World Holding Its Breath

November 4, 2008

The long road to the U.S. presidential election has gripped people all over the world. Millions have followed the horse race minute by minute, puzzled over the gaffes and slogans, and figuratively scratched their heads. This campaign has challenged the deeply held image of a racist America.

I spent the weekend at a large conference on anti-corruption in Athens in a diverse group of some 1500-plus people from 135 countries. The tension over an election many thousands of miles away was palpable as Tuesday approached.

For months I have been deeply saddened by the frequent assertion by people from many places that, when the final showdown came, Americans simply would not elect a black president. Arguments and polls notwithstanding, the conviction speaks to deeply held perceptions of America. While the ideals of the United States draw admiration around the globe, they have always coexisted with another, darker perception - the "Ugly American" images, tarnished further by Guantanamo, Abu Graib and plenty of other grist.

So the tension in Athens is tied to a wonder and hope. If indeed Americans vote as the polls suggest they will and elect Barack Obama, perhaps the ideals will prevail and banish that other vision. Perhaps then America will reclaim a leadership role grounded not in raw power, not in the bully's demands, but in the dreams of a just world yearning for an ideal to emulate.

About the Author

Katherine Marshall

Katherine Marshall, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, leads the center’s work on religion and global development. She is also a professor of the practice of development, conflict, and religion in the Walsh School of Foreign Service, teaching diverse courses on the ethics of development work and mentoring students at many levels. She helped to create and now serves as the executive director of the World Faiths Development Dialogue, an NGO that works to enhance bridges between different sectors and institutions. In September 2022, she was appointed as a member of the Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid at the U.S. Agency for International Development. Marshall has five decades of experience on a variety of development issues in Africa, Latin America, East Asia, and the Middle East, particularly those facing the world’s poorest countries; one way she shares her expertise is through her blog Faith in Action. She was a World Bank officer from 1971 to 2006, and she led the World Bank’s faith and ethics initiative between 2000 and 2006. Marshall is a member of the Working Group on Child Rights and Family Values and the Working Group on Displaced Persons and Hospitality to the Stranger, both part of the Culture of Encounter Project.