Cottrell has said: “The man has been a light and by being a light he has given hope. There is no greater gift than that…”
Giving ‘hope’ in this context means that the man been giving out ‘promises’.
All politicians give promises. Wanting to be elected, politicians will always go on promising things of the world. They go on giving out promises so that you go on following them. Afraid to get lost somewhere else. Otherwise, if you don’t keep up with them then you will miss their promises, you will miss out on the future that they go on promising you.
The promise keeps you subdued with the rest of the crowd – it keeps you distracted from the present situation—-and promises don't cost anything. You can promise anything. They do not have any real substance. They are not real. They are only concepts, notions and ideas. They feed the ego’s need for desire. It helps momentarily because one is distracted from their present situation and starts fantasizing about the future. Because promises are always for tomorrow, and remember, tomorrow never comes. It always remains in the future… it always remains in the future of the tomorrow. This is the "hope" that Cottrell is alluding to. It is not much of a gift because it still keeps one from waking up and from being exploited further.
Perhaps most would prefer another to be a light to guide them to somewhere, to someplace else, to show them the way out of the mess that we are in. A mess that we have all helped partially to create. But everyone has the potential to be a light for themselves. It only takes willingness to open up your own eyes to let that light out. Then things will start to be revealed. Aside from Obama, there have been many others that have been shouting at the rest of us for years. But we have not been listening.
If one had a choice what is better to choose, life or honor?
Some may say that it is better to choose life over honor, because without a life then there would be no honor. But what kind of life would that be if it were not lived honorably?
There are those who have always tried to shed the light on these dark matters... I don't think for them they have viewed themselves as being a "sacrificial lamb". To most of these people there is no choice in the matter, to sacrifice or not sacrifice. There simply is no other way to live than to live honorably.
Perhaps, Obama, is yet to learn that the people that have helped him become an elected president are the same people that will want to destroy him if he proves to threaten their fortunes and revenue from streaming their way. If this were to come to pass, and if he were an honorable man, then he already understands this, accepts this... and, that there is no other way to live. In this way, he could be a tremendous inspiration for millions of people... that there is no other way to live, but with honor. How long a life is not an issue, rather, it is the quality of life that has a higher value.
Without thinking to be all things to all people, but by living [and dying] honorably, this would be a greater gift than the "hope" Cottrell speaks of. All eyes are on Obama most certainly.