In the fall of 2007, my wife and I were in Boston on business. While strolling near Boston Common, two university students approached us and asked if we were American citizens. We replied we were visiting from Canada. They smiled and moved on. I looked around and saw them passing out flyers extolling the virtues of a guy named Barack Obama. I started tracking the US political race a lot more closely and found that many of Obama's viewpoints closely resembled my own. That we need to look beyond our own special interests and reach out and connect with people who do not look or act like us. That there is both business and personal success in morality and that many things are possible if we choose not to live in silos.
The tipping point came when I heard him speak in Berlin.
The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes, natives and immigrants, Christians and Muslims and Jews cannot stand.
President Obama is inspiring millions of Americans today. He represents an achievement that many thought they would never witness. But there is a danger in placing too much hope on the shoulders of one individual.
I've heard him state that his biggest challenge is getting the citizens of his country to take responsibility for their own lives and not wait around for the United States government to solve their problems. A great lesson for all citizens of the world. Get out of first gear and start doing things without immediate expectation of reward (third gear).
Barack Obama - Real Human Being of the week!
