Perspectives on President Obama

Share your own perspectives by clicking here!
INQUIRY: What are your reactions to the election of President Barack Hussein Obama?

Ken Wilber

Ken Wilber is the most widely translated academic writer in America, with 25 books translated into some 30 foreign languages, and is the first philosopher-psychologist to have his Collected Works published while still alive. Wilber is an internationally acknowledged leader and the preeminent scholar of the Integral stage of human development, which continues to gather momentum around the world. His many books, all of which are still in print, can be found at Amazon.com. Some of his more popular books include Integral Spirituality; No Boundary; Grace and Grit; Sex, Ecology, Spirituality; and the "everything" books: A Brief History of Everything (one of his largest selling books) and A Theory of Everything (probably the shortest introduction to his work). Ken Wilber is the founder of Integral Institute, Inc. and the co-founder of Integral Life, Inc.

There probably hasn’t been as much rampantly enthusiastic idealism surrounding a president since the election of John F. Kennedy than there is around Barack Obama. In the Integral community, this naturally translates into the question, “Is Obama Integral?”

I have put off responding to this question until now, first, because I didn’t want to get involved in active politics (because there is as yet no Integral Politics in place), but second (and over-riding the first), I don’t think we’ve have enough genuine information to tell. Notice, for example, that a major watchdog organization ranked Obama in the top 1 or 2 most liberal senators in Congress—hardly a badge of integral inclusiveness.

And yet, particularly as the campaign progressed, Obama began making increasingly Integral-sounding pronouncements. In fact, an Integral analysis of his acceptance speech by Corey deVos and Clint Fuhs showed a genuinely high percentage of Integrally-comprehensive language and ideas (especially compared to the other candidates). It seems, in fact, that somewhere during the campaign itself, Obama went from green exit (the pluralistic stage of development, with its inherently high liberalism) to initial teal Integral waves (the first Integral stages of development, with inherent Integrally-oriented political stances). Increasingly his language and his values systems seemed to shift, right before one’s eyes, into Integral spaces.

It is, of course, still too soon to make a solid judgment about this, but it seems safe to say that Barack Obama is likely moving into truly Integral waves of development and therefore beginning to evidence truly Integral values and positions. Combined with his already significantly developed states (which gives the very notable Radiance and Presence to his being), this means we might very well be seeing, certainly for the first time in this century, a truly Integrally-oriented President of the United States. In this climate of possibility, reigns the intense idealism and sense of promise that this new President brings with him: the hope and promise that a new tomorrow is truly possible, and that it is beginning now, right now. If so, this is indeed a genuinely historical moment, when Integral consciousness has actually descended in and through the voice and vision of the most powerful person on the planet. We are truly beginning to enter the Integral Age, and Barack Obama’s voice might be the most notable and important Integral voice in the political arena. How can we know for sure? Stay tuned!

Warren Farrell

Dr. Warren Farrell is the author of many books, including two award-winning international best-sellers, Why Men Are The Way They Are plus The Myth of Male Power. His most recent books are Women Can't Hear What Men Don't Say, which is a selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club, and Father and Child Reunion, about how fathers can be successful at both work and home.

A friend of mine who attended Harvard Law School with Barack Obama, recalled, “Barack sought out a conservative for a roommate so he could expose himself to another point of view.” And as President, Obama has also been internally secure enough to appoint brilliant people with diverse opinions. There could hardly be a better method of developing an integral consciousness. That's the good news.

The bad news? When brilliant people with diverse opinions are at the same table, their desire to make a point often prevents them from hearing a point. Successful peoples’ strong suit is making outstanding individual contributions. However, when the contributions of perhaps a dozen brilliant people are diverse, it brings a multitude of potentially conflicting ideas to the table. We then have the potential downside of a dozen Hercules’ pulling the ship of state in different directions.

Few do what President Obama does naturally: facilitate the person in the room who says little; or encourage the person whose contributions might question their premise. Since President Obama cannot be at dozens of high-level meetings simultaneously, every major Obama appointee needs to be trained to do what Obama does naturally.

It would be glib to describe the nature of that training in a few paragraphs; the interested reader can pursue it in Women Can't Hear What Men Don't Say.

David Meggyesy

David Meggyesy is a seven year NFL linebacker, and has recently retired as the Western Regional Director of the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). He authored his best selling football autobiography Out of Their League in 1971, which has been re-issued by the University of Nebraska Press (Bison Books) in 2005. Out of Their League was selected by Sports Illustrated in 2002 as one of the top 100 sports books ever written.

Even as one who considers himself a progressive and who sees positive social change and consciousness growth as deeply entwined, the reality of President Obama is still a stunner. I never thought we would see the day. We have gone through a 'dark night of the soul' during the last eight years.

I have two hopes, the first is that we take back our projections of President Obama as 'that larger-than-life person who will do it' and put responsibility for change back where it belongs, on ourselves. We, individually and collectively are that 'larger person'. And two, we take seriously Obama’s election victory speech call that we 'must do this together'. Together is what this country is all about. In my view we must 'hit it hard' while we have the opening. The forces of reaction that dive into simple minded mythic views of the world and self are alive and well. Yes, it is a great pivotal moment in human history, as the tectonic plates of the collective human soul are shifting. Thank God and the fates we now have a President who profoundly understands this reality. 

Robb Smith

Robb Smith is co-founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Integral Life, Inc. and Chief Executive Officer of Integral Institute, Inc.

On behalf of the entire Integral community, I’d like to extend sincere congratulations to President Obama on his historic election. Today we witness not only millennia of human progress symbolized in another peaceful transfer of political power but also the first black American to accept service in United States’ highest office. I believe it possible that today may be remembered throughout history as a turning point for the human race. Today may mark the birth of the Integral Age.

A leader today - whether in business, religion, politics or otherwise - has to lead at a time not only when the span in age of those she leads is the greatest it’s ever been (due to longer life spans), but so too is the span in developmental stages the widest it’s ever been (due to the ever-expanding edge of human evolution). At no time in history has the diversity of perspectives been greater, or the need more urgent for leaders who can reach across all perspectives and unite us in a common vision of responsibility and service.

The leading paradigm for handling this diversity, multiculturalism (and its insistence that all views are equal), has failed under the weight of its own absurdity. After all, if all views are equal than we cannot even accept our own views with any real seriousness, and we’re left to cope with our very own lives with either narcissism (“I am everything”) or nihilism (“I am nothing”). (Today’s teenagers are the canaries in this coal mine, essentially screaming for a way out of the existential crisis they’ve been taught to espouse.) That 2008 provided such frequent and horrific examples of what goes wrong with both ends of this spectrum only underscores its symbolism as the year the Information Age ended (sort of loud and painfully, as these things often do...). (+read more)

Zach Lind

Zach Lind is the drummer for the alternative rock band Jimmy Eat World, from Mesa, Arizona. Since forming in 1993, Jimmy Eat World has released six studio albums in over 15 years as a band.

During this election season and now into the first days of President Obama's Administration, I've been most touched by the witness of the African-American experience of this history in the making. It is through this "lens" that I find these events most profound. There is my own personal perspective of political satisfaction and elation that we have new leadership. But that's not all that interesting in my view. The real story is found through the perspective of others. Admittedly, as a white male who was raised in an affluent suburb of Phoenix, this lens is not at all a personal one. How could it be? But when I witness the overwhelming emotions of the African Americans in this country, it is truly awe inspiring. It is pure blessing to be alive to witness this transformational moment most recognized in the profound joy of African Americans young and old. Through their suffering and oppression they now experience this immeasurable joy that is simply out of reach for anyone who has not walked in their shoes. While it is a historical moment for all, regardless of color or creed, it is a moment that is uniquely theirs and I'm honored and humbled to share this experience with them in some small way.

Diane Musho Hamilton

Diane is Genpo Roshi’s first successor in the Big Mind Process lineage, as well as a dharma holder in traditional Zen. She is also a trained mediator. Diane has taught at Integral Institute’s Integral Life Practice Level 1 and Level 2 seminars, and has conducted her own Integral Zen Seminar.

I watched the inauguration of President Barack Obama at the conclusion of a Big Mind retreat in the Netherlands. A hundred or so Europeans and Americans gathered in the hotel lobby around two large television screens; the BBC on one station, CNN on the other. We watched like we were there on the Washington mall ourselves– celebratory, upbeat, grateful. Some smiled while some teared up; others congratulated the Americans on their choice for a new leader, and everyone seemed to welcome this change in a mood of ebullience and hope.

I have heard people comment on the event’s symbolic feast – how Obama’s words paled in comparison to the meaning conveyed by images - that of a young black president (bi-racial, really), asserting his conviction to the values of democracy and to the well-being of the globe. The spent idealogues passing out of power - one looking uptight and pinched; the other rolling grim-faced down the corridor in his wheel chair, vaguely resembling a worn out gangster in a fedora. Granted, they played their role, but the massive good-byes at the end of the day were real - anybody tuned into national issues, including federal court appointments, was happy to see them go.

Of course, there was the legendary diva singing to high heaven in her Sunday- go-to-meeting hat, her gospel roots harkening back to the history of slavery when freedom was found in church gatherings, in prayers and in singing. And there was the pristine elegance of a world-class group of musicians - Asian, Israeli, Latino, and African-American – playing vividly together in this post-post modern moment, a peculiar combination of the classical European tradition combined with something odd, something pop.

Earlier, in Obama’s controversial gesture of transcend and include, a burly Christian minister was invited to bellow his deep and heart-felt prayers to God and to Jesus, asking the holy father and his son to guide and to protect our country and bless our new leader. I had to admit I found him emotionally moving, and I created a symbolic place inside myself for this robust evangelical, even if I couldn’t relate to his mythic world-view or to his politics against the rights of homosexuals.

They say Obama’s speech was somber, intended to communicate the seriousness of our situation and the imperative to put our shoulder to the wheel. But one image in his speech that still stands out for me as poignant is his reminder that 60 years ago, his father would not have been served in a restaurant in this city.  I also took note of the persistent references of Diane Feinstein, the Chairperson of the Inaugural Committee, to the “peaceful transfer of power” that was occurring before us.  Often, I have taken those references to the evolution of our democracy for granted, but in the wake of the last eight years, I have grown to appreciate how steep a developmental path we have been on, and how easy it is to slip back to cruder ways of leveraging power and might. It is a simple fact that the Iraq invasion didn’t work, and I hope we will be far more cautious before we lording it over the ones we intend to free.

From an Integral perspective, this inauguration can be seen as a move forward, a testament to our evolutionary impulse, to the human capacity to learn, grow, and change, integrating disparate impulses along the way, and organizing ourselves into higher and wider structures of fullness and freedom.

Shawn Phillips

Fitness expert, business leader, innovator and author Shawn Phillips has been helping athletes, celebrities and tens of thousands of people to achieve strong, healthy bodies for over two decades. Shawn Phillips began sharing his expertise on training, nutrition, and supplementation by helping his brother, Bill Phillips (author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Body-for-LIFE), write articles and develop programs that were featured in Bill’s first newsletters and later in Muscle Media magazine.

Obama: A Time for Strength

The forces that conspired to elect Barack Obama president can not be overlooked. It’s quite likely that we, the US, had to be experiencing hard times, that we had to be awakened to the challenges, like it or not the cards were not in his favor. We needed the something to scare us to action—to wake us up if even only a little.

Now, like few times before, is truly a time for strength. I’m not talking about simple military strength or physical strength but truly Integral strength—a capacity beyond the ordinary that begins inside and radiates out into every area of our lives.

In Obama I see this type of authentic strength—a deep, stable yet flexible capacity. The strength to be open, to stand in the mystery, to be supported, to have moments where he is without “the” answer and the patience to allow things come to him. He’s not trying to force life to meet his beliefs or demands but rather surfing the waves and enjoying the ride.

This capacity, this movement, this force which has been awakening has inspired me. For the first time in my life I’ve felt the call to be active, to be involved, to be a part of the political process if not the system. For my entire life I’ve held mostly disdain for the broken system, voted on occasion, usually to voice my opposition more than to express a support.

In Obama I truly see hope, I feel the potential of possibility. It’s not about him, but truly the power of the collective. It’s about “us,” the people. For it’s not that I “hope” President Obama saves us, nor that he can change the world, but that we, as a people, are on the brink of waking up to our individual and collective strength. I worry not that we face the sudden, shocking freedom of enlightenment but more to our own growing sense of responsibility and power; and the courage to step into our full strength to change the world.

The U.S. was on the brink of something great in the 60’s. There we forces attempting to set us on the high-road—the fast lane to a brighter, more awakened existence and we took a wrong turn. We lost our most emboldened leaders in 1968 and never fully recovered. Since then we’ve had a collective regret, a sense of, “What could have been.”

Shortly before his assassination, Robert Kennedy was asked when the US would be ready to elect a black president: His answer, 40 years. Which—you got it—just happens to be 2008.

Perhaps we’ve come full circle, back to where we this all started, and are finally in a position to make the right turn, pass go and collect a much needed $200. If so, I believe we will quickly cease to regret the loss of time and come to embrace the now, the path, and accept that the last four decades as necessary lessons on the path.

On a Personal Note

What strikes me about Obama is not just his mastery of seemingly every moment, his skillfulness in answering questions or his ever present ease, but that I personally find myself inspired by the man himself. He is without question the first President or high-ranking government official that that has made me want to be a better person.

For a country facing extremely challenging times, so much so that we’re able to ignore one of the most devastating enemies to our sustainability and freedom; our declining health, wellness and increasing obesity, it’s a brilliant bonus that our president is a role model for strength and fitness. His admitted weakness for smoking makes him human and yet by all accounts he’s a fitness enthusiast of the highest order. And the first lady is right there with him, a role model. This overt commitment to health, fitness and a strong life can do nothing but help us all to live freer, clearer and stronger lives.

Saniel Bonder

Since 1992 Saniel Bonder has helped people fulfill their quests for a spiritual enlightenment they can naturally integrate with everyday human activity and relationships—and with their deeper life-purposes. Saniel is the founder of the “Waking Down in Mutuality” teachings and, with his wife Linda, is co-creator of the "WholeHEART Way."

The Small “d” Democratic Inauguration of a New Humanity

I’m writing this as
I’m watching the lead-up
to the Big Event.
Rushes of intense feelings and
tears keep interrupting me.
Seeing Ted Kennedy walk
onto the stage unaided …
the outgoing and incoming
First Ladies,
white and black,
walking down to
share a limousine …
one million people out there,
or is it two?,
freezing and joyous …
Obama and Bush appear,
to cheers …
supposedly BILLIONS worldwide
tuning in to at least some of this …
This is one of the
supreme
turning
points
not just of American history
but of all human history.
A pole vault —
or is it a rocket shot? —
to some higher altitude
for the human spirit worldwide.
A consummate restoration
all by itself,
this event,
of America to the real
power of its abiding leadership
of humanity:
not so much military,
financial, or political
as moral and,
yes, spiritual.
Onscreen: the two Presidents,
incoming and outgoing,
are now at the Capitol …
Israel purportedly rolling its troops
out of Gaza today, on purpose,
to coincide with This.
A young black girl
in the crowd holding up
a giant inflated globe
of our Blue Planet …
This event and even its greatest possible
aftermath are not going to “perfect”
our, in reality, non-perfectible Union.
No, its significance is bigger,
better than that,
because more real.
It’s a small “d” democratic,
instinctual divinely human
Inauguration
of a new humanity.
It’s not the creation of
some distant kingly God,
but that of the One Power
beating every one of these hearts,
now coming increasingly,
interconnectedly awake
in and as each and every one of us —
nationwide and worldwide.
This event activates,
inaugurates, carries
the “we” of us
to an altitude from which we may find
we simply never tumble down again.
But our new plateau is not
guaranteed.
Even a tiny knowledge of history
counsels humble recognition
of how lose-able
every developmental advance is,
how vulnerable and precious
every instant of our growth.
If we don’t keep going
forward and up,
we will almost certainly slip
back and down.
And so, how important are those themes
our heroic, handsome,
soon-to-be new
President
has been harping on all along —
hope and change, yes,
yet also
participation
and
responsibility.
On the screen,
that sea of nearly two million
sunlit, bundled-up people
of every age, race, creed,
and many nations,
chants and cheers,
visually vibrating
like a vast, singular organism.
An African-American,
decidedly un-New Age TV commentator,
awed by what we’re seeing,
voices a line of contemporary
Native American prophecy
that earned Obama
hoots of Republican derision
when he used it during the campaign,
yet utterly expresses
the truth of our time
that he has already embodied
like no other leader in history,
a few words now earning
the reputation of cliché
maybe because they’re just
too true:
We
are the ones
we’ve been
waiting for.

Share your own perspectives by clicking here!
INQUIRY: What are your reactions to the election of President Barack Hussein Obama?