Oklahoma Dreaming: Obama in the Morning
by Donna Schoenkopf
Barack Obama and I were born in the same hospital—Kapiolani Hospital, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
We were born eighteen years apart.
I know exactly where that hospital is. And I know exactly where his grandfather is buried. It’s in Punchbowl Cemetery, where my father is buried. It’s in the crater of a mountain high above the city of Honolulu. It’s a military cemetery and every year the boy scouts put flags on all the graves.
It is beautiful. Very beautiful.
And, if my father had lived, I would have stayed in Hawaii and gone to Punahou High School, the school Barry Obama went to.
By the time Barack was born, I was already in Oklahoma, feeling the intensity of the Civil Rights Movement.
All this is to say that I feel a deep connection to Barack Obama.
I know him. I know why he is the way he is. Because, even though I am a dramatic sort of person and he isn’t, I know why he doesn’t run in, metaphorical fists flying, when things get tough.
If you live in Hawaii, you live in diversity, broad and deep. And when you have diversity like that, something must be done to keep chaos and anger and hurt feelings at bay because, being a diverse society, one’s culture keeps bumping into other people’s cultures. And because there is a large Asian influence there, manners are very important. Shaming someone is serious.
An illustration:
My teacher friend William (we both taught in South Central L.A.) decided to move to the Big Island several years ago. He got a job at a school and began teaching his normal way ... the way a person teaches in South Central L.A. That means dealing with a lot of fighting and “Yo mama!” and things being settled between kids in a violent way a lot of the time, which requires a teacher to jump in with a loud voice and a serious manner. Sometimes some teachers use the patois of the culture and get a little rough when they are getting students under control.
So that’s what William did when he began teaching in Hawaii.
One day he confronted and disciplined a student in his usual way and the kid went straight to his parents who went straight to the principal who called William in for a very, very serious talk, all involved parties included.
The charge? In the child‘s own words, “He shamed me.”
William told me about it long distance.
And it all came back to me. The Hawaiian culture of not shaming, not abasing, not being disrespectful to another person.
I see it in President Obama.
I see it when he didn’t think it was funny when Joe Biden made a little joke about Chief Justice Roberts.
I see it when he gives the Republicans a seat at the table.
I see it when he sees the other side. And is Everyman.
That’s what I really, really like about him.
It isn’t fake. It is the real Obama. He is truly as accepting and respectful as he appears to be.
So I have been in a state of happy gleeful joy for the past couple of weeks because I, Donna Schoenkopf, am retired, and that means I am home in the mornings and I get to watch TV with a great cup of coffee, in my pajamas, with the day stretching out before me, all sweet and slow.
And what has been on television is “Obama in the Morning.”
It all began when Barack Obama spoke to the school children of America.
You remember ... right-wing parents getting up in arms about Obama (“He is not one of us!” “He’s a socialist!” “He’s the Anti-Christ!”) and letting it be known that people should not let their children go to school that day because they would be changed into Communist automatons.
????????????
(By the way, there was a school in Texas that refused to show the speech and then, a couple of days later, loaded up a school bus and took the children to see George Bush speak in person.)
So how did Obama’s speech go? I bet a lot of you didn’t get to hear it because you were out there working hard.
Here is my report:
He is a good father. He is serious. And kind. And inspiring.
He tells them they can be anything they want to be, if they work hard. And he tells them to work hard. And to be respectful to their teachers and their parents.
He talks about his mother waking him up at four in the morning to help him with his reading because they were living in Indonesia and she was worried about his losing his English skills. And when he complained that he was tired and didn’t want to do it, she told him that it was no picnic for her either, buster!
He is real.
He shares how hard it was but also how it was something he never forgot and how it gave him something priceless. It taught him to push himself and do the hard thing. It rewarded him.
And it showed how much his mother loved him.
As I watch, I find myself relating to him on many levels—as a mother who pushed her children and as a student who pushed herself and as someone who has been rewarded with wonderful children and a good life of teaching and a home of my own on a really pretty piece of land.
Well, THAT got my day going on a lovely note.
A few days later:
I am having coffee and watching the rain falling and listening to the television as I putter around. I hear the announcement that President Obama is about to speak to the folks who work on Wall Street.
Oh, this will be good, I think.
I grab my coffee (mmmmmm) and settle in on my couch.
The rain pours down.
The President walks into the room and the Wall Streeters burst into loud and prolonged applause.
And then the President begins.
He speaks seriously. He tells them that the economy is recovering and that is good. But what had happened to the economy because of greed and manipulation and lack of caring for anyone but themselves ... was NOT good.
He continues, saying that they have a responsibility to make sure that the horrible precipice the world (yes, the world) had teetered on will never happen again. Not on his watch. He is going to make sure of that.
They can forget business as usual. Period.
He tells them that our economy doesn’t exist just to give THEM a rich and rewarding life. It is supposed to benefit the workers of our nation, too. We, as a nation, MUST be a just nation, and that means making the rich richer by using the energy of the working man without equitable recompense cannot stand.
He does not smile. He is deadly serious.
The (mostly) men only applaud once, but they listen intently to every word.
And as he leaves he gets the same, very powerful, applause.
Still later in the week:
With rain still falling, (a beautiful spring rain in autumn) the announcement is made that President Obama is about to speak to some union workers at an auto plant in Ohio.
I pour myself a cup of lovely coffee and settle in.
President Obama walks into the union hall. He is coatless, sleeves rolled up. The place erupts into deafening applause. He smiles, that beaming, beautiful, toothy smile. He feels at home.
They love him and he loves them.
He tells them that the economy is beginning to turn around and that he is proud to be in the plant where the Chevy Cobalt is being made, the same Chevy Cobalt that gets 40 miles per gallon and is a great example of the new General Motors.
They holler with pride. He beams.
He tells them that he has just come from checking one out and that he climbed into the driver’s seat and that it was roomy.
He smiles that little smile.
They erupt with laughter.
He says he asked for the key. But they didn’t give him one. He says, “I just wanted to take it for a little spin.” That smile again.
And huge laughter and applause.
He talks about how the economy is turning around and that for the first time in eighteen months there is actual growth in the economy.
He says he is working to make sure that anybody looking for a job can get one. And not any job, but a GOOD job.
“That’s what I’m fighting for every single day.”
He says WE should be the leader in the world in invention and producing green energy and green transportation.
He says you, as union workers, are having to spend your time negotiating about health care, when you should be negotiating about wages.
The place booms its approval. Whooping and hollering.
“I have a ton of fight left in me. I’m skinny but I’m tough. We’re going to make Ohio work again!”
And he leaves with everybody as high as kites.
Got MY morning, I can tell you!
A few days ago:
My final “Obama in the Morning” experience was a few days ago.
No rain, but cloudy skies. Nice cuppa coffee.
I have been looking forward to the “Obama in the Morning Show“.
The announcement comes over the TV that the President will be speaking soon at a college in Maryland.
Then in he strides, beaming, touching hands, putting his hand on shoulders, HUGE applause.
He is at home, really at home. He loves those college students. And they love him.
He talks a little about the economy and health care, and they listen attentively, interrupting with heartfelt applause.
He calls out, “Fire it up!” And they holler back, “Fire it up!” Then, “Ready to go?” “Ready to go!”
He says, “I bet you’re wondering where that whole ‘Fire it up, ready to go!’ thing started. So I‘m going to tell you.”
And then he tells the story.
No cue cards. He tells it slowly and with relish, the corners of his mouth turning up subtly as he remembers.
You can tell he loves this story.
He begins by saying that he’d been on the campaign trail for a long time and he was tired and nobody knew his name, let alone how to pronounce it.
And then one day he met a woman, a legislator from South Carolina, at a dinner. He asked for her support and she said she’d give it to him IF he came to Greenwood.
“I had had a glass of wine so I said fine.”
A month goes by ... but don’t let me spoil this for you with my pitiful account. See it for yourself:
I know you will LOVE this.
It will get your day going on such a high note, you may not come down for days.
No, no, don’t thank me.
It’s my honor and my pleasure.
donna@fourstory.org
Comments
Fired Up! Ready to Go!! What a great story about your life in reFIREment. I know you are Ready to Go, ready to change the world. God knows we need it.
Thanks for the Fire. I needed that.
2009-09-23 by Annemarie St. JohnDonna, thanks! I hadn’t seen it. As I watched, I was struck by how positive and optimistic Obama and the crowd were. And I realize that’s why the opposition is not going to succeed, b/c they are harping on the negative to the extreme. People naturally prefer the positive, with encouragement and hope.
2009-09-24 by JudyLouDonna, only read this just now. Lovely column!
2009-09-26 by jim washburnDonna, being the remarkable man that he is, how could we not be inspired by his very life. We are so lucky to have him as our leader in these terrible times. BTW dear girl, you also inspire me and make me quite proud that I have you for a friend. Loved your column.
2009-09-29 by Janice Wood
Very interesting take on Hawaii and the culture of no shaming. It’s been a real pleasure to listen to a President who can speak in whole sentences and talk to Americans like they are adults. I sure hope enough of them are actually listening as adults.
2009-09-23 by Ann Calhoun