The Messiah

What is it about certain men that inspires confidence and blind faith? Is it inherent or is it something that the person acquires through experience? The former, some would say, maybe a mix of both, as others would say. i wont be debating on that now. It is one topic that will forever remain open for discussion. The man of the moment is Barack H. Obama - The President of the United States. Feared by some and forever in the glare of the public, it is an enviable position as it brings with it the tag of "the most powerful man in the world". Obama took the sacred oath amidst great fanfare. The fact that the oath was bungled up was not considered an ill omen. It is ironic how omens are often decided after something ill has already befallen. If Obama fails, people will probably say it was all because his oath was not taken properly. His election campaign was followed with as much zeal as cricket or football. Everyone was convinced beforehand that Obama will do the needful and bring back peace and stability to the world. Why have people placed such confidence in this man? Is it his deadly serious demeanour? Or his near perfect oratory capabilties? Or maybe his color and origin? It could be one or all of these factors but even then how can these factors lead people to conclude that this man can single handedly undo the devastation that his predecessor has wrought whether it is the Iraq and Afghan wars or the utter deterioration of the American, and consequently, the global economy? Today we speak of America and recession in the same sentence, something that was considered blasphemy a year back. America's image has been tarnished and it has been labelled as an irresponsible state that cares only about it own profit. It is considered a hypocritical nation that preaches and does not practice. There are also several groups of people who believe that 9/11 was not a terrorist attack as commonly believed but a nefarious scheme by the American Government to enable them to besiege the middle east under the pretext of War on Terror. These are serious accusations and four years, or maybe even eight, are not enough to re-instill peoples' faith in America. It will require decades of work to undo the damage caused by the Bush era, which lies beyond the purview of Obama's tenure in the Oval Office. It will be a difficult time for Obama as the expectations of millions of people is riding on his back and the general perception has ruled out the possiblilty of a failure.
Yet his election to the post is as good start as America could hope to get to begin rebuilding their economy and image. He comes from a background that will ensure that he always keeps in mind that hob nobbing with only the rich and the elite does not solve the problems of the millions of poor and unemployed. He knows the hearts of these people and all his policies will undoubtedly involve the greater scheme of things. He has already shown that he is acutely aware of the problems that his nation and the world is facing and he plans to address them. He is well educated and most importantly he is not pretentious, arrogant or utterly unitelligent unlike his predecessor.
Whether we like it or not, all of us have some little expectation from Barack Obama. Deep within we hope, or even believe, that he will succeed. However it would serve us well to be realistic and remember that he is only one man. To expect too much from him and then to see him fail will only cause further problems. All we can do now is wait and watch. It will soon be clear if Obama is indeed a Messiah or just another smooth talker.