The time has come to say goodbye. Goodbye to George Bush, goodbye to Guantanamo Bay, goodbye to the Iraq War. After eight years of Republican rule, Democrats are ready for change. The nation is ready to move on. But what kind of change can we really expect from Barack Obama and his new administration?
Many people hope that our next president will end the economic crisis, restore peace and usher in a new optimism for politics. Surely he will not be able to do all these things, at least not in one fell swoop. It takes time to dig yourself out of a hole eight years deep.
Nevertheless, people have big hopes for Obama despite the fact that he has chosen to fill the highest echelons of his administration with Washington insiders and former Clintonites. Obama would tell you that only people of experience can bring about the change we need. He holds the vision, and they bring the tools needed to carry it out. This logic seems sound to me, but there is still something missing, and Obama knows it.
While Obama may have the dreams from his father, the American people still lack a set of dreams of their own. People are tired of perpetual war, beleaguered by failed attempts at health reform and afraid of an economic collapse. People have decided what they do not want, at least for now. But they lack a coherent vision of where they want to go.
Consider the goals spoken of so often during this campaign. An end to partisan politics? I can already hear Rahm Emanuel's war drums. Keep dreaming.
Health reform? We'll try, but things probably won't change too much in the next few years. Keep dreaming.
Peace? The war in Iraq may come to a close sooner or, most probably, later, but Obama is committed to continuing the war in Afghanistan. Keep dreaming.
Certainly these goals are not trivial, nor are they doomed to fail. But they are not the kinds of things that dreams are made of. They are concrete goals that die upon either success or failure but cannot continue to inspire, for example, after the war is over or the health care initiative is passed. They do not inspire millions. They do not create a spirit of self-sacrifice. They do not build up a sense of community. They are simply not the kind of aspirations we need.
So far, the closest thing to a dream we've heard about is change. But change, I'm sorry to say, is not a dream either. It's something we need, by all accounts, but it doesn't offer a vision toward which we should aim. People know this. They want change of a particular kind but can't quite put their finger on it. They look to Obama for inspiration.
As a result, Obama's first and greatest challenge as president will be to instill in Americans a dream which transforms their current yearning into guided action. His task should not be terribly difficult. People want to be called to service. They long to be asked to do something.
The real problem lies in defining what people want and in conveying it in a sound bite that people can remember. So the people are waiting earnestly for a dream.
Martin Luther King, Jr. knew how to build a dream. He laid out a vision for the future that made people strive for more. He didn't just have a set of goals in mind but a new world which he hoped to bring to reality.
Similarly, John F. Kennedy asked the American people not only to do more but to reconsider their relationship with government and with each other. His was a call for renewed community and shared purpose. Both King and Kennedy created a vision which people wanted to share and bring about. This is how dreams are made.
So what can Obama hope to do in this current time and place? What kind of dream can he hope to inspire in the minds of the people? To be honest, I'm not really sure.
What I do know is that he needs to dream big. People will not be satisfied with a renewed call for change. They do not want a mere list of policy goals. They want more. But the responsibility is not his alone.
It's time to decide what kind of change we can believe in. If it is really the change that we, and not just you or I or he, believe in, it needs to come about through collective engagement. We must all play a part in constructing new American aspirations.
So as we wait for Obama's inspiring message, his timeless inaugural address, his shining vision of the future, just keep dreaming.
Manuel Possolo '09 is stricken by nightmares.
