Barack Obama, the Aloha Zen President: How a Son of the 50th State May Revitalize America: Based on 12 Multicultural Principles

by Haas, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780313394027
• ISBN10: 0313394024
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-01-19
• Publisher: Greenwood Pub Group

Summary

Obama's aspiration to transform the United States using Hawai'i as his model has been a conspicuous theme in his books and speeches over the years. In them, he extols Hawai'i's multicultural ethos, describing how a normative, problem-solving mindset predicated on mutual respect and harmonious interchange is inculcated in the culture, politics, and society of the Islands. Indeed, this "Aloha Spirit" is imbued in Barack Obama, and is part of what made him irresistibly charismatic as a candidate for the 44th President of the United States.This unique book examines Obama's decisions as an adult and as president and exposes how they are directly linked to the culture of Hawai'i and Obama's multicultural life as a child. The author and contributors also describe the ways in which native Hawaiians were dispossessed of their sovereignty and their land, how they steadfastly sought justice, and how their quest served as a model for Obama's mobilization of support for his candidacy.

Table of Contents

List of Tables	p. ix
Foreword	p. xiii
Preface	p. xvii
Multicultural Barack Obama	p. 1
History of the Struggles of the Peoples of the Islands	p. 43
Public Opinion and Cultural Values	p. 77
The Multilingual State	p. 91
The Media: A Mixed Plate	p. 105
The Emergence of Local Literature	p. 121
Hawai'i Calls: Musics of the Islands	p. 145
Electoral Politics: Post-Racial?	p. 165
The Strength of Organized Labor	p. 197
Social Structure and Social Mobility	p. 211
Multiculturalizing Elementary and Secondary Education	p. 231
A University Searching for Identity	p. 259
Crime and Justice without Profiling	p. 285
Political Economy and Contemporary Social Struggles	p. 299
The Communitarian Pragmatist President	p. 321
Appendix: The Aloha Spirit Law	p. 363
References	p. 365
Abbreviations	p. 407
About the Editor and Contributors	p. 411
Index	p. 415
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