A daydream I shared today with President Barack Husein Obama

Dear Mr. President,
Dear Mr. Obama,

When I woke up this morning, on this significant day of the 20th of January 2009, I performed my morning prayers, as I regularly do.
Then I switched on my television set and zapped from one news channel to the other. The ceremonial preparation for your inauguration as the 44th president of the United States was the central news-item everywhere.
As I was watching my thoughts started to wander and I started to daydream, and I take the liberty to share my dream with you.
I saw you standing before the millions of Americans, people of all colors and religious denominations, people of different backgrounds and with different aspirations, all of whom gathered on Capitol Hill to witness a new beginning in their country’s history.
At 12 o’clock local time in Washington you turned to the Chief Justice of the United States and you spoke the words that have been spoken by those who preceded you, since the founding of your country:
„I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.“
And following the example of Abraham Lincoln, you added in the end, „So help me God“.
Before you turned to the cheering audience, you took a long and deep breath of the cold, dry air. You looked upward towards the blue and sunny sky as if you were expressing your deep gratitude to your creator, for a brief moment you closed your eyes.
As you were settling in to deliver your first speech as the president of your country, you tried to calm down the enthusiastic crowd. Smilingly you acknowledged the show of hopeful support to your presidency and finally calm prevailed.
And then you did the most remarkable and unexpected thing, you put away the few handwritten pages of crispy, white paper, which were supposed to provide you some assistance through your speech.

You commenced your speech with the following words:
„My fellow Americans, today I came here with a speech I had been working on during the past many weeks.
I was to tell you that the challenges ahead of us are huge.
But I do know we can meet these challenges head-on. Yes, we can!
I was to tell you that our economy is in recession, and we have to overcome this decline.
But I know we can overcome this decline. Yes, we can!
I was to tell you that the state budget of our country is overstretched beyond anybody’s imagination.
But I know we can overcome this state of affairs. Yes, we can!
I was to talk to you about the Americans who lost their homes, the Americans who lost their jobs, the Americans who think they have no future.
But I am convinced that we can put their lives back on track again. Yes, we can!
I was to talk to you about hope and confidence in the future, about the belief in the American Dream.
But I know that the American Dream will not die, it is always there and we will create conditions that everyone can share this dream. Yes, we can!
I shall talk to you and I shall talk with you about these matters, but I will not speak about them today.
I do not want to speak to you about the challenges ahead of us, which we will meet and which we shall overcome. We Americans have the energy and the willingness to solve our tribulations. Yes, we can make America a better place again.
But, today I want to draw your attention to the first part of the preamble of our constitution, which reads as follows:

„We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice!“

My fellow Americans, while we aim to understand the true meaning of this sentence we have to submit respectfully to the wisdom of our founding fathers, who saw Justice as being the fundamental requisite for a perfect society.
It is not our military might, the vigor of our economy,
Justice is the soul of our country! Our struggle for Justice within and without our borders!

During the course of our history, but particularly during the past eight years we Americans have failed to adhere to this fundamental principle of justice, we lost our soul.
The question I ask you and I do ask myself at this very moment is, whether we can return to the fundamental principle of our being?
Can we confess that the so-called war against terrorism created more injustice than justice?
Can we admit that in the course of defense of our American interests, we betrayed our ideals?
Can we declare that since 2001 we have been shackled by our fears and that the time has come to rid ourselves of the politics of fear?
Can we accept that the question we must ask our friends and enemies alike is not, whether they are with us or against us, but whether they adhere to justice or not?
Can we recognize the fact, that we are wrong when we speak of collateral damage, whenever innocent blood is spilled by Americans?
Can we stop looking at the innocent dead of the others as people without an identity, a face and without a name?
Can we stop distinguishing, between the Non-American and American lives; do not both carry the same value?
Can we judge the actions of our allies by the cruel results they create?
Can we look into the eyes of the parents, who lost their children, the husband who lost their wives, the children who lost their parents, the brothers who lost their sisters and the sisters who lost their brother and ask them for forgiveness, because we supplied the weapons that were used for their destruction?
Can we muster the moral strength to criticize our friends and allies whenever they trample on somebody else’s human rights, somebody else’s dignity?
These are the questions we should ask ourselves; these are the questions we should ask ourselves, when we ponder about our future as a nation of values and moral strengths!
If America is to become again a lead nation in the world-wide protection of human rights and human dignity, we must stand firm on the principle of justice.
We have to be true to our pledge of allegiance as one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
My fellow Americans, it reads justice for ALL, it is time we recognize this valuable asset of our being.
It is time, we say: „America can be just!“
It is time, we say, „We can be just“.
We can be just, to the white man and the black man.
We can be just to the poor and the rich.
We can be just to the Jew, the Christian and the Muslim.
We can be just to the American and the Non-American.
We can be just to the Palestinian and the Israeli.
I call out to you, my fellow Americans:
Yes, we can! Yes, you can! Yes, I can!
God Bless you and God bless America!

Dear Mr. Obama,
This was my daydream; the dream I wanted to share with you.
I wonder what you will share with me today!

Sincerely yours
Mohammed Belal El-Mogaddedi

Germany
20th of January 2009
5.15 pm, local time