Is Obama Integral? Ken Wilber speaks about it

On January 20, 2009, Barack Hussein Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States.  Integral Life asked several former Integral Life and Integral Naked guests to share their impressions of this historic election—and here they are!

I suggest you to read below the Ken Wilber impressions published in the website:

“There probably hasn’t been as much rampantly enthusiastic idealism surrounding a president since the election of John F. Kennedy than there is around Barack Obama. In the Integral community, this naturally translates into the question, “Is Obama Integral?”

I have put off responding to this question until now, first, because I didn’t want to get involved in active politics (because there is as yet no Integral Politics in place), but second (and over-riding the first), I don’t think we’ve have enough genuine information to tell. Notice, for example, that a major watchdog organization ranked Obama in the top 1 or 2 most liberal senators in Congress—hardly a badge of integral inclusiveness.

And yet, particularly as the campaign progressed, Obama began making increasingly Integral-sounding pronouncements. In fact, an Integral analysis of his acceptance speech by Corey deVos and Clint Fuhs showed a genuinely high percentage of Integrally-comprehensive language and ideas (especially compared to the other candidates). It seems, in fact, that somewhere during the campaign itself, Obama went from green exit (the pluralistic stage of development, with its inherently high liberalism) to initial teal Integral waves (the first Integral stages of development, with inherent Integrally-oriented political stances). Increasingly his language and his values systems seemed to shift, right before one’s eyes, into Integral spaces.

It is, of course, still too soon to make a solid judgment about this, but it seems safe to say that Barack Obama is likely moving into truly Integral waves of development and therefore beginning to evidence truly Integral values and positions. Combined with his already significantly developed states (which gives the very notable Radiance and Presence to his being), this means we might very well be seeing, certainly for the first time in this century, a truly Integrally-oriented President of the United States. In this climate of possibility, reigns the intense idealism and sense of promise that this new President brings with him: the hope and promise that a new tomorrow is truly possible, and that it is beginning now, right now. If so, this is indeed a genuinely historical moment, when Integral consciousness has actually descended in and through the voice and vision of the most powerful person on the planet. We are truly beginning to enter the Integral Age, and Barack Obama’s voice might be the most notable and important Integral voice in the political arena. How can we know for sure? Stay tuned!”

America and the pursuit of happiness

In these days, many people (and me among them), in Italy, are celebrating the victory of Barack Obama. But some months ago, many of them (not me among them) were convinced that “the United States were not ready for an African-American president yet” …it is worth remembering that the same people said that “America was not ready for a woman as president” at the time in which Hillary Clinton was still running for the White House!

The truth is that, in my country, America is judged without knowing it in depth. Trying to do it, they would find that American citizens love their country, love their roots, their multiculturalism, but especially love the constitutional principle of their common life, what they call “the pursuit of happiness”.

When you look for happiness, you try to change, you change the views, your prejudices.

I would ask those italian people (I was speaking about) if they love their country, if they are personally committed to promote the common good, even if this means giving up to their own particular interest, if they are looking for happiness. And I would also ask if they would vote for a candidate with Albanian roots, or Rumanian, Latin American, African, Middle Eastern, Chinese …

The truth is that America is still a great example of democracy as  the results of the last elections show. An example that should be followed in my own country (Google translation).

Photo Creative Commons by Skacrow

Go to the italian text