2-19-08 A Revolution of the Spirit

Though there is little difference between Clinton and Obama in specific policy agendas, there are profound differences in how they would govern and how they would change this country. It is the "vision thing" that George H. W. Bush put down, and cost him the presidency. The difference is their vision of change.

Change to Senator Hillary Clinton means replacing the sorry mess that is the Bush administration's policies in regard to war, taxes, economic regulation, healthcare and everything else that incompetence and insincerity have messed up. This is a worthy vision for any administration.

Senator Barack Obama, despite his agreement on virtually all of these issues, has an entirely different vision. He wants, above all else, to first renew the spirit of hope and self-respect that will make people again proud of themselves and the government that represents them. To Obama, the renewal of the spirit will lead to far more than the replacement of old ideas and the fixing of mistakes.

This distinction is what the Democratic primaries and caucuses are really about. The best description I have seen of these conflicting visions of change is in the "Freedom from Fear" speech by Aung San Suu Kyi, the Myanmar (Burmese) peace activist who was elected prime minister and then imprisoned by the military. She says:

"The quintessential revolution is that of the spirit, born of an intellectual conviction of the need for change in those mental attitudes and values which shape the course of a nation's development. A revolution which aims merely at changing the official policies and institutions with a view to an improvement in material conditions has little chance of genuine success. Without a revolution of the spirit the forces which produced the inequities of the old order would continue to be operative, posing a constant threat to the process of reform and regeneration." This is Lincolnesque.

This compelling need for a revolution of the spirit, for a renewal of our faith in something larger than ourselves accounts for the enthusiasm as well as the lack of focus on specific issues among Obama's followers and even his campaign staff.

Look at what we have done to ourselves and we easily see the need for what only a renewal of spirit can achieve. The tweakings of a policy wonk are most unlikely to adequately address the fundamentals that have brought us to this sorry state..

The uncalled for and unnecessary invasion of Iraq, Abu Ghraib, torture and the kidnapping of terror suspects have undermined not just the world's respect for us but our own self-respect. At the same time, a runaway globalization, a corrupt tax system, a falling dollar, a seriously faltering financial system and a recession of unknown seriousness are denying us the material means to face our problems.

Senator Clinton addresses this list of problems and talks about the sacrifices it will take to “actually deliver results in people's lives." She reminds us that "it will take a lot of hard work," all of which will take us far beyond the present administration with its fear mongering and refusal to face reality.

Obama goes well beyond this and echoes Aung San: "If we don't inspire the country to believe again, it doesn't matter how many policies and plans we have." He wants to "reengage the American people in the process of government, to get them excited and interested again." This is, I think, a worthier goal when we are feeling down and need someone who will lift our spirits.

In the end, Democratic primary voters and caucus goers will have to choose between an insider who wants to tackle the policies and institutions of the present political order and an outsider who wants to lift up the spirit of the people and shape the course of our nation's development.

The Democratic Party, with either a woman or an African-American as its presidential candidate, certainly promises a new vision for America. But there is still a very real choice between them.