Barack Obama‘s campaign for president is a example of how one person’s authentic presence can change the world. Obama’s way of being in the world is in stark contrast to that of George Bush. Ever since 9-11, George Bush has played on people’s fears as a way to increase his power and control. Fear, while an effective mechanism for control, does not bring about positive change. Rather, it leaves people paralyzed and/or apathetic.What Obama brings is hope, compassion, candor and authenticity. The power of this one man’s willingness to bring his whole self forward (not just his mind, but his heart and his spirit) is evident in the outpouring of support he has been receiving. His presence has brought about an upsurge in energy, excitement, and active involvement.

Obama’s life is a microcosm of what we, as a nation, need to do. We need to search for and find our identity, integrating all the different parts of the nation into a healthy whole. Obama embodies the Quilt of Humanity Model^TM. His life has been about making connections and building bridges, internally as well as externally.

Internally, as the son of a Black African man and a white American woman, he had to reconcile these two parts of himself, finding his own identity, sense of self, and place in the world. He had to struggle with the dissonance between his growing up in a loving white family while living in a world that projected negative racial stereotypes onto him as a Black man.

Externally, both in his role as President of the Harvard Law Review and as a member of the United States Senate, he has steered away from demonizing and steered toward finding common ground.

Even Obama’s fund-raising campaign builds connections. On Obama’s website, you can arrange to match someone else’s donation. And, through the website you can send a message to the person whose donation you matched and visa versa. Instead of an impersonal clicking on buttons to send money, you gain a relationship in the process and feel connected to and personally involved with the campaign’s fund-raising.

Whether or not you support Obama, he provides an example of the power of presence and authenticity.