Hope

I haven't been able to teach a class or workout for over two months now because of the knee injury. The surgery is over but the healing is taking forever. Ironically, besides the swelling, the knee is not the problem. My leg aches constantly in the thigh from the tourniquet used in the procedure. I haven't slept through the night for a week now so I am hoping this week marks progress in the leg.

All this time off has given me ample opportunity to think about many things. With my country embroiled in a war that is influenced by American foreign policies, I have a keen interest in the US presidential campaign. I happened across Barack Obama’s speech on Race and Unity earlier this week. It was one of the most inspiring orations I have ever heard with his message evoking much optimism in me for the state of our world. What impressed me about this speech, beyond the strong message of reconciliation, was how he delivered it. A forty minute speech where the entire talk was delivered with his eyes on his audience, he only looked to his podium once to read a quote from a book. His thoughts were organized and his message was clear, off the cuff, and obviously from the heart. Forty minutes. A man like this has the power to rally people behind almost any cause. A man like this can change the world. If Barack Obama truly believes in what he is saying, and he is allowed to put this thoughts and influence into action, we are living in exciting, hopeful times.

If nothing else, the lesson of the former Yugoslavia should remind us of the evil caused by ancient hatreds and of the value of reflection over reaction and reconciliation over retaliation. Do we really want our future descendants fighting a war over ancient hatreds that were spawned by our actions of today? The hatreds of today can become the wars of tomorrow unless an eye to the future is stressed over revenge for the past.

"But I have asserted a firm conviction – a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people – that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice if we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union."
- Barack Obama (b 1961)