Democracy's Bosom

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Who would ever have thought it? But then, this is an ever-evolving world. And in some portions of that world progress is evolving at an accelerated rate; social progress, that is. And here's one fragile imponderable: how might it conceivably arise that a white-majority, rigidly conservative state like Iowa would select one such as Barak Obama to represent the presidential hope of the party over other candidates?

A hopeful indication that the dark shadow of feudal accounting, that tribal allegiances counter and deflate the aspirations of social democracy. The melting pot that is the most powerful nation in the world has melded and dampened illogic and preservation-instinctuality to produce an enlightened counterweight, to valuate select qualities with the promise of leading the country in a fair and just direction.

That this is an energetic, charismatic, extremely presentable, likeable and intelligent man is undeniable. Baggage? everyone has it. His is that of mixed parentage, a Muslim un-American father; and he is black, while not Black. But he is American, undeniably; engaging and patriotic, and ridden with ambition, driven to become the political leader among leaders. He espouses a platform that has caught the young in its promise for tomorrow.

He promises to at long last address the social shortcomings of a country too enamoured of the free enterprise system to defend its defenceless through the introduction of a universal health care system. Granted, he is not alone among the presidential contenders in promising to amend that egregious oversight. Education is a priority, and so it the environment. Yet he can squawk like a hawk for those who expect a true American to do just that.

His platform, his bearing, his statements and enthusiasms belie his colour. He is not Black as is Jesse Jackson and other hopefuls who were both ethnically and professionally black. And although race is no longer the issue it once undeniably was, he is the white voter's post-colour choice for he promises what America dearly wants: change. About time, and why not him, although not exclusively him.

The spectacle now seen through this political dramatization of engaging the political arena betrays an earlier era of dedication to one's country, its prosperity and social well being, its security on the world stage. From the impulse and action of a George Washington who refused to be crowned, to the determination and action of an Abraham Lincoln who sought justice, current contenders seek to be crowned and justice will have been achieved.

Simple and brave, his faith awoke
Ploughmen to struggle with the fate;
Armies won battles when he spoke,
And out of chaos sprang the state. - Robert Bridges: Washington

Some opulent force of genius, soul and race,
Some deep life-current from far centuries
Flowed to his mind and lighted his sad eyes,
And gave his name, among great names, high place. - Joel Benton: Lincoln

The need for brilliant minds such as Thomas Jefferson's to shape the nation's destiny is long past; the country is now absorbed in shaping other nations' destinies.

A right delayed is a right denied.
All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem.
Martin Luther King, Jr.