The Greatest Nation on Earth. How many times have we heard that? Yet I'm here to tell you we're not the greatest nation on earth, certainly not now, and maybe never. What we used to be was the greatest dream on earth. The torch on the Statue of Liberty symbolized the light we were supposed to be, with justice and equality for all.
Of course, that was never true. We battered the Natives we didn't kill into reservations and then flooded them with alcohol, once we realized they were genetically prone to addiction, so we could slap ourselves on the back and banish any possibility of guilt by pointing out that these once proud people were "lazy drunks." When we found gold in the Black Hills, we even violated our own treaty with the Sioux and took away their holiest lands to slake our greed. Not even the courts would give that back.
We brought Africans here to be slaves, and even after we freed them we didn't want to associate with them, or allow them to rise above the bottom of the underclass or let them vote. Our Founders even compromised by declaring a slave was 3/5ths of a man. Ugly.
Wave after wave of immigrants, coming for the promise we offered, found themselves ground under our massive bootheels, denied employment except at the basest of jobs. (Hey, we're still doing that!)
As recently as 1960 we believed Catholics had to be un-American because they would listen first to the Pope. Hard to believe that JFK actually had to address that issue to the American people.
Today we look at Muslims, many of whom are American citizens, many of whom were born here, as anti-American and possibly terrorists.
And women didn't get the vote until 1921. (Guess we didn't count as even 3/5ths of a man.)
Tolerant, we're not.
But we had a dream. We are a dream. Unfortunately, we've been looking like a pretty ugly dream, especially these last eight years with our exceptionalism, our invasions of other sovereign states, and spying on everyone including ourselves. I was beyond disgusted. I was ashamed of us.
Then I heard this skinny guy with Alfred E. Newman ears give a speech. By the time he got done, I had tears streaming down my face and "Yes we can" was engraved in my heart and mind. For me, Barack Obama reminded me of all the ideals that Americans supposedly aspire to. He reminded me that the good dream was still possible if we all put our shoulders to the wheel. He provided a rallying point, a point of hope, that maybe we could still strive to be that "more perfect union." And he didn't leave anybody out. Not one soul. His inclusiveness of our "salad bowl" nation spoke volumes to me.
Justice and equality for all. Helping our neighbors rather than hating them. Listening to the little people not just the big money. Giving us all a voice, for possibly the very first time.
Wow!
I got politically involved again, because this man represented the America I wanted to live in. The American Dream I had learned from my cradle. And no I'm not talking about the American dream to become wealthy. I'm talking about the ideal America, the society that functions with respect for every one of us, and for the rest of the world. Optimistic, can-do, all-inclusive.
I got interested enough to watch over 30 debates. Wow. Amazing.
But then another moment of magic happened. And this is the one I think finally sealed the deal. Many of us were getting frustrated that Obama wouldn't strike back at McCain, that he kept taking the high road. Many were sure this could cost him the election.
Then one night after the economic crisis hit, I had an epiphany as I watched Obama yet again. It was an epiphany of calm. I realized in some deep place inside that if Barack Obama is elected, the world will calm down. Not just us, but the entire world. Because the man is calm. He is unflappable. He thinks before he acts. He would pour oil on troubled waters simply by staying calm.
I can't tell you how I ached in that moment for a world where people aren't running around with their hair on fire over every little thing. A world calm enough to say, "Yeah, we have a problem. So let's think about it and deal with it."
Oh my God, what a concept!
Calm.
Unity.
And a decent moral compass.
If you ask me what tipped the scales, I'll tell you that's what it was. That moment when listening to Obama I felt an utter calm come over me.
Yeah, a lot of us have screamed that he needed to hit back harder. At one point I felt so myself. And then I knew: What we need now is not someone screaming "fire" in the theater, but someone who can remain calm, and in so doing keep the rest of us calm. Not inactive, just calm.
And I think that's what a lot of Americans are feeling. After eight years of endless crisis, we want calm. We want to deal with things, not run from them. We want thoughtful, steady leadership, not panicked leadership.
We want the complete opposite of the old saw: When in trouble, when in doubt, flap your arms and run about."
We want Obama.