Current Events — HabitableZone

Current Events » in reply to A refreshing change.

re: A refreshing change.
azstrummer — (archived)

You said that very well. I know Tom is talking about my posts. Of course he won't address them directly because he knows I don't back down to him. It's rather funny having someone assume you have a Messianic view of an individual when, in you own mind, you often work tirelessly to remove emotion from decisions. It's one of the reasons I'm an atheist.

My respect for Barack Obama (and it's growing greatly as I read his book "Dreams From My Father") stems not from just an admiration for his abilities with words but from an undeniable kinship with the man in an ability I've seemed to possess, a strong understanding and love of the science of human nature.

He is, from what I can tell, a scholar of human behavior. He shows a huge curiosity as to what makes people tick and understands that the more he knows, the greater chance he has for success in life. He seems to genuinely enjoy diversity as well. He could have pigeonholed himself into corporate America, become a top-tier lawyer in any firm he desired, perhaps a position with the Supreme Court and instead he threw himself into the heart of inner-city Chicago to work for peanuts and make a difference.

Another test I apply to individuals is who they surround themselves with and I'm not talking about the obvious outliers such as William Ayers and Reverend Wright. We all have our "colorful" friends and acquaintances. Intelligent people take the best from those unique folks, are reminded about challenges of diversity, and often have a positive effect back on the lives of those interesting spirits.

I'm talking about his campaign staff and advisers. When these guys speak to the media there's no bullshit, no lies, no hypocrisy. They speak directly and with a unified voice. You can see the loyalty and kinship they share. They are obviously empowered out of trust. I've worked for corporations where the leadership tried to micromanage all the subordinates and ones where the leadership surrounds themselves with talent and empowers them. The vibe from the Obama camp is definitely the latter. The McCain bunch feels like back-biting puppets ruled by an iron hand.

The real selling point for me was getting to know Michelle Obama. I fully expected her to be the typical politician's wife and I was blown away at how intelligent she was. I have not seen that amount of quality in a potential First Lady in my lifetime. His choice of her for his life mate says even more about his intuition and understanding of human nature.

If these views are Messianic then I'm certainly guilty.

Art

Log in or register to post.

The whole thread (88 posts)