Letter to President-Elect Brack Obama
November 5, 2008Mr. Barack Obama—
Congratulations. I imagine that you have been flooded with adulation by nearly every person to whom you spoke today, but I want to add my praises regardless.
Congratulations.
The disbelief, pride, and bewilderment we felt last night as a collective, as a nation, were only tiny slivers of your accomplishment, the only pieces we got to share. The freedoms upon which America was founded make its identity a flower, its stem bending toward the cyclical sun of public opinion. Last night, you made the sun stand still, forced America to reflect on its own roots. You must have realized as you accepted the endorsement of this populace that the entire world was watching you. How did you learn to steady your voice while looking into the eye of humanity itself? Do you ever doubt that our trust in you is well-placed? Don’t ever doubt yourself, Barack. Question yourself, embrace your humility, but believe that you are where you are because of who you are.
Over the next few days, you will attend the funeral of the grandmother who helped raise you. Does that make you think of your own mortality? Of Malia and Sasha living without you? Do you pray to make your grandmother proud? How will we remember your term? We both know that struggle never ends; you will be challenged many times by issues that will cling to your consciousness like leeches. America wants you to rewrite the despondent song it is whistling as an aria. It wants you to fix everything, but you can’t. The work ahead of you is daunting, and you should not be ashamed to be afraid. Your reason and your pragmatism are two of your best qualities, but do not forget that they grow from your compassion.
And without that compassion, they will wither. Without your immutable commitment to fairness and justice, our commitment to you will not subsist. This, perhaps more than anything else, will define how you are remembered. America is reborn, a toddler learning again to walk. Without both of your hands to steady us, we will fall back to the floor. Barack, please don’t slip.
I don’t mean this to be demanding or condescending. I am sure that you know more than I do about the whims of the American electorate. I seek only to inform you of one cynic to whom you brought a moment of relief, a pause of unexpected optimism. There are too many of us, pessimists who need to be startled from our apathy by a figure as unyieldingly compelling as you are. We don’t want to have to say, “I told you so.”
Again, Mr. Obama, Mr. President, congratulations.
Sincerely,
Marshall Gillson
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