Obama, Oh Boy!

This morning from my couch in Boston I'm one of millions of bloggers who are saying one thing or another about the phenomenon of the Senator from Illinois.

Why is there such passion around him? Is he merely an icon of possibility, a sketch of hope clothed in the diversity of his color and personal history? Or, does he represent something else, something like what an educated person ought to sound like, or what a person of courage ought to behave like? His unique detachment from the foray of the ugliest political rhetoric makes him a magnet of abuse from the status quo. In short, he's dangerous to power hungry interests and he surely knows this, although he may not be able to overcome the perception that he's too hopeful, too idealistic and too green to face the enemy (whoever that is, but it's guaranteed to be always out there).

What does he represent to me, a woman, liberal, Democrat, just a year older than Hillary? He's growing into the role he may be destined to assume right before our eyes. The NYT has an article on this today.

Obama's unfolding story and compelling appeal goes something like this: be true to yourself and there's a possibility there worth fighting for. Fight long, fight hard, but don't give up the essential you. Trust the best in others and leave the rest behind. And then let the will of God, manifesting through the will of people, decide that if it's your time, so be it. Take it on with pride and joy.

Loyalty: Priceless

I've been thinking about loyalty. It's not prized today in the workplace, and cynics will sneer at how marital loyalty, especially in the spirit of a Hillary Clinton, is for the weak or codependent. OK, so when is loyalty a worthy character quality? When is loyalty clearly a noteworthy characteristic to be cultivated, and especially at the expense of one's own precious ego? I believe it comes most alive in friendship. Loyalty among friends has no particular financial security (like a job), no long-term institutionalized protection (like marriage). Being loyal to a friend stands on its own as the price of developing character.

I see loyalty among my friends who never seem to forget me, even when geography and time zones separate us from easy relationship or casual connecting. They find a way to find me and keep in touch. They remember our last conversation, even if it was several years ago. They just pick up wherever we left off without rancor or blame when time has been a distancing factor. But that's the easier side of loyalty, even though it's hard enough in itself.

Another kind of loyalty may be uniquely feminine : the loyalty to take my side, if even just long enough to let me vent or express a perceived grievance against another. This doesn't mean turning a loyal friend into a YES (wo)man. It means that before offering a differing opinion, or before explaining how wrong I am, first make me right!

Loyalty demands a momentary sacrifice of ego . The rightness of anything can always be delivered in due time. First let me know it's safe for me to be my jerky self around you; then let me know softly what a jerk I am. That kind of loyalty is worth the price of friendship. That's one kind of loyalty that survives today.

Lessons from New Hampshire: Inevitability Loses

I was having a creepy feeling all day Monday and Tuesday last week when there was such a sudden and confident inevitability to Barack Obama overtaking Hillary Clinton and putting her out of the Democratic race. It seemed way too volatile to be true.

As an artist, a spiritualist and a lifelong terminal optimist, I have never been able to shake a propensity towards riding the wave of something changing for the better. But when the "upset" happened and Hillary beat Obama, it felt like an appropriate reality check. If I was thrilled that his Iowa win meant she was not inevitable, I also saw that her New Hampshire win meant he wasn't either.

What's wrong with inevitability? It has the sting of cynicism masquerading as reality. We do know that death and taxes are inevitable, but pretty much everything else is not. The New England Patriots are not inevitable to have a perfect season: anything could happen in a single football game. And anything can move voters in a variety of positions inside the voting booth. No Monday morning quarterbacking will ever figure out exactly what turned the pundits into embarrassed dimwits by Wednesday morning.

Inevitability takes us all off the hot seat of having to wrestle with decisions. If no one has anything locked up because of a high stakes "machine", all the better for democracy.

When we just don't know how the primaries will turn out, it means we have to turn out at the voting booth and choose, and if we're lucky, we'll have clear cut guidelines, and this year the Democrats probably can't lose. Obama has less baggage, but Hillary's has already been exposed. I think the battle against political cynicism has been won---inevitability loses. That's real democracy working.

Bring out the sun

It's January now for five days and it's a mixed sun and clouds day in the Northeast. Like so many New Englanders, I long for longer days and sunnier skies, but here we are. According to the Boston Globe weather site, we have only nine days of full sun in January, on average and almost four inches of rain. No wonder a few of us get cranky and take it out in road rage (Boston is in the top five cities for RR--Miami is first, then NYC, then Boston and then LA, and finally DC).

My dear friend SuEllen recommends full spectrum light bulbs and they do work better, but there's nothing like a walk in fresh air and sunshine to lift the spirit.

What's the spiritual equivalent of sunshine to lift the spirit? Simple meditation, for five minutes a day can't hurt. A calm inner life starting at the early part of the day is a good shield against the emotions that fighting cold and grey skies inspire. I frankly find meditation extremely hard, but I can do anything for five minutes a day. It's actually enough to set a calmer tone in motion.

So it's 4 PM on the first January Saturday in Boston and the cloud cover is in full resplendence. I like to write in this kind of weather. The grey area is where all things converge, where we can avoid extremes and find nuance. That's good for the soul, so with that I welcome one of the 22 days of clouds for a typical Boston January.

Iowa all the way

I don't generally write about politics, but today it's too compelling to avoid. Character, after all, is always some kind of underlying issue in political campaigns. Fortunately, the C word has not arisen in the Iowa caucuses. The evangelical vote and religion have insinuated themselves into the Republican side and I have to admit, as much as I eschew any kind of religious political agenda, I like Mike Huckabee. Full disclosure: I'm a lifelong Democrat.

Why is Huckabee so appealing, especially in Iowa?

1. He's quietly religious
2. He has an aura of tolerance, rather than righteousness.
3. He has a gentleness about him that looks like he might listen to others, even those who disagree with him.
4. He's the only Republican who was willing to criticize George Bush.

Would he make a good presidential candidate for the national election? Probably not: he's too green. For the Democrats he might be easy to beat. But John McCain could be hard to beat; and he today promised (suggested) he would only stay in office for one term, very appealing to Democrats, if not everybody.

This is fun, but unfortunately it is not a popularity contest, so Huckabee might be tonight's winner but a poor choice for President. The same is true for Obama. I'm glad I have another five weeks before we vote in Massachusetts.