The new political star seems to come from the edge of the world. He was born in Hawaii, grew up in Indonesia and the United States, and matured in the entanglement of dreams and ethnic vortex. He doesn't have much money, and he doesn't have a prominent family shadow. However, he rose from the bottom of the community and became a black leader in the mainstream white political circle.
He is regarded as "Kennedy II" and the best candidate to realize Martin Luther King's "dream". This young politician carrying the banner of "change and hope", his experience and inner world are actually beyond the quadrant of many Americans' thinking.
If nothing unexpected happens, he will be entrusted with the heavy responsibility of unrest and ordered to be in danger. How to coordinate and stabilize the global financial system with other countries and save the global economic situation will be his first big test. How to join hands with China to break through the framework of Sino-US relations in the past 40 years will also be an expected suspense. (Su Qingxian)
Obama's Zero Distance
In that auditorium in Manchester, I saw young people cheering for their heroes and victories with eyes full of eyes and screaming at the top of their lungs.
If we are willing to take a little risk, we can already predict that the United States will usher in a profound change at the political and social levels in the near future.
The current election situation shows more and more clearly that Americans seem determined to accept the first black president in 220 years. Of course, what voters really hope is that Obama can lead the United States out of the predicament that has been lost for many years and bring a new atmosphere to the United States.
All new things are always full of temptation and mystery. This young black man in a straight suit under the banner of "change and hope", his experience and inner world are actually beyond the quadrant of many Americans' thinking.
A non-American smile
I met Obama three times. In June this year, the primary election in Massachusetts was 5438+ 10, the Democratic Party Congress in Denver in August, and the third presidential debate in new york in mid-June was 65438+ 10. It can be said that my impression of him is getting better every time.
I first met Obama in an auditorium in Manchester, Massachusetts. Obama made a medium-sized canvassing speech here that day. A little unexpectedly, when entering Obama's venue, reporters' belongings should be placed in one place for police dogs to smell, and the security is very strict. Hillary, McCain, Romney and other candidates in Massachusetts have not yet done so. Considering the rumors of "assassination" that began at the beginning of his election, it seems understandable that the police gave him special protection.
The lecture hall that day was almost full of young people. One of them, Tom, is a volunteer from new york. It is also the first time to truly feel Obama's powerful personality charm.
Before the speech began, a group of young men and women took to the stage and happily waited for the interview. Then, amid the screams of the audience, Obama took to the stage. That was the first time I noticed that Obama showed a simple smile on a more casual occasion-his teeth were white, his dimples were deep, and his eyes were plain and sincere. In my opinion, it is not a mask smile of politicians, and in my eyes, it is not as aggressive as political elites. His expression is a bit like a freshman singing karaoke on the stage, a little shy, but sincere. He shook hands with the volunteers on the stage to express his gratitude.
However, from the beginning of Obama's speech, it was a bit like a different person. He frowned, his voice was high, and he frequently used parallelism skills-to my ears, rhetoric was gorgeous and slogans were repeated, but it always seemed empty. I have listened to his speeches many times, and found that every time, like Martin Luther King, he regarded the speech as a historic speech, devoted and meticulous.
In 2004, Obama's blockbuster speech at the Democratic Party Convention was also a successful work that he personally drafted and revised repeatedly. Listening to his speech this time, I can always feel his diligent, enterprising and meticulous attitude in the campaign. This is also an important quality for his nameless generation to finally win the big scene.
Obama's image of "deep hatred" is widely known. The most popular pattern of T-shirts with Obama's head on the street is that he frowns and looks far away. My first impression of this photo is more like Ernesto Guevara, a Cuban revolutionary. This may be what Obama fans really expect of him.
But what impressed me most was not Obama's trademark cold face. In my opinion, this is more of a fledgling image he deliberately posed to cover up his youth and nervousness. Comparatively speaking, when Hillary and McCain spoke on the stage, it was really easier than him.
What impressed me most was his sincere and frank smile. This kind of smile directly distinguishes Obama from those sophisticated politicians, and makes people feel his simple, practical and even kind side. His temperament has no political celebrities like Hillary and McCain, nor millionaires like Romney and Giuliani.
Since then, on many occasions, as long as it is not a passionate speech, Obama always shows his simple and sincere side. For example, in the debate, the attacked Obama sometimes stutters when he responds, but what he says sounds true.
In his recent debate with McCain, when McCain Kan Kan talked about how he would save the American economy, Obama couldn't help grinning, which was a bit disrespectful, but it was a youthful performance of the real Obama.
Obama seems to be an unknown master who suddenly appeared in the ring, knocking down one powerful opponent after another with the cries of blacks, young people and the poor.
In that auditorium in Manchester, I saw young people cheering for their heroes and victories with eyes full of eyes and screaming at the top of their lungs.
Erasable black
Obama's father is black in Kenya and his mother is white in Kansas. But according to the unwritten rules of America, he is still black.
The highly developed American campaign mechanism and culture will not let Obama talk about racial topics in public, and he never mentions his black identity. He will even deliberately keep his distance from his "black brother". He will say in his speech that "this is not a white America, not a Hispanic America, not an Asian America, not an African-American America, but a multi-racial America". Although he tries hard to get rid of it, his dark skin is bound to become an extremely sensitive topic.
The reflection in reality is that the black brothers won an important battle for him in the South Carolina primary. In the latest poll, 9 out of 65,438+00 blacks will vote for him. Oprah winfrey, the black gold medal host, stood by him. Although the black general Powell is a Republican, he still supports Obama.
And white people began to talk about "black liquidation". Recently, in an interview program on American public radio, an old lady said: I have a hunch that the moment of "final judgment" is coming, and the oppression and humiliation of blacks by whites for hundreds of years will be rewarded. Other women feel "worried" and "scared". They are afraid that Obama will be murdered.
In all my years in the United States, I have never heard any American refuse to vote for Obama because he is black. Because this is an extremely sensitive matter in American society. But polls show that most white men in the United States support McCain, which shows the attitude of the mainstream of the United States, at least the wealth and power class, towards Obama.
At a party the other day, I asked a white boss with a shaved head about his voting tendency, and he said, I only tell you one thing: I won't vote for a tax increase, and I don't want to pay it again. His attitude towards Obama is quite contemptuous.
Among Asian voters, I often hear some remarks: Of course, I can't vote for Obama. If he wants to be elected, isn't it more inspiring for those black people who like to get something for nothing?
Obama does not live in a vacuum. A smart and sensitive person like him knows what his skin color means. Although he is well dressed now, he is even rated as the best dressed man by a magazine. Although he has the highest degree from Harvard Law School, lives in an upscale community and has many high-level white friends, Obama should not forget his origins.
When Obama was in elementary school, a female classmate tried to touch his hair, and a gay man asked if his father would eat people. Young Obama shrugged in response to the heckling that happened from time to time. It's a bit like his father. There is a widely circulated story: when studying at the University of Hawaii, Obama's father once went to a bar. A white man complained loudly to the waiter, why did you arrange for me to sit next to the nigger? Everyone was stunned. Old Obama walked over and calmly told white people what the "American Dream" was, the origin of all men being created equal, and so on. As a result, the white man flushed and finally took out 100 dollars to pay the bill to apologize.
Facing the alienation and cross-examination of white society, Obama basically took the road of his father and silently proved himself to the world with his talent and ability. In the biography Dreams from My Father, Obama also admitted that he was deeply troubled by his identity when he was young, and once smoked marijuana to escape. But he finally chose a rational and comprehensive road.
In the process of Obama's search for spiritual home, he met all kinds of people. These experiences are still the target of competitors' attacks until now. His black enlightenment priest, White, is an extreme black human rights activist. He was related to Al, an anti-Vietnam activist who was called a "domestic terrorist". At one time, he was very close to Davis, a writer who had joined the Party organization in the Communist Party of China (CPC). Davis is called his "Scarlet Letter Mentor". Although Obama keeps explaining his relationship with these people, it is certain that Obama has at least walked on the edge of the so-called mainstream American values.
Although Obama is in and out of the upper white crowd today, he may still be a marginal person mentally. A black friend of Obama's grandfather for more than ten years told Obama when he was a teenager: white people can never really be friends with you. This sentence deeply shocked Obama. In the primary stage, Obama's wife Michelle said: Let me tell you: This is the first time I am proud of America as an adult. Her words caused an uproar.
This is the testimony of a black woman who lives with Obama day and night and holds a high position at the University of Chicago. It is conceivable how far Obama's feelings will be from her.
Of course, as the election became more and more clear, the Obamas and even all blacks were deeply encouraged. In his speech, Obama also talked about the truth and greatness of the "American Dream" again and again.
Martin Luther King's dream seems to have finally come true for Obama. Even in the Oval Office, Obama will still feel the disdainful eyes of the elderly white Americans and the lingering ghost of the Klan.
Childhood on the dirt road
Obama didn't really start studying and working in America until 18. His adolescence, which greatly influenced his values and outlook on life, was spent in Hawaii and Indonesia, a third world country far from the United States.
At the age of 6- 10, Obama moved from Hawaii with his mother to the home of his stepfather, Indonesian Sutoro, in the suburbs of Jakarta. The living environment there is comparable to a slum. The road is unpaved, and there is no electricity in the house. But as a child, Obama adapted quickly. He rode on the wall and chatted with the girl next door. He made many friends at school. He ate all kinds of Indonesian food and learned some Indonesian dialect.
From 65438 to 0995, Obama went to Kenya for the first time. He came to the place where his father was born, a small village of a small tribe. Walking through the muddy path, he saw his grandmother dressed as an aborigine. Obama squatted next to his grandmother and took a photo with her. Their faces are permeated with happy smiles.
If Obama becomes the president of the United States, it will be a touching contrast when he and his African grandmother meet again. In fact, Obama's father gave Obama about 10 half brothers and sisters. Now they all live in Kenya, and several of them are close to Obama.
His parents from Africa and his mother who loves the third world doomed Obama to be close to the people of the third world countries.
Between the ages of 10 and 18, Obama and his grandparents lived in Hawaii. Although Hawaii is a state in the United States, its social form is quite special. Aborigines and Asians account for a large proportion of the population, while whites do not account for the majority. All ethnic groups live in harmony.
Although Obama did not deliberately exaggerate his life experience in Indonesia and Hawaii, this experience undoubtedly made him have a more international perspective, a better understanding of the lives of people in third world countries like Indonesia, and a better understanding of the culture and psychology of other ethnic groups in the United States.
His humble worldview is also deeply influenced by his mother's safety. Ann pays great attention to observing the advantages and feelings of people in other countries. Her first marriage was shocking in the 1960s, and her second marriage was Sutoro, an Asian, which fully proved that she was a subversive in white supremacy. The influence of her kindness and generosity on Obama should not be underestimated. Obama once said: The best things in me come from her.
Of course, Obama himself, including his campaign team, is not allowed to confuse his origins. On many occasions, Obama mentioned the profound influence of white mother Ann on himself, and also emphasized the teaching of her grandmother Madeleine to highlight her clean background of "being born in the United States and growing up in the United States". This is completely understandable for the election campaign, or we can think that the influence of American culture on Obama is more important, but his 18 years of life experience outside the United States will doomed him to be a completely different candidate from any American president.
Looking forward to the new America
Today's United States, although far from economic collapse, will not hand over the top spot as a superpower, but there is no doubt that it has fallen into internal and external troubles in the economic and diplomatic fields.
The outbreak of the financial crisis is a godsend for Obama. This crisis has made the most vivid annotation for Obama's persistent attack on the Bush administration, which has put people in dire straits. The Obama camp, which is good at have it both ways, also gave a series of solutions that sounded quite touching during the crisis.
For example, Obama stressed that if he becomes president, he will rectify the financial order and never let the presidents of financial institutions embezzle the money of the people and the government unscrupulously. He also stressed the need to drastically reduce the government's fiscal deficit, stop blindly "borrowing money from China and buying oil from Saudi Arabia", and establish an independent and steady fiscal and taxation system, and so on.
When people fell into panic, Obama talked calmly on TV about how to deal with the financial crisis in Kan Kan, which made him score a lot. In major opinion polls, the economy is the first point that voters care about. Whoever can solve the financial crisis will greatly increase the possibility of being in the White House.
After the outbreak of the Iraq war, the international image of the United States was greatly reduced. As a national of a once respected superpower, Americans are no longer willing to bear the cold shoulder of the world. At this point, Obama proposed to withdraw troops from Iraq and Afghanistan as soon as possible in an appropriate way. He has repeatedly vowed to cooperate extensively with other countries in the world so that the United States can regain the respect of the world.
To regain the international respect that Americans long for, McCain can't do it, and neither can Hillary. Mccain's slogan is that as soon as he takes office, he will capture bin Laden and break into the Pakistani border if necessary. Hillary Clinton's campaign advertisement for making an emergency call at 3 am continues to strengthen people's war consciousness and hostility, and it can't change the image of the United States in the world.
Obama's foreign policy is obviously much softer. He stressed the importance of dialogue and negotiation, stressed the tension between the United States and anti-American forces, and tried to eliminate the root causes of tension. In the US-China relationship, Obama proposed that China is not an enemy but a competitor, unlike Hillary Clinton.
Obama's anti-American traditional thought deeply attracted some people who expected to change the status quo in the United States.
At every campaign rally in Obama, young people are always in the majority. Blue-collar workers, blacks and women are his loyal supporters. Young people who tend to be more liberal hope that Obama will wash away the stale flavor of the White House, while socially disadvantaged groups such as blue-collar, black and women, and those who are tired of racial division in the United States hope that Obama can stand up for them.
65438 10 At the scene of the last debate held in new york in mid-October, college students turned Hofska University into Obama's home. Angela, a junior girl, holds the "Obama" sign. She said that she supports Obama because he can bring fresh air to American politics. Angela's words represent the voice of most Obama supporters, and also fit Obama's slogan from beginning to end: change, hope.
Maybe we will finally see a different America. The new president is willing to achieve more unification at airports in poor and small countries. Diplomats are willing to listen to the voices of anti-American forces. Their media can also change this condescending tone. Become more restrained and responsible in the fields of finance and environmental protection.