Saturday, April 18, 2009

Obama and Chavez

I am thrilled with this gesture. Obama reaching out, bridging the nonsensical prejudices that indicate that the people that don't think like you, that live by values that you don't share, that act in ways that you don't accept - that you just plain ignore them, and don't talk to them. As if that would solve everything, would make them disappear, vanish! How will we ever get an understanding going, if we don't start acknowledging the other, no matter how strange they look? I always remind myself that as far from me that the other person seems, this is the same distance that the other sees mi.
I read abouthat this gesture of reaching out and giving a smile and the hand. And then I read the words of Chavez saying "I want to be your friend". I may be naif to see this as an interesting statement, but given the choice to be cynical and distrust, or to be naif and believe, I choose the second. As a matter of fact, being naif and believing has given me more positive surprises so far than I could imagine. Why not?