By Kimberly Newton de Klootwyk
He views the world through an interacial lens is the way Beale put it (ABC 5 o'clock News). Beale was one of the pioneers who helped make Alabama's schools racially integrated. Fifty plus years later, the first black president is elected into the highest office in the United States.
Obama's interacial lens is nothing to be glossed over as it is in great part the reason why many U.S. Americans voted for him - whether consciously or not. He is a great leader because he is a natural cultural broker & mediator - his background, his ancestral mix, his upbringing and his education in a multicultural society has helped form his "oneness" mentality and his ability to perceive multiple perspectives simultaneously.
In short, he represents a new era in many ways - a new period in human history that is racially integrated and where global citizenship trumps nationalism. Of course Obama could not speak about global citizenship while running for a national office in a highly nationalistic country - but there is no doubt that his identity goes beyond the U.S. borders - that his presidency ushers in a new level of global and interconnected consciousness. This is exactly what a country like the United States needed, given that it is made up of people of all backgrounds and is considered a leader in the world stage. Globalization has materialized in a tangible way through the new president elect of the United States. At Instituto Conexiones we will be following this presidency closely because of its relevance to the work that we do to advance global consciousness and peaceful co-existence among people of different cultural backgrounds.
Lets see what Barak Obama, one of the world's most influential cultural brokers does with his new power to change the world for the better for all.
