20 Jan 2009: Hope Springs Eternal....

20 January 2009 

 In my book, today ranks even more significant than when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. More significant because man - for all our nobility and virtues and the fact that we are from one human race - only arrived at this point today of acknowledging and recognising a non-white man in the highest office - 40 years after putting a man on the moon. Such irony - the chronology could even be described as humanity's greek tragedy. But like they say, better late than never... Today is coming to pass because Obama is the sweet spot – the spot when all lines intersect in a graph or when a combination of factors suggests a suitable solution. One line is of his own making - from his books and speeches, it is evident he is intelligent, extremely articulate, writes beautifully, has a wonderful intelligent supportive wife and family and importantly, has moral courage and conviction. The other line is his wonderful diverse ancestry of race and religion - and thus in him we see unity in diversity personified. The choices his parents made and the places the parents went provided and even perhaps determined for him insights, outlooks and charm that he did not have to work for himself. One other important line is drawn by the sacrifices of many who came before him. He is not the first with such desires and dreams - indeed he is standing on the shoulders of giants. Another line has to be the state of this world today. Most of us are tired of the messiness of today's world of business and ethics and can only watch helplessly at the sad state of morality and the torn and scarred fabric of our society and be alarmed about the worsening state of our environment to a point of almost no return. Then comes Obama – with all the lines crossing with him at the sweet spot. He appears, fresh as a morning breeze after a restless night. He represents the best of us and allow us to demonstrate and live up to man's true potential with noble values and aspirations. He symbolically offers us a channel to do the right things and consequently like ourselves more. There is no doubt his journey ahead will be long, hard and tough. He probably will not even live up to all our expectations of him. His decisions may not always reasonate with us. His moral courage and conviction may even bend under the burden of politics, but today at the cusp of his inauguration, I am hopeful that the world tomorrow will be better than yesterday's. Obama and his family will be in my prayers.