Obama is the best hope, argues Galal Nassar, for the Liberty Bell to ring once more The greatest tragedy any homeland or nation endures is to lose its soul, deviate from its course, flail around in the dark. This is what happened to America during the last administration. It is also what happened to Egypt during the so-called "corrective revolution" of the early 1970s. Over the last eight years the Republican administration turned against the principles of its founding fathers, negating a legacy that dates back to the French Revolution and the Declaration of Independence. America forgot much of what the constitution, the Liberty Bell, and the Statue of Liberty stand for. Instead it opted for counter-revolution, occupied other nations, invaded other countries, violated human rights, abused its military power, set up torture camps in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, spied on its political opposition, and discriminated between its own people. America was gripped by the arrogance of being the world's sole superpower. Theories declaring the end of history flourished. Academics tried to freeze one frame of history and turn it into an eternity. Meanwhile, the US pursued a stick and carrot policy with the rest of the world. As a result other countries had no choice but to fall in one of two categories: either victorious or vanquished, strong or weak, dominant or dominated. America, Israel, Iran, North Korea, China, Malaysia and Turkey chose category one. Egypt and most Arab states fell in category two. Now America is rediscovering its true self. America is trying to protect itself from itself. It is trying to promote national reconciliation at home and rethink its relations with other nations. The best thing about America is its principles, not its weapons or its mighty army. The best thing about America is the legacy of George Washington, Lafayette, Jefferson, Roosevelt, Lincoln, Truman and Kennedy. And that's the legacy the president-elect is trying to rediscover. Change is happening in America. It is happening because many Americans are sick and tired of the policies their administration has pursued for the last eight years. It is happening because Americans are fed up with the arrogance of power, neoconservative obsessions, military invasions and the unfair distribution of wealth. This is why the Republican conservative nominee, who wanted to follow the same policies as the current administration, lost. It is why "change" has become the only acceptable slogan. Once again the Americans are pursuing a dream, one that Martin Luther King told us about decades ago. A new saviour is in town. America's future president is expected to give precedence to justice over power, to righteousness over interest, to principle over realpolitik. America's future president is going to save the US economy from rapacious bankers and real estate speculators. He is going to give the poor a bigger piece of the pie and at the same time fix capitalism. America is on the verge of bankruptcy and it needs to listen to the neo- liberal ideas of Rawls and Hayek, economists who advised the state to intervene in markets in defence of consumers and the public good. The president-elect has to redress the relation between America and the rest of the world. He has to stop the blood from running in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has to end a tragedy that has claimed the lives of thousands of Americans and many more Iraqis. The aggression against Iraq and Afghanistan is a crime against nations, as well as a breach of the UN charter, human rights conventions, and the principle of self-determination. The president-elect is bound to treat Europe as an equal not a lackey, treat Russia as a partner not an enemy, and treat Latin America as a frontier of development not a backwater of exploitation. As for Palestine, the president-elect is committed to the two- state nation and to the fulfilment of the promises the outgoing administration made but failed to meet. Pre-election promises notwithstanding, the president-elect can only uphold justice by siding with Palestinian rights against aggression, occupation and settlements. The Arabs need to make their voice heard in America. They need to lobby better for their interests. And with all the money they have in US banks, and all US military bases in Arab territory, they can do it. Most Arab political regimes are pro-American and yet we don't seem to have much influence over US policy. The president-elect is a Democrat and the two houses of Congress are going to be dominated by Democrats. The advisers of the president-elect, Democrats and Republicans, reject the policies of the outgoing administration. We can, therefore, expect changes, a new spirit seeping into the US administration, all the way to the Pentagon and the Department of State. The Arabs may doubt the extent of change the president-elect is capable of introducing and they will be right about one thing, the future president is not going to care more about the Arabs than the Arabs care about themselves. The president-elect doesn't have time for those with low self-esteem and self-respect. You may have noticed that he didn't speak much to the Arab lobby during the election campaign. He visited Israel but none of its Arab neighbours. Remarkably, he didn't talk much about the rights of the Palestinian people, although he repeated, over and over again, his commitment to Israel's security. But there is a difference between commitment to Israel's security and support for its occupation of other people's lands. If Kadima and Labour form a coalition, the resulting Israeli government may be able to speak the language of the future US president. If, however, Likud and its right-wing allies win, relations between America and Israel are likely to worsen. The president-elect is expected to talk to US adversaries in Iran, North Korea and Cuba. He is expected to pursue peaceful solutions to the problems in Mauritania, the Sahara, Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, Congo and Central Asia. Hopefully, he will divert billions from military spending to resolving the problems of poverty, food and disease. Empowered with the charisma of men such as Lincoln, Kennedy and Martin Luther King, the well-spoken Democratic candidate conducted a campaign that was free from hate and prejudice. His Republican rival, meanwhile, mismanaged his campaign and chose a running mate with no domestic or international experience. The president-elect does not represent a persecuted minority or disgruntled community. He represents hope and purpose. If anything, his black roots and the fact that his father, Hussein, was a Muslim, make him a symbol of the diversity for which America stands. How long will it take him to bring America back to its true soul? We'll have to wait and see.
