Obama's Cairo Speech.

The last president's visit to the middle east region resulted in a shoe being thrown at him, this president was greeted with standing ovation. I watched the entire speech and much to my surprise found a speech full of substance and uneasy subjects. I admired the speech greatly and the man who spoke it. It cannot be an easy task to go into the middle east in a crowd full of muslims and talk about touchy matters like "womens rights", "religious intolerance", "democracy" and American and Islamic tensions. Very easily this president could have escaped these issues and touched on all the most redundant speech notes on foreign affairs and America's vested interests. He instead welcomed an open dialogue for the world to share in an hour long speech. Critics cite the speech as a part of Obama's "soft-power" approach to foreign affairs and will go on to mention what a waste of time this approach has on "these people". I suppose the opposite "hard-power" approach devised by Bush's administration was a winner? And what do critics mean when they say "these people"? Are they mutant hybrids of some sort? Genetically extremist-engineered human monsters that are incapable of reasoning, compassion and understanding? Well then of course we can't talk to "these people" they're not even people by those standards, they should be bombed and forced to live lives we deem suitable for them, oh and by the way they should also accept Jesus Christ as their saviour and god. Okay so enough of that nonsense. Obama lives in the real world and understands the real human problems that we all face and understands that if we start with our shared human needs and wants we all find common ground. Here a just a few quotes from his speech:

"So long as our relationship is defined by our differences we will empower those who sew hatred instead of piece"

"Based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition, instead they overlap and share common principles. Principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings"

"There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other, to learn from each other, to respect one another and to seek common ground"

And even Qur'an and Darfur quotes:

"As the holy Qur'an tells us 'Be conscious of god and speak always the truth'"

"When innocents in Bosnia and Darfur are slaughtered that is a stain on our collective conscious"

I encourage all who care to watch the speech in full and draw your own conclusions on the man, the speech and the goal.

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