The Intangible Victory
sometimes an open door is enough
2009-04-07
By Eric Easter

By all accounts, the G-20 Summit, did not net a laundry list of the kind of appreciable world-shaking results that protesters in the streets would have wanted, the decisions turning out to be more "agreements to agree," which is better than being disagreeable, but less than dramatic change. In this economy, however, that counts for something. For President Barack Obama's part, at least if you listen to his critics, his European tour was much the same way. It scored high on style points, on imagery, and on diplomacy, but not necessarily substance. But on the global political front, style and diplomacy are substance.

Wars have been started and populations decimated over slights and cultural misconceptions. For the last eight years, American policy in most places around the world has been one mired in misconception -- ours and everyone else's. And in places where our policies were sound, the presumption of poor judgment clouded opinion. How many times did we need to be reminded that President George W. Bush was well thought of in Africa?  How many of us still didn't trust that as truth even after hearing the evidence? Image can be everything.

In articulating what seemed to be a clear and more importantly, consistent world view that seemed to apply a single standard of fairness, the President  -- at least temporarily -- opened a door that has been shut for too long. An America that wields power and humility is more powerful. More than terrorism, it is the appearance of hypocrisy that threatens our safety. President Obama showed the face of an introspective America poised for maturity, not simply balls and muscle.

The public French fascination with Obama was perhaps predictable. Exceptional Black Americans have found welcoming arms from the French since the Jazz Age, and the elegant new president is Miles Davis, Richard Wright and James Baldwin wrapped in a taller, more powerful package. But behind closed doors, outside of camera view, charming Sarkozy is an incredible feat this soon in the wake of the Bush years. The royal family's giddiness over meeting Obama was not lost on the British public whose support Gordon Brown will need if he pushes an Obama-influenced agenda.

The world is, of course, a fickle place; and for that matter, so is America. Our strength is also our weakness. The freedom and democracy that allows us to change political direction from one president to the other every four or eight years all but guarantees that our standing in the world will change that frequently as well. But history shows us that it only takes a heartbeat for allies to become enemies, and the reverse. We were friends with the Russians until they became the Soviets and then once more when they became Russians again -- but then only sometimes. We have supported freedom fighters until they became dictators and in other places supported dictators over freedom fighters. We supported an apartheid regime until we couldn‚t and fought with Communists until they funded capitalists. Who could blame the world for being confused -- friend as well as enemy?

It would be somewhat naïve to think that the nation's strength is tied solely to the image of the person in charge in the White House. The bonds of money, natural resources, defense and trade will always supersede the personal touch. But the power of goodwill, and its residual impact throughout the diplomatic world, cannot be underestimated.

And barring any unforeseen circumstances (and there are always unforeseen circumstances on the world stage) the door can stay open. More open in some places than others for sure, but open nonetheless. With an open door, a lot can happen in four years --  or eight.

Eric Easter writes about politics, culture and technology for EbonyJet.com.