Book Review: Barack Obama’s Boldness of Hope
In his first book, Dreams from My Father, published in 1995, Barack Obama described his childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia and his early adult years serving Chicago’s poor, primarily black communities. The book ended with a visit to his father’s homeland, Kenya. At this stage, Barack Obama was still solving the problem of his black identity, the “enough cross to bear,” as he called it. In this second book, The Audacity of Hope, published in 2006, the resurrected soul is free to explore the universal problems of poverty in whatever color, race, or community they appear in. The masses have every reason to doubt the motives of those who aspire to high political office, but in Barack Obama they found a leader they could trust.
Barack Obama explains the socio-economic and political situation of the United States with great clarity and erudition. Based on extensive reading, years of working with poor communities, and extensive discussions with politicians of all stripes, he seeks solutions that address his goals and engage with the realities of the often stagnant political situation. As a United States senator during the Republican administration of George W Bush, he explains how he was unable to promote his own bills, but managed to advance numerous amendments that improved the impact on the weak and vulnerable.
The book ends with the words ‘My heart is full of love for this country’. Barack Obama reveres the Constitution of the United States bequeathed by the founding fathers and adheres to most of its basic principles. However, he also realizes that times change and a review is necessary, especially with the second amendment: the right to bear arms. Another of its objectives is to establish universal, free health care at the place of delivery. He is aware that in gun control, health care delivery, and social benefits in general, most other advanced countries are now far ahead of the US He regrets that the richest country in the world neglects the well-being of so many of its citizens.
Barack Obama is a man of confessed faith, but he believes in freedom of worship and in the separation of church and state. He opposes fundamentalism in all its forms and believes that people of all faiths want the same things: meaningful employment, social security and family life, and that they could achieve them by coming together in a spirit of tolerance and mutual respect. He points out that some churches have accumulated enormous wealth that could be better used for these purposes.
This book is read now after the phenomenon of the Obama presidency, during which he struggled to advance his policies against a determined and powerful opposition. It is sad to note that in a modern democracy people can still be persuaded to vote against their own interests. Over time, enough people may find that this book explains what America is like and shows what it should be like.
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