Obama's Optimism

There is much to be said for optimism and a belief that something is good and worth working toward. An optimist can create the situation for aspiration, while the pessimist can create only create the situation for an absence of aspiration. This is why nearly everyone in the world is looking to Obama because, in the aftermath of the failed and pessimistic world-view of the neo-conservative clique of the previous 8 years in America, there is the prospect for aspiration. An aspiration to something better than the fear, conflict, and base rhetoric. Obama has created the conditions for an aspiration to dialogue, a move to peace, and a recognition of interdependence.

Closer to home in Scotland, Labour continues with its aggressive rhetoric of unionism by championing fear and continues to play on people's uncertainty to justify their war and their failures to manage the UK eocnomy. Scotland can look to Obama for aspiration and also look toward independence as a way to aspire to the modern ideals of democracy, interdependence, and peace. Perhaps, if Scotland can aspire to something better than Labour's basic unionism then Obama could be inviting a Scottish Prime Minister for coffee and muffins at the White House. Now, that's something to aspire to.