What would Barack Obama do?

Whenever I'm seeking advice - well, first off, I always go to my parents. But in that gesture, I've acquired a new catch phrase: "What would Barack Obama do?" My mom says this to me often now - because it works.

It's not a sleight against the popular phrase about Jesus and I have no aversion to the concept of admiring and following the example of Jesus as an historical leader of peace.

But my mom says this because there are many qualities to be admired about Barack Obama. Many qualities that I greatly admire. He's only human, so I'm sure that he has his moments when he's cranky or irritable or makes poor choices. As do we all. But think about some of his convictions - convictions which I advocate:

honesty

transparency in government

tolerance for the different walks of life

holding reason to high standards and a principle on which to judge everything

generally trying to be nice to people

prioritizing seeking alternative energy sources so that our social and economic system can continue to function even after our oil supplies are depleted

maintaining freedom of choice and civil liberties

working with and not against governmental parties of opposing beliefs

honoring the service of veterans and assuring their health care; channeling the government into paying more attention and care into our veterans, so that we don't have so many who are ungraciously forgotten and living under bridges

making diplomatic solutions a first priority, talking, and making hostile, military attacks a last resort instead of a preemptive strike; in other words, defending ourselves is important, but defense doesn't mean that we bring out our guns at every first sign of conflict

spending responsibly; keeping a budget instead of constant deficit spending

concentrating efforts and resources into education, which, in the long term, leads to better jobs, a better economy, less crime, less aggression

assuring that our country will care for our seniors, our disabled citizens, our poor, our sick, and our children, that we will not allow these people to go without health care or without the financial support to live

not making manipulation a tenet of your plan for personal success

sometimes, a smile goes a long way (you know you've seen it in the speeches!)

This is a mixture of policy and personal attributes. Obviously, I can't single-handedly assure diplomatic foreign relations or transparency in government. I can't single-handedly fix education, energy, veterans' rights, or responsible fiscal policy.

Here's what I can do:

First, and easiest, I can punctuate things with a smile. I can be honest. I can try not to pass judgment on others for being or thinking differently than I do; I can settle certain differences with a smile, so long as others are willing to do the same. I've met black people who don't care that I'm white. I've met lesbians who don't care that I'm with a man instead of a woman. I've met religious folks who don't care that I'm an atheist. (This is a trickier issue and the best answer I've received from religious folks is something to the effect of, "I'll let God pass judgment on you. It isn't my place." I totally accept this because if it's your conviction that we are controlled by the hand of God [or insert deity/term here], then it is also your conviction that I'm doing something wrong. However, by choosing to pass the right of judgment to your deity of choice instead of taking that responsibility yourself, you accept me and my differences on a human level.)

On the governmental, issues, first, and easiest, I can choose the candidate who gets my vote. I can choose to volunteer for that candidate. I can also look at the principles of those choices and try to apply them to my daily life:

I can't fix social security, but I can honor my parents in their senior years and try to contribute my share to their care. I can't fix foreign policy, but I can thank a veteran for his or her service if I meet one, even if I disagree with the war in which they served, because the policy of that war was not decided by that veteran. I can't fix the energy crisis, but I can drive a fuel-efficient car and I can choose to walk when it's reasonable to do so. I can't fix transparency in government, but I can offer explanations of my actions and plans at work. I can't fix fiscal policy, but I can keep a responsible budget for myself. I can't fix education policy, but I can support education and after school programs and take it seriously. (I work in this field, so I'm doing my part there. If I were a parent, I could provide homework help and support my child's teachers.) I can't fix wars, but when I have a conflict with someone else, I can offer diplomatic solutions and if diplomacy doesn't work, I can try to remove myself, politely, from that situation, and continue striving to channel my efforts into things that are positive and productive. (In a situation that's really bad, I can call the police.) I can't fix health care, but I can try to honor the needs of those who need it most. (For example, one day, I went to the doctor. I was ahead on the wait list of a little girl, about 5 or 6, who was extremely ill. I wasn't nearly as sick as she was, so I asked the assistant to give her my place on the waiting list because I could wait longer.)

These are little things that we can do in our everyday lives to support good policies and to take good examples into account, to let it influence our own, daily lives.