul that must be preserved, if one is to remain a credible leader. All else might be lost; but when the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to animals, to rivers, to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies. And your smile, with which we watch you do gracious battle with unjust characterizations, distortions and lies, is that expression of healthy self-worth, spirit and soul, that, kept happy and free and relaxed, can find an answering smile in all of us, lighting our way, and brightening the world.

We are the ones we have been waiting for.

In Peace and Joy,
Alice Walker

© 2008, Alice Walker

Alice Walker won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her book, The Color Purple

Another Monday Meeting

"Am I not destroying my enemies when I make them my friends?"
~ Abraham Lincoln

Joint statement issued by President Elect Obama and Senator McCain after their meeting in Chicago today:

"At this defining moment in history, we believe that Americans of all parties want and need their leaders to come together and change the bad habits of Washington so that we can solve the common and urgent challenges of our time. It is in this spirit that we had a productive conversation today about the need to launch a new era of reform where we take on government waste and bitter partisanship in Washington in order to restore trust in government, and bring back prosperity and opportunity for every hardworking American family. We hope to work together in the days and months ahead on critical challenges like solving our financial crisis, creating a new energy economy, and protecting our nation's security."

An Anthem for America

"America the Beautiful" was penned by Katharine Lee Bates, who was partially inspired by the view atop Pike's Peak (one of the "purple mountain majesties") just outside Colorado Springs, CO. Some think it should be our national anthem (me included!).

America the Beautiful

O beautiful, for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
Above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.

O beautiful, for pilgrim feet
Whose stern, impassioned stress
A thoroughfare for freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America! God mend thine ev'ry flaw;
Confirm thy soul in self control, thy liberty in law!

O beautiful, for heroes proved
In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life!
America! America! May God thy gold refine,
'Til all success be nobleness, and ev'ry gain divine!

O beautiful, for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years,
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea!

A Blessing for Equilibrium

Another beautiful blessing from John O'Donohue's book, "Benedictus," as President Elect Obama works in Chicago to assemble his administration.

A Blessing for Equilibrium

Like the joy of the sea coming home to shore,

May the relief of laughter rinse through your soul.

As the wind loves to call things to dance,

May your gravity be lightened by grace.

Like the dignity of moonlight restoring the earth,

May your thoughts recline with reverence and respect.

As water takes whatever shape it is in,

So free you may be about who you become.

As silence smiles on the other side of what's said,

May your sense of irony bring perspective.

As time remains free of all that it frames,

May your mind stay clear of all it names.

May your prayer of listening deepen enough

To hear in the depths the laughter of God.

("Benedictus" was published in the U.S. as "To Bless the Space Between Us")

Choosing a Cabinet

"Who is wise? He that learns from everyone."

~ Benjamin Franklin

Message from the Dalai Lama

Dharamshala: His Holiness the Dalai Lama on Wednesday (last week) sent a message to congratulate Senator Barack Obama for his historic win to the post of the President of the United States.

November 5, 2008

H. E. Barack Obama,

President-elect of the United States of America

Washington, DC

U.S.A.

Dear President-elect Obama,

Congratulations on your election as the President of the United States of America. I am encouraged that the American people have chosen a President who reflects America's diversity and her fundamental ideal that any person can rise up to the highest office in the land. This is a proud moment for America and one that will be celebrated by many peoples around the world.

The American Presidential elections are always a great source of encouragement to people throughout the world who believe in democracy, freedom and equality of opportunities.

May I also commend the determination and moral courage that you have demonstrated throughout the long campaign, as well as the kind heart and steady hand that you often showed when challenged. I recall our own telephone conversation this spring and these same essential qualities came through in your concern for the situation in Tibet.

As the President of the United States, you will certainly have great and difficult tasks before you, but also many opportunities to create change in the lives of those millions who continue to struggle for basic human needs. You must also remember and work for these people, wherever they may be.

With my prayers and good wishes,

Yours sincerely,

THE DALAI LAMA

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Many thanks to my good friend, Priya, for forwarding the above message for me to post!

The Reality of Hope

"Everything that is done in the world is done by hope."

~ Martin Luther

"Hope" is a squishy term for many. Not for me. This is my working definition of "hope", one that is grounded in reality, from Jerome Groopman's book, The Anatomy of Hope:

"Hope is one of our central emotions, but we are often at a loss when asked to define it. Many of us confuse hope with optimism, a prevailing attitude that 'things turn out for the best.' But hope differs from optimism. Hope does not arise from being told to 'think positively,' or from hearing an overly rosy forecast. Hope, unlike optimism, is rooted in unalloyed reality. Hope is the elevating feeling we experience when we see - in the mind's eye - a path to a better future. Hope acknowledges the significant obstacles and deep pitfalls along that path. True hope has no room for delusion. Clear-eyed, hope gives us the courage to confront our circumstances and the capacity to surmount them"

And "hope" is a very real force to be reckoned with for Barack Obama, from his book, The Audacity of Hope:

"The audacity of hope.

That was the best of the American spirit, I thought - having the audacity to believe despite all the evidence to the contrary that we could restore a sense of community to a nation torn by conflict; the gall to believe that despite personal setbacks, the loss of a job or an illness in the family or a childhood mired in poverty, we had some control - and therefore responsibility - over our own fate.

It was that audacity, I thought, that joined us as one people. It was that pervasive spirit of hope that tied my own family's story to the larger American story, and my own story to those of the voters I sought to represent."

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Late edition to this post:

Roger Cohen's hopeful column in the New York Times on November 10, "Emptying Pandora's Box," is worth a read:

"These are interesting times. Jobs are disappearing and General Motors is running out of cash. At the same time, America has assuaged some of its deepest wounds with the election of Barack Obama. We have less money in our pockets but more hope in our hearts.

Hope won’t feed an empty stomach. But it’s potent. In Greek myth, when Pandora opened her box, she let out all the evils except one: hope. The Greeks considered hope dangerous; its bedfellow can be delusion. Nietzsche later saw hope as the evil that prolongs human torment.

But in the end Pandora opened her box again and released hope because, without it, humanity was filled with despair."

continue reading here

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Hope has spread across America like wildfire; let's live up to the responsibility that goes with it.

Please End the War in Iraq & Bring Our Troops Home

"This world of ours...must avoid becoming a community of dreadful fear and hate, and be, instead, a proud confederation of mutual trust and respect." ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

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VETERANS DAY 2008 - A POEM

MOTHER AND SON - FROM ONE WAR TO THE NEXT

The stories told in staring eyes,

monotoned during daylight, and

screamed through haunted darkness,

bespoke unimaginable horror.

The anguish inflicted on my generation

warned of a military madness

that feeds upon the newborn.

I bore fear along with my child

Even as my womb cradled and nurtured,

I knew one day they would come.

Drawn by youth, thirsting fresh blood,

they'd come for you those Vampires of War.

Joyful colors clothed your childhood.

Your favorite: purple.

Never the small-sized uniforms that foreshadow dark future.

Cammies aren't meant for kids.

No guns for my son!

No onimous plastic noise makers

pressed to imitate authoritarian threat!

So you pretended sticks into rifles.

Mother songs lullabied hope and peace

while soldiers who'd put down their weapons

and the millions in our streets,

ended the Tonkin-induced war.

Vietnam swept G.I. Joe from toy store shelves.

But the dolly boy resurrected to

trickle down into little boy hands

via Reagan's pipe dream presidency.

You grew while I taught you to value humanity,

to share, to love, to respect.

I showed you how to step into other existences

yet they lurked. Vulture-like. Watching. Waiting,

Ready to stalk when restless and unsure,

You lost your way in school.

Adventure! Money! Manhood! A mere GED away.

You turned your head, and your life.

The truth, with which I'd armed you, once targeted,

was swiftly and effectively neutralized.

You swallowed their bait.

They set the hookand reeled your from my arms.

Fourteen years on, the PTSD hid behind your unfocused stare.

It was your guarded monotone I heard during the day.

And you who faced the dark demons brought by sleepless terror, Alone.

We could not protect you there.

Then you challenged the Vampires of War

by speaking truth to their prey

and turned numerous boys from a war-torn path

your brother among those who walked away.

And now, You've survived the battle within.

Victorious, you win it still every day,

giving each of us who love you

the freedom to finally say...

Welcome Home Son, Welcome Home.

KWW

November, 2008

I found the above poem linked in the comments of a blog on the Seattle Post Intelligencer today.

Monday Meeting

"Compassion and nonviolence help us to see the enemy's point of view, to hear his questions, to know his assessment of ourselves. For from his view we may indeed see the basic weaknesses of our own condition, and if we are mature, we may learn and grow and profit from the wisdom of the brothers who are called the opposition."

~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Barack and Michelle Obama meet George and Laura Bush in the White House today. The New York Times remarks on the potential "for a meeting that could be as awkward as it is historic. . . (given). . . the personal chemistry between two leaders whose worldviews are miles apart."

Let's hope for some brotherly love!

Sunday Morning Proverb

"Through wisdom a house is built and through understanding it is established."
~ Proverbs 24:3

More thoughts . . .

My good friend, TopCat in Seattle, reminds me that columnists and writers around the world are documenting this historic moment often from a highly personal point of view. I'll try to gather links to many of those articles on this blog; in the meantime, here are a couple of TC's favorites.

These lines were in Le Monde by Robert Solé, who has a daily humor column:

"Sorry. No column today. The keyboard is not responding. History is a page being turned. Three words on the screen: "Yes we can." While it is impossible to joke with genocide or disaster, it is equally impossible to joke with an event that makes you weep for joy. The first worldwide good news since the fall of the Berlin Wall in
1989 needs more than a pirouette or an amused wink. At this moment - but for how long ? - we can say with far more conviction than on 11 September 2001 : we are all Americans."

She also loves this last paragraph from Anna Quindlan in the current Newsweek:

"But I suspect that, like many others, I wept for myself, too, because I felt I was part of a country that was living its principles. Despite all our prejudices, seen and hidden, millions of citizens managed, in the words of Dr. King, to judge Barack Obama by the content of his character and not the color of his skin. There were many reasons to elect him president, but this was one collateral gift: to be able to watch America look an old evil in the eye and to say, no more. We must be better than that. We can be better than that. We are better than that."

Friends - send more! Thank you!

The First Barakah

A Blessing for One Who Holds Power

by John O'Donohue

May the gift of leadership awaken in you as a vocation,
Keep you mindful of the providence that calls you to serve.

As high over the mountains the eagle spreads its wings,
May your perspective be larger than the view from the foothills.

When the way is flat and dull in times of grey endurance,
May your imagination continue to evoke horizons.

When thirst burns in times of drought,
May you be blessed to find the wells.

May you have the wisdom to read time clearly
And know when the seed of change will flourish.

In your heart may there be a sanctuary
For the stillness where clarity is born.

May your work be infused with passion and creativity
And have the wisdom to balance compassion and challenge.

May your soul find the graciousness
To rise above the fester of small mediocrities.

May your power never become a shell
Wherein your heart would silently atrophy.

May you welcome your own vulnerability
As the ground where healing and truth join.

May integrity of soul be your first ideal
The source that will guide and bless your work.

~ John O'Donohue
Benedictus, A Book of Blessings
2007