Barack Obama: 27 Bands Weigh In

I have a simple hope, that he’ll lead you with honesty, integrity and wisdom. But, honesty I have no idea what to expect of him. Your campaign method always leaves both candidates tarnished, so whoever gets in comes with a lot of mud stuck onto him. So nobody really knows at this point whether he’s a good, honest man or not.

—Richard West, Threshold

Because Mr. Obama understands that the world is driven by the destructive certainty that comes with religious dogma, and because he understands how religions are tearing this world apart, then it stands to reason that Mr. Obama knows very well the power that the words of great leaders have when spoken in religious overtones. Mr. Obama clearly understands the enormous influence that religions have over the minds of the common people. Because of the enormous influence of religion, I think that the very first thing that Mr. Obama must change is the sentence that almost every politician says at the end of every speech: “God Bless America.”

I believe if Mr. Obama changes that sentence he could cause ripples through the spiritual psyche of the entire world. The spiritual psyche of the entire world is the template from which arises our most dangerous actions and our most selfish desires. If we can change the hearts of people we can change the world, if we only change the politics, we will cause conflict within that part of the world’s psyche that is at odds with the heart of man. However, if we change peoples hearts through love; we have a greater chance of being able to establish more harmonious political policies in the world. Mr. Obama should change that simple sentence, “God Bless America,” to something like: “May God bless every man, woman and child upon this Earth and may that blessing inspire in us, the desire to be of greater service to all of life. Thank you.”

I believe this will begin a deep transformation of the American psyche and the psyche of all people across the world— because remember, we are no longer “worlds apart,” we now have become a global village. We need every human being to become a vehicle of selfless service to all of life—to serve humans, animals, the oceans, the environment and especially the poor among us. Nothing else, and I mean nothing else can save this world from the path it is on but a deep ripening within every living man, woman and child of selfless service. This selfless service can only arise when we have the deep respect for all of life and the knowledge and understanding of the interdependence of all of life. Selfless service is the most practical path of spiritual progress no matter which way you look at it. As a world leader, Mr. Obama has the power to instill in all humans this notion of coming together to serve life to the best of our abilities. This attitude of selfless service cuts to the true and beautiful core of every religion, and cuts all the bullshit out!

—Robbi Rob, Tribe After Tribe