I have an excessive appetite for knowing more about whom our presidential candidates really are, and I thought how better to find out then to read his book. Just like everybody else who holds an idea in their mind about the world in which we now live. Barack Obama has a particular way of looking at the world. In the book “Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance,” Barack opens the door and lets readers enter into the landscapes of his life. It was interesting to capture his unraveled thoughts of experience. It was a wholesome story of survival, freedom and hope.
I knew some things about the Senator just from simply watching the news on the upcoming elections. Everyday there is something about one of the candidates; some positive, some negative. “Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race And Inheritance” begins with Barrack which in the Egyptian language means unexpected blessing, received a telephone call with a messenger letting Barack know that his father had just passed away. They might have shared the same name and the same blood, but no intimacy because most of Barack’s memories of his father were based on stories told to him by his grandparents, Tutu and Gramps.
This book holds in it’s pages, messages of hope. Not only did he have to deal with the death of his father, but also with being a person from two different races. It is so interesting to have read about the struggles he had to face looking for placement. He dealt with interior struggles because he did not know who he was. Color is not really an issue among innocent minds until they have to deal with it because of ignorance.
I like the way that Barack thinks. He seems like such a down to earth individual. He is very family oriented and a lover of nature. He took refuge in the life his grandparents lead and got scraps of picked up information about Stories of his father who had a British accent, smoked a pipe, followed Muslim beliefs and was in a fraternal organization. He spoke about his mother in endearing terms. Barack established structures of meaning about the courtship with his loving wife. From the tip of his ink pen, he linked readers to his past. He is a great storyteller and added rounds of emotion that I thought was so necessary. Plus he adds points of his life that mark him as an average Joe; someone you can easily relate to or would feel comfortable sitting and enjoying a fresh brew with.
Barack makes a valid point. The past is never dead. It stays with you no matter how far you get in life. Those are the mundane realities of life. I am guessing that is why he chose to trace out a future from the lives of the people he saw. To do that, he chose friends that were politically driven. He overcame the hurt and distortion that lingered inside from years of struggle and racism and instead, used the council of time to his advantage. By no means necessary; even with poverty staring at him in the face. Just knowing about how he rose to his position today is an uplifting story. It was that convergence of maturity that freed his spirit and gave him a fluid state of identity.
A couple of months ago when they had the Democratic National Convention, Barack Obama delivered a speech about his continual struggle to align word and action. He might not have presidential experience, but he has the power of his father’s world to transform. I thought it was a pretty good speech but when I asked my aunt what she thought, she responded with, “What color is he?”
“An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory”
-Frederich Engels
He has a large background in world travel and even lived in Indonesia. His identity does not end with race so do not define him by the color of his skin. Seeing him might be a lexicon of color consciousness, but it is his spirited, good humored character that I can respect.
Barack talks about the stereotypes based on his Muslim name. He spoke about the forceful wind that carried Reverend Wright’s voice into the raptors that persuaded him into being saved and walking the Christian way. It was also quite interesting to know that the issues he was about when he first decided he wanted to follow a life that dealt with organizing and making a difference are still some of the same things that he is striving to improve today. This book was an intellectual awakening and I like it.
As we come into the last 18 days of the election and are about to restructure and realign the position of chief, it is the universal right of man to know who these people running for office are. On November 4th, it comes down to Obama or McCain, your choice. I have been really pushing people to register to vote because I feel like that is as important as responding to a text on your cell phone while driving in a car.
“Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race And Inheritance” is a very in depth and thorough look at Barack Obama from the pen of Barack Obama. And in it, he talks about the rapid successions of the memories of his father, the enduring puzzles of ancestral struggles, the Capacity for change and uplifting messages about confidence. “Like water raising to its level, he found a career that suited him.” I can respect his diary. It was very informative.
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