A Year with Obama

During his first year as president, Barack Obama did nothing that could have caused his numerous supporters, whether they are located in the U.S. or abroad, to lose their faith in him. On the other hand, nothing he did managed to reach expectations they had when this atypical president moved into the White House. Everyone clings to the same elusive hope from a year ago, and the frugal are happy that things are still running relatively smoothly. Others comment ironically that he has steered the now-infamous promise to bring “changes they could believe in” towards something less glamorous: i.e. only a few realistic promises. Obama can now admit that great reform is quite difficult to put into practice. Mediocre minds may get a wicked sense of satisfaction from seeing that reality is too tough even for such an honest man to tackle.

Nonetheless, they should not chuckle mindlessly. They should refrain, for the country’s future, as well as the solidarity fostered among democracies in general, depends on the manner in which Obama addresses certain domestic and international issues. The worst of the economic crisis has not yet passed, and day-to-day life suffers the indirect consequences of the “federal” waste of money. His opponents condemn the repeated use of stimulus packages funded by public money. Yet they protest in the name of an economic theory that turned banks into casinos. They should perhaps be more concerned about the ease with which the government continues to print money, worried about the supplies of ink and paper, yet oblivious to the legacy it passes on to future generations. Obama’s biggest challenge so far looms ahead. The original sin of the system is the fact that its very prosperity was built, for almost a century, on layer after layer of debt.

Years of living the high life went by, and nobody stopped to think about the financial failures or thin bank accounts the future could bring. The real economic landscape was scornfully ignored. And the time to take stock comes only in periods of crisis, which unfortunately arise recurrently. It is little wonder then that all prosperous societies glorify speculations involving virtual values instead of productive labor. The fireworks show goes on. And it will be difficult for Obama to put an end to the feast. He should explain to us all how the world’s greatest economic power can possibly start over with the same financial system and consumer-driven society. We are talking about the nation that makes the most gripping action movies, showing, in 3D already, an imminent nuclear or climatic apocalypse.

Has the possibility of living a fulfilled life at a personal or societal level become a mere piece of fiction? Obama has bravely risked ridicule for the moral dimension in his speeches and for holding values which have not been contaminated by the pathetic routine of politics. He will need even more courage in order to fight for each and every one of these values when the pragmatic realists of the political game and the sycophants of massive interest groups try to lower his standards and create an administration which lacks vision. Should he find it impossible to enforce even a simple piece of legislation in order to separate deposit banking from investment banking, we will have to admit that the American president in his oval office has become a mere puppet in comparison to the president of an international trust.

Similarly, it will be necessary to rebuild international institutions from the ground up, for they will become obsolete if the peace in the Middle East, Afghanistan or Pakistan depends solely upon the will of so-called enlightened minds dominated by tribal thinking, or the will of fundamentalist Zionists lost in vague biblical mythology who cannot engage in rational dialogue. Willingly or not, the United States of America must become, in a global perception, the leader that controls collective behavior – if such a thing can even exist. Because nowadays globalized communication channels facilitate not only the transfer of merchandise and currency, but also that of ideas and society values. Here is where Obama should step in and take the circulation of ideas to a whole new level in order to actually change mentalities. Some of his speeches were truly inspiring. However, he must also convince those who applauded him to follow his lead. Before anything else, Obama must prove himself by adopting measures that are decisive.