peterkim blog

I don’t understand why so many people are enthralled by Obamamania. Here is a guy who has very little political experience, accomplished very little in the political realm, and is somehow “the most exciting” political candidate America has seen in decades.

I think people like the idea or concept of Obama. People love the idea of having a mixed race person become president of the United States because as we all know, America has been becoming progressively less white since the country was founded basically and pretty soon, white Americans will become the minority. Obama stands for what America is and will continue to be—a melting pot of many colours, ideas, creeds, etc.

However, I still don’t get it. Yes, he may give some stirring speeches about his vision of America and that may give people a sense of hope in our country that they haven’t had in the past 10-20 years. But honestly, if people haven’t felt hopeful about America and are finding it now in Obama, I think they’re perspective is a little screwy. I would argue that one man, especially the president, should not be the source of inspiration for our reason for being excited about America and all it stands for.

To me, the United States of America is a result of what happens when millions of crazy, independently-minded, ambitious, hard-working people get thrown into the same physical space and set their minds on accomplishing something better, something different. The first Americans came over from England because they wanted freedom to worship God in the way they wanted to and have a form of government that was completely revolutionary at the time. Then over the next two centuries, waves of immigrants from western Europe, then eastern Europe, then the rest of the Americas and then Asia and Africa left everything they knew to join this crazy, radical bunch of people in the United States to accomplish something better and something different, all in an environment where they were free-er to live the way they wanted than ever before.

In my opinion, America has primarily become what it is because of the efforts of all these people who have come before us. Sure, government intervention has had a significant role in defining America but when I think of America, I don’t think of what the government has done over the years, I think of the spirit of the American people.

This is why I’m troubled by the idea that so many people are looking to Obama for hope. One man should not be the source of hope for our nation. The source of hope for what America can be in the future should come from within ourselves. The ambition and drive to do something better and something different that has been the core motivator for millions of Americans through the years is what should be driving our hope and vision for the future now.

Can one man help us regain that sense of ambition and drive? Maybe. But that’s not the rhetoric I’m hearing from Obama. Obama believes in the power of the institution of government to save America—in everything he says, it’s always “Government can do this” or “Government can do that”. Government has never been the primary driver of innovation and growth; it has always come from free-thinking, ambitious, intelligent individuals. I believe government should give private individuals the freedom to innovate and make sure disincentives don’t get in the way of growth—this will unleash a new era of prosperity in our great country.

I’m also going to throw this out there—I know some of you who aren’t religious will strongly object to this. However, I’ll argue that people in America used to find their sense of hope from a higher being and from their local faith communities. When things didn’t seem to be going well, people would find hope when they approached God in prayer and when they attended church on Sundays and experienced the live-giving spirit that comes from being actively involved in a local community. Unfortunately, both of those sources of hope have now lost their influence in the lives of many Americans. So instead of turning to God, people are turning to Obama? I know that sounds like a crazy argument to some of you but I really think there’s something there.

When you go to the polls in November, think about why you’re voting. Are you placing too much hope in one man to accomplish things that are really out of his control? I’ll concur that Obama has a lot of things going for him, but please, don’t vote for him because you think he’ll renew your sense of hope in America because in that, he will undoubtedly fail.