My Letter to Senator Barack Obama

[cenacle]

June 22, 2008
Portland, Oregon

Dear Senator Obama,

I am writing to you tonight in the full & hopeful expectation that come about seven months from now, you will be sworn in as the next President of the United States. You’ll take the vow to defend the Constitution, be nodded toward by a group of important faces, & a cheer will ring the globe. You will be a kind of new bride not just to this nation, but also to the six billion souls around the world your words & actions will affect from that winter’s day on.

The nightmare of George W. Bush in elected office will be over. He & his criminal brothers will be pushed off the world stage. Perhaps to continue their treacherous pursuits further in the shadows. But you, sir, will be the man chosen by a nation to bring its highest office back into common light.

Let me say several things as preamble here. First, I would have rathered that Al Gore take his rightful office at last next January. It was his to take, in my view, not yours or Senator Clinton’s or Senator Edwards. Certainly not John McCain’s. He chose to defer; millions sighed, & respected this choice.

Second, much of what I think & feel toward you involves your own word: hope. As a Senator, you did not stick out so very much. None of the Democrats have this decade. There is something of the coward in you each & all, that you saw the nightmare of George Bush & Dick Cheney & did not act beyond smoothly worded protests to bring them down. The wounds of this country & the world lay at your feet, & afresh each time soldiers die in Iraq, each time the American economy is raped new by the corporate elite. Each time the corporate media whores reduce the complexities of human lives to an embarrassing photo or an intense argument about principles of law & morality few if any of them understand, much less care for when the day’s headline moves on.

Hope. You came into our lives using that word. Hope. It is a word for wishes, for suffering, spoken by the vulnerable, the desperate. You said it over & over until many of us became willing to keep listening. To allow hope again.

We didn’t lose it when the World Trade Towers fell on 9/11/2001. However it came that they fell. No, we began to lose hope more when we saw Bush obliterate Iraq for no reason, & nobody stopped him. Not the United Nations. Not the Constitutional separation of powers that says that Congress shall declare wars.

We lost more hope when Bush stole another election in 2004 & nobody blinked. We lost more as the death toll in Iraq climbed into the many thousands & was forbidden to be seen even on our televisions.

We lost hope when we were told we could be locked up forever, when we were told we were being spied on, when our costs for bread & gasoline skyrocketed while the few made billions.

So, Senator, you said hope & we salivated, our souls sweated for it. Hope, like faith its close kin, raises even when there is no logic to it.

This draws me near to my point. I don’t expect you to cure every ill or solve every woe. Men will still hate for reasons of skin, ethnicity, sex, countless other even more ridiculous reasons.

Children will still cry, adults will still get lonely & drink til the pain numbs. The elite of this world will still find ways to suck the planet’s varied & plentiful tit like it was theirs more than others’ by divine right.

No, you are one man, with finite powers of office & intellect. And a big, big shitheap to go at. Eight years of George W. Bush’s smiling okie-dokey pard’ners as he squats upon every creature in this world & lets his private shit-storm of demons fly in every direction. Walk off hitching up his drawers & saying “y’all remember what all I done for you.”

Senator, Mr. Obama, Barack: it’s simple. Don’t fuck it up. We will get you into office, by the millions will we get you there. Right now there’s no real fight left in Bush’s remains. Oh, like Jack Nicholson says in "Easy Rider": “they’ll talk to you & talk to you & talk to you” but they are re-trenching. Even a gang of rapists will take a break for a piss & a cold brew.

We’ll get you to next January when you will take that oath on that bright winter’s day. Then we’ll do more than watch: We’ll keep doing what’s getting you to that day, what’s pushing opposition from your path.

See, being our hero right now is hard work but I think it’s kind of easy too. Lots of pretty speeches, lots of perty promises. No, sir, wait until you are our President, the one we blog & shout & phonebank & argue & canvass & donate for. Just wait.

You will end the War in Iraq. You will stop the spying on American citizens. You will get us out of the prison cage of petrocrats. You will help the poor & the sick & the vulnerable of this nation, & you will rejoin this nation to the world of nations. You will become the world’s number one advocate for peace among all men & women, & healing with our mother planet.

If you do not. If you deal from the bottom with the corporate jackal whores consuming all blindly these many years, if you go soft on defending the defenseless, if you turn to bullets & platitudes as though salvation, we will drive you, sir, from office to a place in Hell that will look far up toward George W. Bush’s.

That’s what it’s like to have raised our hopes, to hold them, to ask we work our days toward that January day & your vow to defend the Constitution. That’s what is going on, the spirits raised up & roiling right now.

I will vote for you. I will work for your campaign after my own ways. I will cheer when you take office. But I will be with millions watching thereafter, & still ready for whatever comes next.

Sincerely,
RS
Scriptor Press
Portland, Oregon
http://www.scriptorpress.com

[babylonsister]

1. Have you ever heard the expression, 'you get more bees with honey'?

I think your threats are ridiculous, but it's your letter. Have at it.

[cenacle]

4. I'm not interested in threats or in honey...

Senator Obama is running for elected office. He is asking for each of our votes on the basis of promises he makes of what he intends to do if he gets elected. I have pledged to help him in that effort. But I am not going to vote for the man and not take a deep interest in how he does once he gets there. Does he keep his promises? Does he at least try?

I don't want to have a beer with him, I don't want to think of him as my buddy. He's not my savior and I'm not a member of the media-created "cult of Obama." This is a job he wants, but a very important job, one of the most important in the world. I believe he will do it well, but nobody will know for sure until he gets into office and starts in to doing it.

He is running by raising hope, by talking to people who are struggling and suffering. Since I wrote that letter, I've been laid off from my job, so I am again one of those who are struggling and suffering, fearing the worst. Senator Obama wants to help, says he is going to help. That's what I want him to do.

But if he doesn't, the disappointment will be loud and widespread. It's that simple. Bush never raised the hopes of more than his rich buddies. Obama speaks to people's hearts and minds and souls. It is very appealing. But it carries with it big expectations.

[babylonsister]

9. Fine. So you should have written that instead of this, and explained

why you felt compelled to write such a heartfelt letter, explaining your situation, etc.

This is laughable given how well we've been able to control the dim son. And FWIW, I don't believe for a second Obama has ulterior motives to continue the policies of the dim one, if that helps you any. I guess you're just venting, but whether you like honey or not, there are better ways to get attention.


"If you do not. If you deal from the bottom with the corporate jackal whores consuming all blindly these many years, if you go soft on defending the defenseless, if you turn to bullets & platitudes as though salvation, we will drive you, sir, from office to a place in Hell that will look far up toward George W. Bush’s."

[cenacle]

28. I hope he plays straight...

I'm going to vote for him on that faith. But we'll see. He's a politician, and is vulnerable now and in the future. We have to stay vigilant. That's my letter in a nutshell. We'll get him into office, and stay vigilant in telling him how we feel. He is our elected representative. It's up to us. Obama has said as much himself.

If he does well, I'll write him that glowing letter, and I'll post it here for all to see. That's a promise.

Good night, all.

[sniffa]

2. Here's a copy of my letter to Obama

[zippy890]

6. VERY nice letter

Michelle will keep that one in the special box.

:rofl:

Its the heart. kinda chokes me up its so...hearty heart

gosh thats nice.

[sniffa]

14. I even signed it too

to give it that personal touch. :D

[cenacle]

7. thanks for the respect...

eom

[sniffa]

13. You're getting the kid gloves

I'm usually more over the top in mocking. :hi:

[LaurenG]

10. Best letter ever!

:loveya:

[sniffa]

15. Aw, thank you

:loveya:

[question everything]

3. Too long to be considered by any institution

that gets millions of letters and emails a day.

And, shit and fuck - while endeared by Carlin - do not carry the day in a formal letter.

Don't be surprised if your letter ends up in a "shitheap" of similar ones.

[cenacle]

5. I did not write it expecting a personal reply...

and I wrote it in my own words, which include many more than the two you point out. I wrote from 8 years of frustration and anger, as well as from the sense of hope I now have. Additionally, I wrote it knowing I would show this letter to others and they would read it, and maybe write their own letters, or at least think about it. We can each make a difference in the world by our words and our actions, and this letter was my expression to the man who would be the next President. I had to speak honestly, and feel I'd said what I'd needed to.

[Diogenes2]

12. Does "honesty" naturally require obscene

and offensive language, or does that reflect an inability to adequately express yourself? If the only means you possess to express yourself "forcefully" is a stream of four letter epithets from the bathroom, your potential to "reach" anyone with your opinions is severely limited. Try disciplining your language and striving for coherent expression if you wish to "discipline" someone else's behavior as you seem to be doing here. Just some friendly advice... :-)

[cenacle]

27. you put your quotation marks in the wrong place...

should have been around the word "friendly"...funny how the meme on my letter is "offensive language"...easier than reading the whole thing and engaging it thoughtfully...what a bunch of sheep...

[Diogenes2]

29. I did try to tell you...

in the friendliest way I could that your use of gutter language is not aiding your cause. It IS possible to phrase the most forcible criticism imaginable without using that stupid schoolyard language. Your confusion of not using obscenity with being too "mild" is bogus-- your "four-letter" vocabulary undermines your criticisms, to whatever extent they may be valid, by lowering the level of the discussion to that of a 7-year-old. I think you're capable of being a bit more clever and imaginative than that, and still making your "points" quite vividly and explicitly. Thank you.

[islandmkl]

8. in other words...

Dear Barack: It is up to you to do everything to get America back on track. In the meantime, and remember, I am behind you 100%, I will keep my eye on you. And do nothing, or very little, myself.

I'm watching,

cenacle

[cenacle]

11. tell me something...

is that your idea of political discourse or discussion? Your words are not mine, in any sense. When someone puts themselves out, lays out their thoughts and feelings, is it your habit to go smartass on them? Fun, huh? Bring someone down a notch who decided to express an opinion? Feel good? Showed me what's what?

What we need are more people trying to make a difference in this world, and fewer standing around pointing fingers and laughing. You can post a dozen words here and think you've done something, but I was the one who wrote to him, at length.

Write your own letter to Obama, if you haven't. But don't think you can belittle mine with what amounts to a schoolkid's sense of humor.

[islandmkl]

17. FWIW: I write him a small note every time I send him money...

and get back a nice reply.

That is all.

[sniffa]

16. And here's your letter to Senator Kennedy

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3819421&mesg_id=3819421

[babylonsister]

20. Wow. Despicable. Good memory, sniffa. nt

[sniffa]

21. Not a good memory, just a curious search

:D

[babylonsister]

22. Either way, well done! nt

[cenacle]

25. What a bunch of loons...

I stand by both letters. And my right to compose them, and offer them here. Think what you want, and bully with belittlement. There are all sorts of people on these boards. I have my own opinions, and it's funny how when they don't tote the common line here, they get attacked.

I'm not interested in Obama as an unassailable hero. I'm interested in him as an effective leader, as one who can help guide this country out of the mess Bush led us into. He strikes me as intelligent, cool, and tough. And eager to take on the status quo. I admire him for that. And I plan to vote for him.

But we must as a nation of citizens stay vigilant. The progressive movement has built up, partly through the netroots, a greater influence on legislators. They listen now more than ever to us. Getting Obama into office is just the first big step involved in getting this country back.

As for the language, I believe a person should speak his truth in the way he regards as truest. I can't talk about the Bush crime family in mild tones. These years have been a nightmare to us all. Except the very few who made lots of money.

As for my political affiliation, I registered Democrat to vote for Obama in the Oregon primary. I don't feel much of an affiliation to the Democratic party mainstream right now. The one more representated by Pelosi than Feingold. I foresee a progressive party break off at some point if the Dems don't take a surprising turn back to the left. I hope they do.

Lastly, for individuals telling me that I am not respectful, there is not a post here that engages my ideas with any depth or compassion. A few of you could write for the mainstream media by the ways you take a very little to try to sum up a much larger whole.

In the end, it's language and opinion. Nobody here intimidates me with name calling or bullying, or the one who posted a stupid graphic. I find this site more and more disapppointing, in fact, the really awful way people attacked each other during the Democratic primaries. Talk about loss of focus on the point of things. I offered up my letter for intelligent discussion and got mocked. And the mockers got applauded.

Go dig up some more of my posts. Maybe you'll find my dirty love note to Karl Rove. But I don't think you will.
Go join the whiny brats in the Bush cabal before it's too late, the ones who try to use hand throwing emotive persuasion in lieu of rational thought.

[islandmkl]

18. are these cut & paste form letters available...

and where, pray tell, can the rest of us find them?

are there ones for repukes, too?

[Life Long Dem]

19. Your candidate lost. n/t

Don't take it out on our candidate.

[cenacle]

26. my candidate has been Obama since early February...

before Super Tuesday. So your easy assumption is wrong, pard'ner.

[ecstatic]

23. I find your letter of concern to be rude, disrespectful, condescending

but I'm glad to know that your rudeness is not just directed towards Obama (earlier in the thread, your similarly distasteful letter to Sen. Kennedy was revealed).

Maybe you're just extremely cynical, maybe you're not even a Democrat or even a liberal--but I just think there's a more appropriate way to get your point across.

You should revise your letter to remove the foul language, sarcasm, and the constant references to "rape."

[grantcart]

24. What a presumptuous ass

See, being our hero right now is hard work but I think it’s kind of easy too. Lots of pretty speeches, lots of perty promises. No, sir, wait until you are our President, the one we blog & shout & phonebank & argue & canvass & donate for. Just wait.



If it is so easy then why don't you run for office, mayor, councilperson, state representative. Then rather than telling people who easy it is you can show us how easy it is.