Toni Morrison's Letter to Barack Obama
contributed by Dedoceo Habi
Dear Senator Obama,
This letter represents a first for me--a public endorsement of a Presidential
candidate. I feel driven to let you know why I am writing it. One reason is it
may help gather other supporters; another is that this is one of those singular
moments that nations ignore at their peril. I will not rehearse the multiple
crises facing us, but of one thing I am certain: this opportunity for a
national evolution (even revolution) will not come again soon, and I am
convinced you are the person to capture it.
May I describe to you my thoughts?
I have admired Senator Clinton for years. Her knowledge always seemed to me
exhaustive; her negotiation of politics expert. However I am more compelled by
the quality of mind (as far as I can measure it) of a candidate. I cared little
for her gender as a source of my admiration, and the little I did care was
based on the fact that no liberal woman has ever ruled in America. Only
conservative or 'new-centrist' ones are allowed into that realm. Nor
do I care very much for your race[s]. I would not support you if that was all
you had to offer or because it might make me 'proud.'
In thinking carefully about the strengths of the candidates, I stunned myself
when I came to the following conclusion: that in addition to keen intelligence,
integrity and a rare authenticity, you exhibit something that has nothing to do
with age, experience, race or gender and something I don't see in other
candidates. That something is a creative imagination which coupled with
brilliance equals wisdom. It is too bad if we associate it only with gray hair
and old age. Or if we call searing vision naivete. Or if we believe cunning is
insight. Or if we settle for finessing cures tailored for each ravaged tree in
the forest while ignoring the poisonous landscape that feeds and surrounds it.
Wisdom is a gift; you can't train for it, inherit it, learn it in a class, or
earn it in the workplace--that access can foster the acquisition of knowledge,
but not wisdom.
When, I wondered, was the last time this country was guided by such a leader?
Someone whose moral center was un-embargoed? Someone with courage instead of
mere ambition? Someone who truly thinks of his country's citizens as
'we,' not 'they'? Someone who understands what it will take
to help America
realize the virtues it fancies about itself, what it desperately needs to
become in the world?
Our future is ripe, outrageously rich in its possibilities. Yet unleashing the
glory of that future will require a difficult labor, and some may be so
frightened of its birth they will refuse to abandon their nostalgia for the
womb. There have been a few prescient leaders in our past, but you are the man
for this time.
Good luck to you and to us.
Toni Morrison