I sat myself down in Claryville on a cloudy, cold summer afternoon and watched the Obama Cairo speech beginning to end, and then read some of the internet reactions.
My short reaction is that Obama is a poster child for the importance of personal spiritual development. For the most part, the existence of these spiritually mature people makes no difference in the world. There are myriad ways of resisting the transformation they offer. Religious people are especially good at this kind of resistance, and the Middle East, I’m told, is filled with religious people. But that said, if there are some people out there who are ready, due to their own mysterious inner ripeness, to be brought someplace completely new – to metanoia, “mind-change,” “beyond-mind,” the Greek term which is generally translated “conversion” – people like Obama are the only people who can bring this kind of transformation. Because he’s already gotten there, and you can lead people only as far as you yourself have come.
The key thing he did was speak honestly, according to his own lights. He did not attempt to manipulate or pass off silly soundbites. This inner honesty is worth something in its own right, and could be sensed by any person who looked. This conveys respect and dignity far more than any line like “We respect your faith” or holding hands with some prince for the cameras. And I am told that one of the fundamental problems of people of the Middle East is a sense that they are not respected and not spoken to honestly.
This is true diplomacy, and true engagement. And this is a stance that is worth emulating in every aspect of our lives:
I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly the things we hold in our hearts, and that too often are said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other; to learn from each other; to respect one another; and to seek common ground. As the Holy Koran tells us, “Be conscious of God and speak always the truth.” That is what I will try to do – to speak the truth as best I can, humbled by the task before us, and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart.
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