One Utah

I made a disparaging comment about Barack Obama the other day on Simple Utah Mormon Politics. Although I still stand by the comment as it relates to the machinations of Hillary Clinton, I have apologized here for the statement as it regarded Senator Obama. I spent 15 days recently with my three oldest children as a groupie/bouncer on their 2007 Utah Valley Children’s Choir tour. While riding the bus back home, I read The Audacity of Hope. I was so surprised and enthralled by most of what I read, that it took me only a day and a half to reach the end of its 364 pages. Imagine my surprise at how much I agreed with. For example:

…nobody benefits more than we do from the observance of international “rules of the road”. We can’t win converts to those rules if we act as if they apply to everyone but us. When the world’s sole superpower willingly restrains its power and abides by internationally agreed-upon standards of conduct, it sends a message that these are rules worth following, and robs terrorists and dictators of the argument that these rules are simply tools of American imperialism. (pg 309)

George W. Bush has rewritten the book on American imperialism in the eyes of terrorists and dictators. It was amazing to see how quickly the respect the world had for America after 9/11 dissipated after rumors began surfacing that Saddam Hussein’s days were numbered.

I hadn’t thought about affirmative action in quite the way many people think about it, until I read the book.

…there is always a fear on the part of many minorities that unless racial discrimination, past and present, stays on the fron burner, white America will be let off the hook, and hard-fought gains will be reversed. (pg 248)

He describes to me–in a way that I didn’t understand–the historical baseline for the plight of many urban blacks, which is the careful ghettoization of blacks due to “racial steering and restrictive covenants” and that they were “stacked up in public housing, where the schools were substandard and the parks were underfunded, and police protection was non-existent, and the drug trade was tolerated.” (pg 255)

…two aspects of race relations in America … require special attention–issues that fan the flames of racial conflict and undermine the progress that’s been made. With respect to the African American community, the issue is the deteriorating condition of inner-city poor. With respect to Latinos, it is the problem of undocumented workers… (pg 249)

I was very surprised to hear him say the following (and I’m interested in how many people on OneUtah agree with this statement):

American citizenship is a privilege and not a right; …without meaningful borders and respect for the law, the very things that brought [immigrants] to America, the opportunities and protections afforded those who live in this country, would surely erode;… (pg 267)

To read more, in a piece entitled I Agree with Barack Obama, click here.

This entry was posted Sunday, July 22nd, 2007 at 7:14 pm and is filed under Human Rights, Immigration, Religion. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.