Kick back and relax - it’s Hawaii!
Sunday, December 16, 2007
(Honolulu, Hawaii 7.30 a.m.- local time)
Surprised to be so close to where Barack Obama once lived and made his way to school in the Seventies, looking outside the window of Georgia McCauley. She has known Barack’s mother from her time when she lived in Indonesia. A close friend of the family, Georgia, works in an office that is 200 meters away from the building where Barack's grandmother “Toots” lives. In front of their house stands a Protestant church, and one mile up to the North is the famous Punahou high school where Obama graduated in 1979.
Georgia also told me that Maya Soetoro-Ng, Barack’s sister, lives on the island. She works as a teacher in a private school and has taken a sabbatical this term to join her older brother during the campaign in Chicago. This shows of a great love and a capacity for compassion - trademarks of the Obama campaign.
I feel that when time is right I will speak to his sister and get a picture of how she sees the world. I can’t wait to hear how these values of hope translate into the day-to-day world of politics. I find this Obama family most extraordinary, as I can not think that any of my family members (with exception of my brother Tarik) stopping what they are doing to join me in achieving a high goal I have set for myself.
The most amazing spirit I have met (from the circle of Hawaii friends of civil rights) was Faye Kennedy, the 76 year old sister of immortal Flo Kennedy, a prominent Feminist and Civil Rights Advocate - also the first black graduate of Columbia University Law School in the fifties, according to Faye.
As I listened to her wisdom, anecdotes and political opinions, I realize that an entire generation of activists and witnesses will soon disappear forever. They give space to another generation and their support for Obama closes the struggle. To fully understand the new generation and different games Barack plays is even hard for me. But Faye is totally aware that Obama needs to attract Independents, Republicans from white America. She says he has to be careful not to alienate the black community by pleasing the American mainstream too much - a tightrope people like Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton have failed to walk in the past elections, she says.
In her opinion there is plenty of political rivalry and jealousy that comes into play during the presidential campaign. Faye has a clear and sharp analyses of the political process and it also helps that her life spans more then 50 years of involvement in politics and community service. She worked as a NYC parole officer.
Hawaii seems to me like a perfect place to grow up and learn about diversity of life. A mild tropical climate together with versatile plants, a steady mix of people from all over the world. Paradise island...?
There is no so-called “racial tension” here, yet I hear of the typical discrimination for housing and jobs is like in the rest of the world. I get the feeling that growing up in a typical American middle class home, combined with Hawaiian spirit takes away the edginess and aggressiveness of Euro-Centric Anglo-Saxon corporate culture that dominates the world.
A mix of buddhist meditation centers and protestant churches which are overshadowed by Volcanic craters and surrounded by lush hills make a good birthplace for a future president.
I believe that although Barack has not lived with his father, the mentoring and influences he got from his grandparents on the island have made him different from his peers on the mainland.
I finally got my hard drive set up to do some editing today. After shooting for 10 days without seeing any footage, this is a feast for the eyes and I hope the podcast can be ready in a few days.