Speaking to a colleague the other day about the recent announcement by Barclays on proposed lay off of staff in its investment and wealth management arms, she replied rather dejectedly, “…I hope Obama’s inauguration will bring some joy’.
The daily headlines don’t exactly read like a sweet Hansel and Gretel fairy tale. Job cuts, high street names going under, recession announcements by the government and debatable interest rate cuts (not exactly good news if savings are a cornerstone of your investment strategy).
As if this wasn’t enough, there’s Israel and the Palestinians. Grim faces, bloodied children, dead mothers and lives destroyed on both sides of the divide. To be candid, I don’t think there’ll ever be a short term solution to the Mid East crisis. Not as long as the stated ambition of Hamas is the ‘annihilation of the Jews’!
There are the depressing world wide questions of what to do about terrorism, AIDS, Robert Mugabe, Iraq and Afghanistan, North Korea and Iran. If I were Barack Obama, I’d be trembling at the knees by now. This young ex-Senator from Illinois carries the hopes and fears of not only Americans but the rest of the world as well. Black people, white people, Muslims, Christians, Iraqis, Afghans, Guantanamo Bay detainees, impoverished Zimbabweans…the list is endless. Everyone hoping that the exit of George ‘Whatever’ Bush and the entry of the young radical will bring some glimmer of hope to the darkness that plagues our world.
There is no magic wand, no silver bullet. The root causes of these problems predate even the George Bush years. There is so much despair everywhere you look. If there was ever a time for a messiah, a savior, a deliverer, the time is now.
As Barack Obama gets sworn in on January 20th, he carries with him the hopes of a nation and an entire world. This is no small burden. He appears calm, confident and focused. He makes no jokes about the task ahead and has quickly set about building his core team (brilliant choice Hillary Clinton), setting realistic goals (not sure about shutting down Guantanamo Bay) and generally planning his first days in the Oval Office. It’s that quiet confidence that makes one think that maybe, just maybe this man may actually have a clue.
Jesus Christ he is not but there’s just something about Barack Obama which seems to instill optimism. The world is desperately in need of change…and it had to come in the form of a black man!
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