In his first book, Dreams from My Father, published in 1995, Barack Obama described his childhood in Hawaii and Indonesia and his early adult years serving the poor, mainly black, communities of Chicago. The book ended with a visit to his father's homeland, Kenya. At this stage, Barack Obama was still resolving the difficulty of his black identity, the 'enough of a cross to bear' as he called it. during this second book, The Audacity of Hope, published in 2006, the resurrected soul is liberal to explore the universal problems of poverty in whatever colour, race or community they seem . The masses have every reason to doubt the motives of these who bid for top political office but in Barack Obama they found a pacesetter in whom they might place their trust.
Barack Obama explains the socioeconomic and political situation within the USA with great clarity and erudition. supported wide reading, years of working with poor communities and wide-ranging discussions with politicians of all persuasions, he searches for solutions that both target his objectives and compromise with the realities of the usually gridlocked political situation. As a US Senator during the Republican administration of George W Bush, he explains how he couldn't promote his own bills but was successful in advancing numerous amendments that ameliorated the impact on the weak and vulnerable.
The book ends with the words 'My heart is crammed with love for this country.' Barack Obama venerates the US Constitution bequeathed by the founding fathers and adheres to most of its basic principles. However he also realises that times change and a few revision is important , especially with the second amendment: the proper in touch arms. Another of his aims is to determine universal health care, free at the purpose of delivery. he's aware that in regulation , health care provision and welfare benefits generally, most other advanced countries are now far before the USA. He regrets that the world's richest country neglects the welfare of numerous of its citizens.
Barack Obama may be a self-confessed man of religion but he believes in freedom of worship and therefore the separation of church and state. He opposes fundamentalism altogether its guises and believes that folks of all faiths desire an equivalent things: meaningful employment, Social Security and family life, which they might achieve them by coming together during a spirit of tolerance and mutual respect. He notes that some churches have amassed enormous wealth that would be better spent towards these ends.
This book is now read after the phenomenon of the Obama Presidency, during which he struggled to advance his policies against determined and powerful opposition. it's sad to watch that during a modern democracy people can still be persuaded to vote against their own best interests. In time, enough people may realise that this book both explains how the USA is, and shows how it should be.
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