The Man who Inspires Me

I’ve never been so interested about politics in the USA until the advent of the 2008 presidential race. The reason for the sudden turn around is unmistakably obvious - Barack Obama. His name and his color were enough reasons to stimulate my curiosity about the person. First, his name. Barack Hussein Obama doesn’t seem to sound a conventional American but more of a middle-east, Arab name. What makes it even more intriguing is that, Obama almost sounds like (with only letter “b” that spells the difference) “Osama” - the man responsible for tearing down one of the important landmarks in the USA, the World Trade Center and killing thousands of unsuspecting economic workforces. Secondly, his color. History tells us that black people in the US had terribly suffered decades of oppression and maltreatment from their white lords. Although the situation has considerably changed in these modern days, the divides between them still manifest from time to time. Obviously, possessing those two undeniably notable attributes make dreaming the US presidency sounds very ODD for him. Furthermore, being young by age and stint in the political arena made his experience looks substantially inferior compared to the rest of the presidential hopefuls.

But this guy with an unusual name in a dominantly white nation possesses the guts, the wit, the self-worth and the audacity to believe in the possibility of his dream, coupled with his mesmeric charisma to convince millions that he embodies their collective desires for change, for a sustainable progress, and for a better world.

True enough, his oddity gained countless of smear campaigns against him - linking him to terrorists, to communists, to opportunist lobbyists, to extremists, etc.. but his charisma prevailed. He successfully engineered the best campaign machinery ever, raised the biggest campaign fund ever, organized the most numerous volunteers ever and pulled off the ‘modernest’ campaign strategy ever. In the process, he was touching and inspiring millions of Americans, regardless of color, profession, religion and age and another millions of non-Americans across the globe, regardless of faith, region and race.

Starting from the primaries, I have been an avid follower of Obama. Almost every day, before I open my e-mails, I read about the progress of his campaign and sometimes listen to his speeches. And I have been so inspired since then - amazed by his eloquence in speech, amused by his pragmatism in views, convinced by his sincerity in spirit and subscribed to his reasonable liberalism.

Obama for me is an epitome of a person who pursues his dreams despite all odds; sees the rays of the sun behind the dark raging storm; perseveres the coldness of the night ’til the beautiful sunny morning comes; and never ceases to inspire others to believe in their capacity to do great things and receives the same inspiration in return.