Be the change

Be the change you want to see in the world.

I don't know who said that - my well-read friends here will surely help me with this point. What I know is that it is the kernel of wisdom that will save us in this time of financial crisis, this time of doubt and confusion, this epochal transition into an uncertain future.

Barack Obama, the community organizer, whose faith in collective action inspires his campaign for the presidency, is the right man for this time. For eight years, a corrupt political machine leveraged religion and prejudice to divide us and manipulate us for the benefit of the rich and powerful. How sick we are - our society and political system have been disfigured by this disease as surely as if a real and devastating virus had run amuk for the past eight years.

It is a wonder we have the strength to do now what we must.

Obama is another wonder. How strange that the man has arrived on the scene now, with exactly the right prescription. The remedy to this pathology is certainly not more of the same - we need a new remedy, a break with the past, a positive and unifying movement based on our shared values and interests - yes and also shared sacrifices, commitments, and rewards.

We have been in the dark too long - we aren't sure we believe anymore in our ability to make it happen. Perhaps I am too naive - perhaps this is also true of the Obama wunderkind - but I believe our best days are still ahead of us if we have the courage to work for it.

I am 53 years old. I have time, and some small talent, to contribute. I am working on making it happen. What about you? Will you do something?

This is what it is about now - it is in our hands. Whatever happens now, it will be because we made it happen, or did not.

Neil