Preoccupied with this year’s charitable activities and next year’s budget preparations, I first thought President Obama’s Nobel speech had nothing to do with our clear skies people. He spent half the time clarifying his moral responsibility as Commander-In-Chief, and the other half his moral responsibility to build a lasting and just peace. His speech does apply to us. 
    Obama addressed the need to confront evil with a just war. Here, we confront evil with our peacekeeping officers. Obama said, “When force is necessary, we have a moral and strategic interest in binding ourselves to certain rules of conduct.” Our local leaders require those rules of conduct by, and for, our officers. We witnessed our last Douglas County sheriff request a state level review of whether the County met those standards.
    So when Obama says, “Adhering to standards, international standards, strengthen those who do, and isolates and weakens those who do not,” we should agree. We should oppose torture and support closing Guantanamo.
    But just-war standards were half of his speech, yet few commentators mentioned the other half. Obama listed three advances to build a lasting and just peace, something violence never does. We’re working on those advances here in clear skies.
    He said,  “We must develop alternatives to violence that are tough enough to actually change behavior – for if we want a lasting peace, then the words of the international community must mean something.” We support local inter-governmental working agreements. We supported the upgrade for the 911-call center. Our local commitments should serve as a reminder to support our nation’s demand that all countries cooperate to avoid violence and limit nuclear proliferation.
    Obama went on to say, “Only a just peace based on the inherent rights and dignity of every individual can truly be lasting.” Here in clear skies we speak freely. We worship as we please. Grudgingly we increasingly respect the cultures of Latinos and Native Americans. Obama insisted such tolerance and dignity requires we speak with repressive regimes like Iran so those leaders know we are ready to dialogue about options. We should support such dialogue nationally. 
    “Third, a just peace is not just freedom from fear, but freedom from want.”  Locally the economy is making it difficult to deliver freedom from want and balance our budgets, but each government is setting priorities in balanced budgets. Our county projects savings from a new jail agreement. Our state has proposed a frightening budget, but we’ll balance it. Our nation needs our model to address freedom from want within a balanced budget. 
    Lifting our world’s vision even higher. Obama insisted that collaboration, strong institutions, human rights, and development couldn’t be sustained without an expansion of our “moral imagination” to embrace the “law of love:” “do unto others as we would have them do unto us.” He said, “Let us reach for the world that ought to be – that spark of divine that still stirs within each of our souls.”
    That moral imagination is what we should be about this Christmas season.  The better we model that behavior here, the better we’ll call for it at all levels of leadership.