[Oe List ...] An open letter to Barack Obama from Alice Walker

[LAURELCG at aol.com]

Nov. 5, 2008

Dear Brother Obama,

You have no idea, really, of  how profound this moment is for us. Us being 
the black people of the Southern  United States. You think you know, because you 
are thoughtful, and you have  studied our history. But seeing you deliver the 
torch so many others before you  carried, year after year, decade after 
decade, century after century, only to be  struck down before igniting the flame of 
justice and of law, is almost more than  the heart can bear. And yet, this 
observation is not intended to burden you, for  you are of a different time, 
and, indeed, because of all the relay runners  before you, North America is a 
different place. It is really only to say: Well  done. We knew, through all the 
generations, that you were with us, in us, the  best of the spirit of Africa 
and of the Americas. Knowing this, that you would  actually appear, someday, was 
part of our strength. Seeing you take your  rightful place, based solely on 
your wisdom, stamina and character, is a balm  for the weary warriors of hope, 
previously only sung about.

I would  advise you to remember that you did not create the disaster that the 
world is  experiencing, and you alone are not responsible for bringing the 
world back to  balance. A primary responsibility that you do have, however, is 
to cultivate  happiness in your own life. To make a schedule that permits 
sufficient time of  rest and play with your gorgeous wife and lovely daughters. And 
so on. One  gathers that your family is large. We are used to seeing men in 
the White House  soon become juiceless and as white-haired as the building; we 
notice their wives  and children looking strained and stressed. They soon have 
smiles so lacking in  joy that they remind us of scissors. This is no way to 
lead. Nor does your  family deserve this fate. One way of thinking about all 
this is: It is so bad  now that there is no excuse not to relax. From your 
happy, relaxed state, you  can model real success, which is all that so many 
people in the world really  want. They may buy endless cars and houses and furs
and gobble up all the  attention and space they can manage, or barely manage, 
but this is because it is  not yet clear to them that success is truly an 
inside job. That it is within the  reach of almost everyone.

I would further advise you not to take on other  people's enemies. Most 
damage that others do to us is out of fear, humiliation  and pain. Those feelings 
occur in all of us, not just in those of us who profess  a certain religious or 
racial devotion. We must learn actually not to have  enemies, but only 
confused adversaries who are ourselves in disguise. It is  understood by all that 
you are commander in chief of the United States and are  sworn to protect our 
beloved country; this we understand, completely. However,  as my mother used to 
say, quoting a Bible with which I often fought, "hate the  sin, but love the 
sinner." There must be no more crushing of whole communities,  no more torture, 
no more dehumanizing as a means of ruling a people's spirit.  This has 
already happened to people of color, poor people, women, children. We  see where 
this leads, where it has led.

A good model of how to "work with  the enemy" internally is presented by the 
Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking  of his soul as he confronts the Chinese 
government that invaded Tibet. Because,  finally, it is the soul that must be 
preserved, if one is to remain a credible  leader. All else might be lost; 
but when the soul dies, the connection to earth,  to peoples, to animals, to 
rivers, to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also  dies. And your smile, with 
which we watch you do gracious battle with unjust  characterizations, 
distortions and lies, is that expression of healthy  self-worth, spirit and soul, 
that, kept happy and free and relaxed, can find an  answering smile in all of us, 
lighting our way, and brightening the  world.

We are the ones we have been waiting for.

In Peace and  Joy,
Alice 
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