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Barack Obama: Political Leader and Political Hacker
disappointed The typical hacker is seen as a nerdy male figure between the ages of sixteen and thirty five who sits in a dark room typing at a computer all day. This definition however is not entirely true. A more comprehensive definition for the term hacker would be “A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary” (dictionary.com). Hackers can be anyone, from nerds to politicians. Take the 44th president of the United State, Barack Obama, for example. Obama has hacked the political and human systems to bring change in politics, the state of Illinois, and throughout the United States.
Barack Obama has spent his life fighting the established political and social systems. From poverty stricken families to civil rights Obama has used the systems of law and politics to their maximum extent and attempted to change the ways of society for the better. Notable positions for Obama include his community organizing efforts in Chicago, Illinois where he helped low income families and improved public housing (biography.com). After achieving a degree from Harvard Law School and becoming the first African American editor of the Harvard Law Review, Obama worked as a lawyer specializing in civil rights cases.
Obama was elected to the Illinois State Senate in 1996 where he aimed to continue his changes in society. “Obama worked with both Democrats and Republicans in drafting legislation on ethics, expanded health care services and early childhood education programs for the poor. He also created a state earned-income tax credit for the working poor” (biography.com). Obama used the political system to its maximum potential and effect to deliver life changing results, while not illegal or computer related this is clearly a version of hacking. After his work in the state senate Obama made a grab for the United States senate seat. He was able to defeat his republican opponent and became the junior senator from Illinois. “Obama partnered with Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana on a bill that expanded efforts to destroy weapons of mass destruction in Eastern Europe and Russia. Then with Republican Sen. Tom Corburn of Oklahoma, he created a website that tracks all federal spending” (biography.com). Obama continued to stretch the limits of the political system and break boundaries others dared not touch just to achieve his goals of change and improvement.
Obama has clearly sent a message of change with his ethical policies for the executive branch. Obama promised to fight lobbyists and he plans on forming a centralized internet database compiling lobby report, and ethics reports to better inform voters. He also has campaigned against unethical special interest groups who tend to use people in high positions to achieve their own goals. Obama promises that no executive appointee will be allowed to work on regulations or contracts relating to a prior employer for at least two years in an attempt to prevent special interest group lobbying.
The main principles of the hacker, defined as the hacker ethic, offer an excellent judge as to the validity of the claim that Obama is a hacker. The individual topics that make up the hacker ethic as described by Steven Levy include, access to information to be unlimited, information should be free, mistrust authority, hackers should be judged by their hacking, you can create art and beauty on a computer and, computers can change your life for the better. These are the main principles that are used as a constant to distinguish true hackers from the rest of the pack.
Addressing the first point, Barack Obama ran a clean political campaign through the years and has never had anything to hide from the people. He believes that they should know about the people they are electing into office. In regards to his policy decisions one clear example is the health care revolution he has campaigned on. He preaches universal health care access for individuals and plans on hacking the political, social, and healthcare systems to achieve that goal. Barack Obama exemplifies the first point of the hacker ethic. Secondly, access to information should be free. Obama has fought for the less fortunate citizens in the country, and is currently working on an $800 billion dollar stimulus package to help people in the struggling economy. While it is unreasonable to make everything free, Obama clearly campaigns to improve people’s ability to purchase and obtain information.
The third point is somewhat contradictory being that to achieve a lot in the political and social systems one must have authority. Obama is now the chief authority in the United States and seeing as how one can’t mistrust themselves it seems that he does not exemplify this trait currently. Before he was elected and during his presidential campaign he did mistrust former president Bush’s authority. So in a way he does exemplify this part of the hacker ethic, at least he should get half credit. Hackers should be judged by their hacking, or in Obama’s case politicians should be judged by their legislation and leadership. Obama has fought to bring down racial barriers and championed civil rights legislation and execution. He sets a clear example being the first African American president of the United States. He also overcame the fact of being one of the youngest candidates for president. Obama clearly exemplifies this point of the hacker ethic as he continues to fight for the rights of those discriminated against for bogus reasons such as sex, race, or sexual orientation.
You can create art and beauty on a computer, or you can create art and beauty through politics. This can be interpreted literally as environmental legislation can create beauty through the earth and the plant life. Also politics weaves its own way of beauty, solving some difficult issue, or passing a difficult bill proves beautiful within itself. However this can also be simply one person’s opinion. This point can be justified based on each individual’s definition of art and beauty. Finally there is the point of computers changing your life for better, or politics changing your life for better. Politics clearly have a lasting impact on society. Society is based around politics; everything in politics has some sort of effect on society. While not only changing citizens’ lives for the better it also changes the politician’s life, in this case Barack Obama’s life, for the better. There is something rewarding about championing a piece of legislation, or leading the nation through a crisis.
Based on Steven Levy’s hacker ethic, it can be shown that Barack Obama exemplifies the traits of a hacker. Obama is a hacker of political, and social systems where he promotes change for the better, and attempts to use the systems to their maximum effect in order to achieve his goals. While the typical stereotype of a hacker is still in place in the world, it’s time to destroy that stereotype. There are hackers throughout the world that hack the many different systems currently in existence.
Obama ran for president in an attempt to use the political system to its maximum potential and achieve his change that he believes will better America. He has always claimed to do what he does for the people he serves and helps. His actions are based on a selfless devotion to changing the way politics are done in America to a more user friendly and ethical way of legislating. By hacking the political system, Obama has promoted ethical change throughout Washington and the country, he is working on improving the nation’s standing in the world and aims to establish a just and proper way of doing politics rather than fraudulent, dirty and, underhanded techniques. Barack Obama is a hacker, and apparently a pretty good hacker.
References
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/ethics/
http://www.biography.com/featured-biogra
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/h
Levy, Steven. Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution. New York: Penguin Books, 1984.