Shining City Upon a Hill
The U.S. elections took over news headlines for a great part of November.
To say that the entire world is watching might be an overstatement. That it is loaded with expectations from foreign observers might be closer to the truth.
This 13-minute video by the New Yorker speaks volumes. The rest of the world, finds itself in pendulum between scoffing at talks of American exceptionalism, and keeping faith in America’s continued prosperity, for it to keep serving as a ‘beacon of hope’.
The fact that racial injustice and intergenerational poverty found the #BlackLivesMatter movement as the only outlet to seek reforms, and the failure of governments in many matured democracies to have their population comply with social restrictions for the pandemic, has amplified the argument against democratic governance as we know it.
Looking inwards and to countries in our near abroad, the common man in each country holds a varied view of what good governance looks like.
Certainly, my lived experiences of being born and raised in Singapore, as well as staying for extended periods in both the cities of Beijing and New York, have influenced my understanding of what a functional governance model should look like. Democratic society or not, most people get by in life without the need to challenge the status quo and can afford to be painfully unaware or ambivalent about civil and political liberty.
Yet I cannot shake this feeling that the draw in the American creed and democracy remains unequivocal. Knowing that you are not boxed in, have a certain degree of bargaining power, and different channels through which to be heard.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama in his new book — The Promised Land, opens the volume with an acknowledgement that “(America’s) ideals had always been secondary to conquest and subjugation, a racial caste system and rapacious capitalism”. His bid to make democracy work for everyone, in the words of his pastor Jeremiah Wright, had been premised on little more than the audacity of hope.
Critics of the Obama legacy are unfair in discrediting this as gilded ambition and empty rhetoric. There are many points in his presidency, where he had pursued means to make good his promise and used all tools the administration had at their disposal to make it happen. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act is one moving example.
Also, a widely known fact of Obama’s routine, is that reading letters from constituents, were often the last thing he did before going to bed each night. He describes these, as an everyday reminder of the human impact of decisions that his administration made.
I would write back on a note card embossed with the presidential seal, explaining the steps we were taking… offering whatever encouragement I could. I would then mark the original letter with instructions for my staff. “See if Treasury can check with the bank about a refinancing option.” Or “Does the VA have a loan program for vets in this situation”. Or simply, “Can we help?”
Although the selected letters that reached him, were carefully curated and sorted through by his staff, there is no question that having a conscientious leader at the helm makes a significant difference. In all countries alike, we look towards exceptional leaders like Obama, because we know that there is a better chance that they can represent our interests.
Incoming U.S. president Joe Biden, in the words of Barack Obama, is righteous, honest and cares about ordinary people. Obama and Kamala Harris too were known to be longtime political allies, probably going back to when she was the San Francisco district attorney. That alone is enough to rekindle the audacity of hope in many.