Obama's Power of Hope

Obama's Power of Hope

Hope. It is the most powerful word in the English language. It is one of those words that transforms its meaning to suit each of us as an individual. Hope is more of a course than a destination. Every occasion, every event, every twist that destiny has in mind for us can dramatically change the course of hope. Think to yourself how you last used that chameleon of a word, and then think about how you used it the time before that. Chances are it changed meaning for you even from one day to the next. So it stands to reason that for every human being sharing air on our planet, regardless of race, gender, age or nationality, that tiny four letter word means something different. For the sick, hope means health. For the poor, hope means fortune. For the oppressed, hope means freedom. For the hungry, hope is a bountiful harvest. For those at war, their hope is peace.

Enter Barack Obama...the hope-peddler. Ever since his electrifying speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, he is the candidate that is most often associated with hope, but with such a vast array of meanings floating through our collective minds, how can it be the lynchpin on which to stake his candidacy?

The hopes of each of us, as individuals, can set the course of our personal goals and give us a direction and purpose for waking up every morning, it inspires action. We hope we can pay our bills on time, so we grudgingly get up and go to work. We hope that we can fit into last years jeans, so we cut out the midnight snacks. But what happens when we apply hope on a grander scale? Barack Obama has the keys to that answer in his very soul. There is one line in his stump speech that doesn't get a lot of attention, but it defines his agenda for America, "to give hope to the hopeless." The brutal truth of those words is the panacea promised by his message of hope.