Obama Fresh Starts

Recently it occurred to me that fresh starts is a foundational image for the United States. Almost four hundred years ago, Europeans crossed the Atlantic Ocean in search of a fresh start in the spiritual realm - freedom of worship. When they wrote the Declaration of Independence and formed our democracy they were making a fresh political start. Succeeding generations of immigrants, facing famine in their places of origin, came to our shores seeking a fresh economic start. Westward expansion across North America was also founded on the image of making a fresh start, the hope of providing a better life for one's family.

Barack Obama understands and lives out of America's foundational image. His father left Kenya to get an education that would allow him and his family to leave servitude to the British and make a fresh start. His mother, single and with two children to raise, made a fresh start in providing for her family by studying for a doctorate degree. Thus empowered, she enabled others caught in poverty to make fresh starts by providing them with micro loans.

Obama is calling Americans back to our creation story. He is challenging us to let go of oil dependency and make a fresh start with renewable energy. He is calling us to break withe the negative browbeating of contemporary politics and make a fresh start by discussing the common issues we face. He is asking us to renounce the "go it alone" posture of the Bush administration and make a fresh start as a partner within the international community.

As in the realm of nature, fresh starts in society assure the future of our children.