by Ethan NichternAccording to the Washington Post, President Obama has postponed meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama until after a summit with Chinese Leader Hu Jintao. The Post claims this is an attempt to avoid ruffling feathers and to strengthen ties with the Chinese. Of course, I understand the move diplomatically. Pride and appearances are huge in diplomatic relations, especially with the Chinese. But what about standing up for truth, fairness, justice, interdependence?
Meanwhile, perhaps the coolest (and oldest?) reporter in America, Helen Thomas, gave press secretary Robert Gibbs an earful about the Obama administration's failure to forcefully and unequivocally stand tall and supporting the public option on health care reform (it's a great video clip to watch).
Leadership is about diplomacy, and listening to opposing perspectives,
for sure. No one interested in mindfulness and interdependence would
dispute that. However, those qualities come into play after you
stand tall for values - values like fairness, justice, compassion, and
interdependence. If you don't stand tall and firm --uncompromising-- on
those values, you have no real strength when it comes time to
negotiate, or to listen to opposition voices. Relatedly, on the issue of bipartisanship, I
often ask myself this question these days: "What's the point of working
on issues of representative government with the current Republican
minority, when that group keeps clearly and loudly stating that it dislikes the very idea of representative government?"
Has Obama lost your support at all? Did he have it to begin with? Just wondering.
Has Obama lost your support at all? Did he have it to begin with? Just wondering.
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As difficult as it is to be a qualitative leader, Mr. Obama seeks peace in conflict resolution. It is certainly not a new revelation to know you can't please all the people all of the time. It is my belief that if more energy were used to support change, the concept of the President's theme during his campaign, as well as Americans who used a democratic system to elect him, we could probably perceive things differently altogether. As a whole, possiblities are continually diminished by thinking small and maintaining the same beliefs. The unrealistic notion that Mr. Obama is some sort of magician with a wand and can make an ultimate difference by changing everything in less than a year's time is ridiculous. One of the important aspects emphasized by Mr. Obama during his campaign was that everyone will be responsible in making change happen, that he is not going to even mislead anyone by allowing them to avoid self-responsibility in making a contribution that would lead towards these changes (big or small). The finger pointing as the saying goes, is only redirected towards whomever is choosing to do so. We are a Nation who is impacted by all of the societal ills. Whatever the challenge is, not just one person is affected, we are all affected. Let us stop this dissection and continuing to hold up banners crying foul by only that which we have a personal interest in.
To all you blessed ones, suffering in delusion, who feel bad that Obama has postponed meeting w/HHDalai Lama, consider this: The great nation of China, a civilization existing continuously for 3500+ years, ruled by Communists for less than a good lifetime, whose population approaches 1.5 Billion people, now, stops, moves, and carefully considers the actions of *ONE MAN* - Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet...long after the "chi-coms" have been forgotten on history's scrap-heap, we shall still enjoy the 3 Jewels...
Do we have any statement directly from Obama on this? IOW, do we really know his reasoning? I find it curious that so many Buddhists (or at least those who read a Buddhist blog!) are so judgmental, one way or another.
Listen, folks, second-guessing Obama's intentions is a waste of time. The man is operating on the big stage with foreign leaders in a diplomatic way that most of the people reponding to this blog have no experience with. We can make assumptions that he has abandoned his moral principles, or we can continue to see what actions he pursues over time. Certainly no harm has been done by not meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama this month. In case you haven't noticed, the Dalai Lama has infinite patience! He is not a petulant man who is easily offended. Obama and The Dalai Lama HAVE had conversations- witness the photo of the two together. The Chinese have occupied Tibet for decades- Obama is not going to change that situation his first year in office, folks. In case you haven't noticed, there are many competing urgent needs on his plate. He has a war in Iraq and another in Afghanistan that he is responsible to handle. Good things take time, Rome wasn't built in a day, sometimes going slow works faster in the long run. If you respect HH the Dalai Lama, you respect this understanding.
I haven't written Obama off so quickly.
Obama is just a puppet. He has no mind of his own and makes decisions based on what his puppet master tells him. He's just amnother Hollywood fashion trend that's going out of style
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