[The Toronto Star, Canada]
La Stampa, Italy
Barack Obama: 'Boy President'
"America is at a crossroads.
Its idea of absolute national sovereignty that recognizes no authority above
itself has proven false and menacing. It is far from certain that Obama is
worthy of this enormous and historic moment: the moment in which America, if
conscious, will discover European post-nationalism."
By Barbara Spinelli
Translated By Enrico Del Sero
January 21, 2009
Italy
- La Stampa - Original Article (Italian)
The emergence of Obama, not
only on the American landscape but the world's, confirms something all of us
knew: when a strong enough person emerges, the landscape can change in a
stroke.
A person who believes
intensely in the common good without wavering or concerning himself with
special interests can set in motion that which once seemed immovable. He may
restore a sense of meaning to words and language, when it seemed all sense had
been lost and that retreating into silence was the more dignified choice. Obama
has put an end to this stagnation. He won by standing for hope, which rises
unexpectedly when optimistic passion dies out, and - as the new president said
at yesterday’s inauguration - when one is in "the depths of winter."
Perhaps this is the reason now is Obama’s moment: he has restored meaning to
words. But that isn’t all. For when a great figure imposes himself and
overcomes all obstacles at just the right moment, that person, regardless of
who it is, exhibits an intensity that is irresistible. Only the most lethal
typhoon will allow a great captain to emerge and rescue a ship. Without a
typhoon, Joseph Conrad’s captain would have remained in the shadows, despite
his latent talent for command. The "depths of winter" can reveal the
excellence of a statesmen while at the same time creating that excellence.
They say that Obama had long
planned to run for the presidency, but that he didn't think his moment had arrived.
He decided to push forward now because, while this moment might not have been
his, it was certainly the most serious in recent American history - and so he
felt the call, regardless of his level of personal maturity. In his
autobiography, Obama recalls the books that have marked him, from Shakespeare
to Moby Dick to Conrad, particularly Heart of Darkness. "I
read the book to help me understand just what it is that makes White people so
afraid. Their demons. The way ideas get twisted around. It helped me understand
how people learn to hate." New York Times book critic Michiko
Kakutani writes that the books that have inspired Obama show how his tragic
sense of history and human ambiguity differs starkly from the optimistic
recklessness of the previous U.S. administration.
What occurred in 2008
confirms the "winter" Obama described. The financial collapse
testifies to an American fragility that many administrations have ignored: the
absence of a "watchful eye" over the animal spirit of the market. The
wars that continue to mark the Middle East demonstrate Washington's failure at
what it considered its central function: to monopolize and reorder the world,
co-opting those who foment conflict. Bush and the neo-conservatives fueled a
series of bubbles that resulted from the illusion that the United States
is the only nation capable of understanding and sorting out humanity’s flaws. The
arrogance of that illusion was combined with ignorance and an abysmal lack of
curiosity, beginning with the climate issue and relations with Islam. It's no
accident that in enumerating the ancient virtues of America yesterday, Obama
cited the one that of late has been the most lacking: curiosity. This is the
great chill that the president confronts: not the incidents of an empire
comparable to ancient Rome, but a ruinous delusion of grandeur resulting from
America's long failure to come to terms with reality.
His tragic sense of history,
if his spirit allows, will be of enormous help to him. For the task will
require following through to the bitter end and exploring the very depths of
night. The war against terror has born fruit neither in Iraq nor Afghanistan.
Asia is in urgent need of a comprehensive negotiated settlement among Pakistan,
Afghanistan, India - and including Iran, China and Russia. It was tempting for petty nationalisms
(Georgia, Ukraine, Israel)
to believe they could do anything they liked when they were backed by the U.S. giant.
Being aware that history is
tragic doesn’t mean it is completely dark and with no way out. The climax of
tragedy doesn't consist of a punitive nemesis, but in a catharsis capable of
purifying a man who realizes his faults and limitations. For here is America’s
task: to abandon the irresponsible use of power and open (Obama says) a
"new era of responsibility." For centuries it has sought to be a
"beacon on the hill." It is a dream shared by its African-American
president.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
In the meantime, suspicion of
the United States has gone global. There is also this sense that, "the
world has changed and we must change with it." America is at a crossroads. Its
idea of absolute national sovereignty that recognizes no authority above itself
has proven false and menacing. It is far from certain that Obama is worthy of
this enormous and historic moment: the moment in which America, if conscious,
will discover European post-nationalism, which recognizes that multi-polarity
isn't an evil plot of China, Russia or Europe, but is now the reality. But this
is surely a moment that will allow for him to look high and above the horizon.
This is his chance. This is the deadly typhoon that can either overwhelm him,
or elevate him and render him great.
CLICK HERE FOR ITALIAN
VERSION
[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
January 21, 6:55am]
