Turns out there’s another reason why Barack Obama’s run
for the presidency is unique: he is the first presidential candidate whose now deceased
mother is interesting enough to warrant a Time cover story. Regardless of
politics (though it's probably pretty clear where my loyalties lie), the article is a moving examination of the varied ways women in the
last century have filled the roles of wife and mother, even as they strive to
make meaningful contributions to the world at large.
S. Ann Soetero, née Stanley Ann Durham (her father wanted a
boy) was a teen mother who divorced twice; a scholar with a Phd. in
anthropology; a devoted, hands-on single mother of two; and a well-seasoned
traveler who was a champion for Indonesia’s poor, both through her pioneering
work on the microfinance program there and her almost excessive generosity to
beggars. Although—or perhaps because—Ann made unorthodox decisions about
religion, relationships, and career, she worked hard to instill the values of
spirituality, marriage, and civic duty in her son. For instance, Obama
writes that his mother had a “healthy skepticism of religion as an
institution,” but she was one the “most spiritual souls” he ever knew.
In part as a reaction against his mother’s wanderlust, Obama
has been committed to grounding his traditional family unit in one place. But
Ann’s vast understanding of varied peoples and cultures also positively
influenced Obama, as evidenced by his ability to rally the support of people
from all walks of life. (He has had more individual donors to his campaign that
any other presidential candidate in history.) And Obama stated that his mother
was his imagined critic for his famed race speech. He knew that her stamp of
approval would mean he had successfully channeled her gentle, non-reactionary
way of fighting racism and sexism. Ann once joked that while she would fight to
get paid as much as a man, she wasn’t going to stop shaving her legs.
Image: time.com
