When Barack Obama promised that he understood the need for change, many of us believed him. We saw his experience in lower groups of hierarchies – single mom, African American of mixed race, non-wealthy childhood – and concluded that he gets it that we need a monumental move away from hierarchies that favor those at the top.
If George W. Bush had tried the same campaign message, his promises would not have been credible because he has lived his life clueless on top of every major hierarchy in the United States.
It’s regrettable that Obama has chosen to surround himself with peers in his own higher groups, for example, people who are currently wealthy and associated with elite private schools. Obama appears to have isolated himself from the wisdom, knowledge, and perspectives that only come from experiences and associations with lower groups.
We expected and were promised a fresh outlook from Obama which he can't produce as long as his line of sight is up toward the top..
We hope that Obama will soon begin to turn his head and look out, not up. Only then will Obama become the national and global leader that the world wants and needs.
"You have billions of us who are rooting for you."
–Paul McCartney to Obama, June, 2010
