Barack Obama, Newsweek Writer: The U.S.A. Helps – That Is Who We Are

As reported yesterday, President Barack Obama wrote the latest Newsweek cover story entitled “Why Haiti Matters” at the request of editor-in-chief Jon Meacham. Obama appears to be using the piece, which is now online in full, both as a call to arms and as a message that he’s moved swiftly and effectively in a time of emergency.

Obama writes:

In response, I have ordered a swift, coordinated, and aggressive effort to save lives in Haiti. We have launched one of the largest relief efforts in recent history. I have instructed the leaders of all agencies to make our response a top priority across the federal government. We are mobilizing every element of our national capacity: the resources of development agencies, the strength of our armed forces, and most important, the compassion of the American people. And we are working closely with the Haitian government, the United Nations, and the many international partners who are also aiding in this extraordinary effort.

Notice, if you will: I, we, I, we, we. He is careful to both maintain a message of solidarity and also highlight his own actions as a leader in a deft way.

We act for the sake of the thousands of American citizens who are in Haiti, and for their families back home; for the sake of the Haitian people who have been stricken with a tragic history, even as they have shown great resilience; and we act because of the close ties that we have with a neighbor that is only a few hundred miles to the south.

But above all, we act for a very simple reason: in times of tragedy, the United States of America steps forward and helps. That is who we are. That is what we do. For decades, America’s leadership has been founded in part on the fact that we do not use our power to subjugate others, we use it to lift them up—whether it was rebuilding our former adversaries after World War II, dropping food and water to the people of Berlin, or helping the people of Bosnia and Kosovo rebuild their lives and their nations.

The two-page piece is inspiring in a trademark Obama speech way, hitting notes of unity and empathy repeatedly, with universal themes sprinkled throughout, as when he writes, “In the aftermath of disaster, we are reminded that life can be unimaginably cruel. That pain and loss is so often meted out without any justice or mercy.”

You can read the entire piece here, and in the Newsweek issue dated January 25, 2010.

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