The Audacity of Believing In Change

Not ten weeks ago, we were witnesses to a speech that spoke deeply to us all. Part of that speech is well worth remembering right now:

We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.

We can do that.

But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.

That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, "Not this time."

Barack is right. It is time for change.

And change begins at home.

Of course, this isn't the first time we've heard a message like this from Barack. In his only major diary here to date, Barack wrote:

I firmly believe that whenever we exaggerate or demonize, or oversimplify or overstate our case, we lose.  Whenever we dumb down the political debate, we lose. A polarized electorate that is turned off of politics, and easily dismisses both parties because of the nasty, dishonest tone of the debate, works perfectly well for those who seek to chip away at the very idea of government because, in the end, a cynical electorate is a selfish electorate.

Obama didn't say "whenever we demonize Republicans." (And of course, he didn't say "whenever we demonize Hillary Clinton.") Obama said "whenever we demonize." There was no accidental omission in these words. We all know what he's saying, but many of us may not be ready to hear it: We will succeed if we unite. We can succeed only if we unite. But we unite by working to build a better future, not by tearing down our opponents. When we attack the enemy, we build enmity. If instead we work to build something new, something better, then our unity will grow; we will even be joined by some whom we now call enemies. Not all of them, to be sure, but some. And we will be stronger for it.

The human psyche holds many fears, but foremost among them is the fear of humiliation. The fear of humiliation is so strong that it can trump even the fear of death. When we are angered or injured, the need to attack in return is huge. But attacking is the easy way out; it accomplishes nothing and proves nothing. It takes only a child to raze a village, but it takes a village to raise one.

If your opponent's only strength is in physical force, or in provoking your own anger, then you disarm them when you refuse to counterattack. History records who won the battle of Birmingham, and it wasn't Bull Connor and his dogs.

We have been quick to attack hatred with hatred, and injury with hatred, and insult (real or imagined) with hatred. Lashing out in anger might give you a warm feeling for a moment or two, but then, so does peeing in your pants. Neither action is going to give you much of a positive outcome in the long run.

We may never be able to make hatred perish from the earth, or from our own selves. But we can begin to understand hatred for what it is: A force that divides, never unites; that destroys, never builds; that sows nothing but the seeds of its own perpetuation. We can do better than hate. We can learn better ways.

Let us forget about Hillary and Bill Clinton. They have no power to hurt us. Let us begin to show what we can do when we put our strength into building together. It will be harder work than tearing down the Clintons, but in the end it will be far more worthy of us and of our candidate. Let us be the change that we wish to see in the White House. We can do this.

Yes. We. Can.