Rating: ★★★★☆
I was into politics. I believed it's a matter of the public so that everyone should care. A government should be of the people, by the people, and for the people. Until one day, I realized that it's just a money game. Considering the scale and strength of government propaganda, it's not really meaningful to stand against the tide. Your voice can be disappeared into a vortex within seconds.
Hence, I chose Barack Obama's A Promised Land, neither because of his political stance nor his title but his choice of words instead. Graduated from the Law School at Harvard University, he knows how to deliver power in words. And criticize in a controlled manner while expressing anger. That's why I chose this book.
Obama started this autobiography with how he was raised in Hawaii, where he went to school, and how he met Michelle. There were dramatic turns in his life. Learning about his mother's death in hospital after he booked a flight ticket back to Hawaii is an example. Some emotional moments, too. Celebrating his daughter's birthday at an impromptu party and being told that it's the best birthday party she's ever had made his eyes misty.
I didn't pay much attention to how he ran his campaign and reacted to others' critiques and questions. But one thing came to my notice. He said that he stuck a note deeply into a gap between rocks in Jerusalem. It was dug out the next day. Being a public figure, anything is just a matter of public interest though the message should stay between God and him only. Even worse, that happens to his family as well. You can hear how a powerful man felt powerless in his own voice. I guess that struck him the most.
A final thought on this book. Even if he was at the top of power for eight years, there were things he couldn't accomplish. There were proposals that Republicans wouldn't collaborate on so that they couldn't pass. There are gigantic military budgets pushing infrastructure, healthcare, and education out of the priority queue. There are controversial illegal immigrants (plus income tax collection) issues that he couldn't resolve.
Through this audiobook, I heard a life struggle, ponder, determine, and then act on decisions.
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