Letter to Barack Obama from Alice Walker

Letter from American author and feminist Alice Walker to President Barack
Obama:

Alice Walker on expectations, responsibilities and a new reality that is
almost more than the heart can bear.

Nov. 5, 2008
Dear Brother Obama,

You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us. Us being
the black people of the Southern United States. You think you know, because you
are thoughtful, and you have studied our history. But seeing you deliver the
torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade,
century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the flame of
justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear. And yet, this
observation is not intended to burden you, for you are of a different time, and,
indeed, because of all the relay runners before you, North America is a
different place. It is really only to say: Well done. We knew, through all the
generations, that you were with us, in us, the best of the spirit of Africa and
of the Americas. Knowing this, that you would actually appear, someday, was
part of our strength. Seeing you take your rightful place, based solely on
your wisdom, stamina and character, is a balm for the weary warriors of hope,
previously only sung about.

I would advise you to remember that you did not create the disaster that the
world is experiencing, and you alone are not responsible for bringing the world
back to balance. A primary responsibility that you do have, however, is to
cultivate happiness in your own life. To make a schedule that permits sufficient
time of rest and play with your gorgeous wife and lovely daughters. And so on.
One gathers that your family is large.
We are used to seeing men in the White House soon become juiceless and as
white-haired as the building; we notice their wives and children looking
strained and stressed. They soon have smiles so lacking in joy that they remind
us of scissors. This is no way to lead. Nor does your family deserve this fate.
One way of thinking about all this is: It is so bad now that there is no excuse
not to relax. From your happy, relaxed state, you can model real success, which
is all that so many people in the world really want. They may buy endless cars
and houses and furs and gobble up all the attention and space they can manage,
or barely manage, but this is because it is not yet clear to them that
success is truly an inside job. That it is within the reach of almost
everyone.

I would further advise you not to take on other people's enemies. Most
damage that others do to us is out of fear, humiliation and pain. Those feelings
occur in all of us, not just in those of us who profess a certain religious or
racial devotion. We must learn actually not to have enemies, but only confused
adversaries who are ourselves in disguise. It is understood by all that you are
commander in chief of the United States and are sworn to protect our beloved
country; this we understand, completely. However,
as my mother used to say, quoting a Bible with which I often fought, "hate
the sin, but love the sinner." There must be no more crushing of whole
communities, no more torture, no more dehumanizing as a means of ruling a
people's spirit. This has already happened to people of color, poor people,
women, children. We see where this leads, where it has led.

A good model of how to "work with the enemy" internally is presented by the
Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the Chinese
government that invaded Tibet. Because, finally, it is the soul that must be
preserved, if one is to remain a credible leader. All else might be lost; but
when the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to animals, to rivers,
to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies. And your smile, with which
we watch you do gracious battle with unjust characterizations, distortions and
lies, is that expression of healthy self-worth, spirit and soul, that, kept
happy and free and relaxed, can find an answering smile in all of us, lighting
our way, and brightening the world.

We are the ones we have been waiting for.

In Peace and Joy,
Alice Walker