Great article on Obama's mother in the NYT today

[BeyondGeography]

A Free-Spirited Wanderer Who Set Obama’s Path

In the capsule version of the Barack Obama story, his mother is simply the white woman from Kansas. The phrase comes coupled alliteratively to its counterpart, the black father from Kenya. On the campaign trail, he has called her his “single mom.” But neither description begins to capture the unconventional life of Stanley Ann Dunham Soetoro, the parent who most shaped Mr. Obama.

...“She felt that somehow, wandering through uncharted territory, we might stumble upon something that will, in an instant, seem to represent who we are at the core,” said Maya Soetoro-Ng, Mr. Obama’s half-sister. “That was very much her philosophy of life — to not be limited by fear or narrow definitions, to not build walls around ourselves and to do our best to find kinship and beauty in unexpected places.”

...That both unions ended is beside the point, some friends suggested. Ms. Soetoro remained loyal to both husbands and encouraged her children to feel connected to their fathers. (In reading drafts of her son’s memoir, Mr. Obama has said, she did not comment upon his depiction of her but was “quick to explain or defend the less flattering aspects of my father’s character.”)

“She always felt that marriage as an institution was not particularly essential or important,” said Nina Nayar, who later became a close friend of Ms. Soetoro. What mattered to her, Ms. Nayar said, was to have loved deeply.

...As a mother, Ms. Soetoro was both idealistic and exacting. Friends describe her as variously informal and intense, humorous and hardheaded. She preached to her young son the importance of honesty, straight talk, independent judgment. When he balked at her early-morning home schooling, she retorted, “This is no picnic for me either, buster.”

...“She gave us a very broad understanding of the world,” her daughter said. “She hated bigotry. She was very determined to be remembered for a life of service and thought that service was really the true measure of a life.” Many of her friends see her legacy in Mr. Obama — in his self-assurance and drive, his boundary bridging, even his apparent comfort with strong women. Some say she changed them, too.

“I feel she taught me how to live,” said Ms. Nayar, who was in her 20s when she met Ms. Soetoro at Women’s World Banking. “She was not particularly concerned about what society would say about working women, single women, women marrying outside their culture, women who were fearless and who dreamed big.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/14/us/politics/14obama.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&th&emc=th&adxnnlx=1205506863-GZ7ysQ2kF%20HPNWMtmJBrgQ

[TwilightGardener]

1. Well, she was an atheist, so I'm sure the Hillary Poo Flingers will

be along to start painting Obama as a godless heathen...except when he's a crazy black radical like his pastor...except when he's a secret Muslim...

[BeyondGeography]

2. Pastorbators

[mmonk]

14. .

:rofl:

[uponit7771]

17. lol!!!

[1776Forever]

4. Thomas Jefferson had a similar idea to what religion is about

From what I have read on Obama's Mother, Thomas Jefferson had a similar idea to what religion is about.

http://www.nobeliefs.com/jefferson.htm

THOMAS JEFFERSON ON CHRISTIANITY & RELIGION

Compiled by Jim Walker

(snip)

In spite of right-wing Christian attempts to rewrite history to make Jefferson into a Christian, little about his philosophy resembles that of Christianity. Although Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence wrote of the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God, there exists nothing in the Declaration about Christianity.

Although Jefferson believed in a Creator, his concept of it resembled that of the god of deism (the term "Nature's God" used by deists of the time). With his scientific bent, Jefferson sought to organize his thoughts on religion. He rejected the superstitions and mysticism of Christianity and even went so far as to edit the gospels, removing the miracles and mysticism of Jesus (see The Jefferson Bible) leaving only what he deemed the correct moral philosophy of Jesus.

..........

http://atheism.about.com/od/barackobamareligionfaith/a/ObamaReligion.htm

In his book The Audacity of Hope, Barack Obama writes:

I was not raised in a religious household. For my mother, organized religion too often dressed up closed-mindedness in the garb of piety, cruelty and oppression in the cloak of righteousness. However, in her mind, a working knowledge of the world's great religions was a necessary part of any well-rounded education. In our household the Bible, the Koran, and the Bhagavad Gita sat on the shelf alongside books of Greek and Norse and African mythology.

On Easter or Christmas Day my mother might drag me to church, just as she dragged me to the Buddhist temple, the Chinese New Year celebration, the Shinto shrine, and ancient Hawaiian burial sites.In sum, my mother viewed religion through the eyes of the anthropologist; it was a phenomenon to be treated with a suitable respect, but with a suitable detachment as well.

........

I salute this very wise and progressive woman who helped to shape such an outstanding man!

:grouphug:

[TwilightGardener]

10. She certainly taught him to approach life with an open mind--

for all the furor over the Pastor issue, I'm sure that his mother's teaching of maintaining a "suitable detachment" when it comes to religion means that he can reject those teachings and views from his pastor that he deems wrong, while still appreciating and absorbing the other lessons and beliefs that he agrees with. He seems to have the ability to move easily from one culture and community to another, appreciating the good while not succumbing to the negative or harmful aspects. That's one of the reasons I admire him.

[1776Forever]

11. As do I ........

:thumbsup:

[kstewart33]

3. Great article. Thanks for posting. nt

[K Gardner]

5. She was a truly incredible woman and it is no wonder her son is the incredible man he is today.

[BeyondGeography]

9. I agree...she strikes me as someone whose spirit could not be broken

same with Barack.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. After shilling for Hillary for months

they finally had to try to make a half-hearted attempt at "fair and balanced". MSNBC.com was featuring the NY Times article today as well.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23623222/

[Scurrilous]

7. Great article.

Thanks for posting. :thumbsup:

[1776Forever]

12. Happy St. Patty's Day - March 17th - Scuriilous

Have you seen this site for Irish Americans for Obama?

http://www.irishamericansforobama.com/

[Scurrilous]

13. Happy St. Patrick's Day to you too.

Thanks for the link, I'll check it out. :thumbsup:

[otohara]

8. Thanks For Posting n/t

[eleny]

15. This is the great influence of Obama's life

Thanks for posting the article.

[Scurrilous]

16. Kick

:kick: