The Audacity of Hope, Part #6

In the eleventh portion of Barack Obama’s book, Obama talks primarily about how family has played an important role in America. He relates how many people believe that the family oriented American life is fading. He writes, “Social conservatives claim that the traditional family is under assault from Hollywood movies” (332). There is the idea that today’s culture is eroding the typical family structure. I myself believe this to be true, but that this is a change like any other in history. Obama later talks about the issue from a liberal point of view. He tells the reader, “Liberals point to the economic factors-from stagnate wages to inadequate daycare” (332). I look at all of these arguments and agree that change is occurring, but also that the causes are not going to be easy to pin down.

In the final section of Obama’s book, he goes over everything he has said and makes an overarching claim about what he thinks is in store for the country in the coming future. Obama writes, I look out across the reflecting pool, imagining the crowd stilled by Dr. King’s mighty cadence” (361). Obama still believes that there is room for improvement in America, and I agree with his statements. Of course, change doesn’t occur overnight, but change does happen. Later, Obama continues to talk about change in a different light. He finishes his final thoughts, saying, “My heart is filled with love for this country” (362). This country isn’t perfect yet, but there is a continued opportunity for improvement. That is the essence of what makes America great.

The Audacity of Hope, Post #5

As I read Barack Obama’s book, I continue to find relevant arguments about our country’s problems. In the ninth section of the book, Obama discusses America’s place in the world. He argues that reality doesn’t end at the US border. Instead, he says that people need to look at the world as a whole. He bases this on the time he spent living in Indonesia as a child. Obama writes, “My mother might scowl at the attitudes she heard from the other Americans in Jakarta, their condescension toward Indonesians, their unwillingness to learn anything about the country that was hosting them” (274). Obama makes the point the Americans don’t make the effort to understand other cultures, and that people think that their beliefs are the only ones that matter. From my perspective, America can never be a world leader if we choose to be ignorant or uncaring of other countries. Latter, Obama talks about how distant the United States is becoming for Indonesia. He explains, “I fear it’s becoming a land of strangers”(279). By not opening up to other countries, the US is secluding itself from much of the world. I just don’t think that the United States can call itself a leader if they don’t lead anyone.


As Obama continues, he talks about the United States military in foreign affairs. He starts off by explaining his ideas to US military reactions. At first, Obama says that opposition from another power causes the military to create a foreign presence. He elaborates, “What America needed, then, were stable allies- allies that shared the ideals of freedom, democracy, and the rule of law”(284). Obama lists instances like WWII where this proved to be true. He says that this is true with the Iraq war, saying, “We need to improve cultural sensitivity… so that Iraqis could see concrete benefits from US efforts”(301). From where I stand, it is much easier to win over a countries populace by helping them. If you don’t help a country after invading it, then you can’t help but expect its people to not like you.