If you want to build a ship, don't drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.
-- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
People say Obama may be an inspiring figure, but that he doesn't have the political savvy to get things done. I disagree, of course - his bipartisan record in the Illinois legislature is, I think, just a preview of what an inspiring, unifying politician can achieve. But perhaps it's also because I come from a family in which words matter. Words have inspired humanity to great achievements and horrible failures, terrible atrocities and acts of courage and kindness alike. Don't tell me words don't matter - and don't tell me we wouldn't be better off with a President who can speak to the people and remind them that they matter, that we can resolve our differences with words, and that we can believe in a better world if we are willing to work for it.
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agnoster) wrote,
