Can I say one more thing about Obama: his relationship to imperialism

[AP]

I find it FASCINATING that Obama is not the grandson or great-grandson of an American slave. It is really amazing, and very interesting, in a symbolic sense, that his grandfather was servant to a British person in Kenya.

You can't rank what's worse, slavery or imperialism. They both are atrocious ways for human beings to behave and treat other human beings. However, whereas there's a consensus in the world about slavery, it seems that many think imperialism is still an OK way to behave toward the world. Iraq, Haiti, Venezuela are all places where imperialism (sometimes under the name "free trade") describes the US's attitude.

In the last 30 years, some of the most interesting ideas about politics and foreign policy have come from people who think critically about imperialism. It's very interesting to me that Obama looks like the first politician whose personal history makes him relevant to that discussion, and makes him appear to ride on the wave (or the wake) of that discussion.

And how about his other grandparents: Kansans. If they were New Dealers -- the people FDR wanted to save from misery -- then we have a VERY POWERFUL set of symbols.

I think being the grandchild of a victim of imperialism and of a benefactor of the New Deal would pretty much represent what I see as the most important set of policy issues -- one domestic and one foreign -- that there are today. And he's on the right side of that relationship. Unlike Bush, his ancestors were on the good side of those relationships.

You know, I hate inherited privilege. But I do think people inherit something that is much more important than a last name or money or a title: a perspective on the world. And I'm very excited to see how Obama's heritage -- not as the descendant of an American slave, but as a descendant of Kansans and of a Kenyan servant to the British, influences his politics and how it influences how Americans understand the world.

[sallyseven]

1. Well whatever he is I like him

He is going places.

[cprise]

2. Great comment about inheriting perspective

And how often are we even willing to imagine ourselves in someone else's shoes. People don't even think to try.

[Cocoa]

3. very interesting post

now that you mention it, that is a fascinating fact in Obama's background.

It gets even more interesting when you see Teresa Heinz-Kerry talk about her life in East Africa, from another perspective.

[AP]

4. don't want this to sink too fast.

I hope at least five more people read it.

[chiburb]

5. I read it, and thanks for the thoughts... n/t

.

[Cybergata]

6. There was an editorial in the Chicago Post...

with much the same idea. The article is at: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2027&e=6&u=/chitribts/multipurposestarbornfordemocratseffort

:hippie:

[AP]

7. From that article:

"Perhaps it is Obama's own complex and complicated biography that adds to his appeal. The son of a black African father and a white Kansan mother, he talked about how his father was a striver in the mold of a take-nothing-for-granted immigrant, and how his mother's family lived by the Middle American ethic of hard work and benefited at times from government help.



Obama also was an emblem for the future, for the Democratic Party and for an increasingly multiethnic country whose power will only grow.



There was a nod to the World War II generation--still a potent Democratic bloc--and homage to non-threatening government programs a majority of Americans embrace, such as federally-backed loans for mortgages. "