John Nichols: Alice Walker's wise counsel for Obama

John Nichols  —  11/13/2008 5:26 am

Pulitizer Prize-winning author Alice Walker, student of people's historian Howard Zinn and literary instructor to a generation or so with books such as "The Color Purple," has some advice for Barack Obama as he transitions from candidate to president.

Walker's advice takes the form of an open letter to Obama. But she speaks as well to a battered nation that seeks to come to grips with what many of its citizens dare to hope could be a transformational presidency.

The comfortably controversial, intellectually challenging and spiritually bold author expresses that hope in the warmest of terms -- as she does the relief that accompanied last Tuesday's election result. Walker is cautious with Obama, even gentle. Yet she prods as well, urging the president-elect "not to take on other people's enemies."

Here is Walker's wise counsel:

"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"

Here is a link to the "Democracy Now" program that includes Walker reading her letter.

This open letter comes as part of an ongoing open conversation among the author, the candidate and his supporters, which can be followed at www.theroot.com. In particular, the current letter expands on sentiments expressed by Walker in a remarkable piece written during the Democratic primary campaign.

When Britain's Guardian newspaper ran the piece, it was headlined: "Obama is the change that America has tried to hide: Only one candidate offers the radical departure for the 21st century the U.S. needs, for its own sake and the rest of the world's."

Walker writes about growing up in Georgia in the 1940s and contrasts her family's shack, with no electricity or running water, and the big white house of the plantation owner -- a white distant relative -- for whom her parents and siblings "did everything imaginable."

After she joined the freedom movement in her 20s, Walker notes, she was treated badly by white women as well as white men: "when I worked to register voters in Georgia, the broken bottles thrown at my head were gender free."

She said she supported Obama because he is "a remarkable human being, not perfect but humanly stunning, like King was and like Mandela is. We look at him as we looked at them, and are glad to be of our species. He is the change America has been trying desperately and for centuries to hide, ignore, kill. The change America must have if we are to convince the rest of the world that we care about people other than our (white) selves."

Any president-elect receives an immense amount of unsolicited advice. This president-elect will get more than most. It is his responsibility to sample broadly, to accept that which captures his imagination, to dismiss whatever insults his soul. But we might dare hope that Barack Obama the man -- an ambitious and adventurous reader who lists Toni Morrison's "Song of Solomon" as his favorite book -- might find time during this transition period to read these thoughts presented to him -- and to America -- by Alice Walker.

John Nichols is associate editor of The Capital Times.

John Nichols  —  11/13/2008 5:26 am