inclusivity

INCLUSIVITY
Barack Obama has now been officially confirmed as the Democratic Party candidate for the election of President in the USA. What was witnessed over the past few days at the Democratic Convention was an affirmation of the need in the USA of a change. It is often that politicians refer to the need for change, but few have done it in the charismatic way that Barack Obama has done. His change is not a change for the sake of a change. It is a change in the way politics is meant to be.
Barack Obama’s acceptance speech this week was full of quotables, something we have got used to such is the quality and content! However, to my mind, what is highly praiseworthy is the one simple fact: Barack Obama intends to be a President for the people of the USA without any fear or favour. It seems fairly clear from his words where he wants to take the USA. It also seems fairly clear that he wants his Presidency to be an all-inclusive Presidency as witnessed by his initial statements whereby he honoured his beaten opponents.:Let me express my thanks to the historic slate of candidates who accompanied me on this journey, and especially the one who traveled the farthest, a champion for working Americans and an inspiration to my daughters and to yours, Hillary Rodham Clinton. In honouring the vanquished (metaphorically speaking of course) Barack Obama has shown he can be an agent for change in a positive fashion.
For me this was one of a number of highlights in Barack Obama’s speech. In his speech there is a clear indication that for him there is nothing wrong with idealism. Barack Obama here is not expressing a fervent wish verging on utopia but of a declared intention to try to be the best. To always strive to improve his country. Is this not commendable? He makes this clear when he indicates that his is a promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort. I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer, and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values And that's to be expected, because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare voters.
In this respect Barack Obama has distanced himself from the slangering way of doing politics. He intends to get by without the mud-slinging. However, he also takes this a step further by indicating that it is the opponents of change who use scaremongering tactics. This makes so much sense if interpreted the right way: needless and senseless criticism strengthens the target.
Finally, Barack Obama also makes it amply clear that change will always happen when the people want this to happen. Change happens because the American people demand it, because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time.
He refers to this as a new way of doing politics, a politics which is all inclusive. In this he hits the nail on its head. It is useless to think of politics as a means to an end for the sake of power. Nor can politics be seen as the strengthening of the few as opposed to the many. Politics in a democracy can have only one goal, that of becoming all inclusive. A political party must have as its primary objective to seek to represent each and every one. It may not be easy, and very often may lead to misunderstanding, but, as Barack Obama concluded: "And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back.".
I believe that the understated theme of Barack Obama’s speech is quite simply that it is madness to walk alone when there is so much strength in unity.