He Is But One Man, Not Superman

One man cannot change the world, but he can inspire many to change it.
I wish people would keep this in mind as we find ourselves with a new president, Barak H. Obama. I will be the first to admit that I’m excited that Obama has finally been sworn in, but I can’t help but feel a sense of fear as I viewed people wearing a shirt that has an image of Obama as superman at the inauguration held on Jan 20.
I’m sure Alex Ross, designer of this T-shirt, was just trying to support his candidate of choice. However, I think him and his t-shirt have become a poster-child for the misconceptions we have about this president.
He is no superman; he is a man. We have to realize that all his goals will take time. The famous lead singer of U2, Bono, who is a the cofounder of ONE, a movement to help fight poverty and disease in Africa, said that he is thrilled that Obama has stated a concern for other countries, but realized that it will take time because we must lick our own wounds first. More about one can be found at www.one.org.
Obama also addressed this fact in his inaugural speech today stating, “Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time, but know this America, they will be met.”
My biggest fear is that too many people will expect him to snap a few fingers and problems will disappear faster than a rabbit disappears down a hole when being chased. With this sort of expectation it seems inevitable that people will become impatient and once again abandon their hope for and pride in America. Without our hope and without our pride, we will never escape the hole we are currently in.
Obama has called every citizen to the front line. When I say this I mean that he needs us to participate. He needs us to take responsibility. He needs us to sacrifice. He is one man and his job is to lead us. He is obviously capable of being a good leader, but a leader is nothing if he has no followers.
Don’t sit back, watch and wait, because then, nothing will change.