I just finished reading President Obama’s new book, which focuses on his journey from grassroots activism, rise to the US Senate, presidency, and his first term of the presidency. It’s started my political awakening - I’m much more enlightened about US politics, how it works, and why it’s so difficult to get anything done. I felt both more hopeful and more hopeless about things changing in the US democracy - in a way because we give voice to all, we end up giving voice to none.
I learned how as a president, Obama had to weigh each decision along political lines, how to garner support from both Democrats and Republicans, and that generally the opposing political party just flat out refused to cooperate or vote in his favor. Even if it made sense to do so, or that it would make thousands or millions of lives better, they chose to give the president a hard time in the hopes that he will fail and look bad, so they can take power next election.
This is just politicking. It’s not helping the people, it’s an excuse to get votes from more extreme sides of the political divide, and not wanting to be seen as cooperative or helping “the other side”. This is horrifying, that politics is literally driving this country apart. What would democracy lead to, if not a pitting of one side against the other? Would it end up in civil war? Are we humans doomed to always fighting each other?
When and how can we work together to make the world a better place, without the need to put each other down? On big issues like climate change, foreign policy, human rights, racism - there are so many things we need to work together on. It’s frustrating to read about them in Obama’s book and see what he has to deal with from his Congress. This is why I don’t like politics, and I think being president is a really tough and unenviable job.
No matter what the president did, someone would hate on it - whether it’s the ones opposing what he's doing, or the ones complaining he's not doing enough. Moreover, he had to make a lot of speeches - a lot of speeches! It’s quite crazy reading about what his day to day was like, and how he came up with various options and alternatives as he made decisions on each issue. It’s like a CEO who has to manage multiple adversarial, powerful stakeholders with their own agendas, and run a giant bureaucratic company without sinking the ship. At the same time, he had to manage his branding and the public’s opinion of every decision or non-decision he made. He’s also at risk of being assassinated, his life and his family being subject to scrutiny and attack, and being restricted in places to go, etc. What a tough job. What a tough life.
I cried more than I ever had for any book - romance, tragedy, or tearjerker - and I’m frankly surprised at how emotional I got at Obama’s writing. He has a way to pull at your heartstrings, for you to become passionate about his wins or losses, and make you feel touched simply through words. I can understand how that makes him such a good president. He knows how to tell a good story, and use the right anecdotes to relate to the people.
For those of you interested in the book - be forewarned that his book is not easy reading. It took me 19+ hours to finish, and over 3 weeks (mostly during my holiday break). It’s hard to read more than 1 or 2 chapters at a time, as it will make you reflect and turn introspective - about your life, your choices, your impact on the world. About politics, society and our very human nature. It makes you question and then hope that all the little things we struggle through will end up making a difference.
I gave the book 5/5 stars, and you can read my Goodreads review if you’d like to learn more. Also for those of you who are reading / has read it - message me! I’d love to discuss some of your thoughts on it as well :)
