Conscious about Identity

Is having sense of identity so important in contemporary age?This is an issue I wonder when reading Barrack Obama's "Dreams from my Father",the book describes Obama's endeavor to find his true identity in a society which was dominated by whites and in a way made him feel like an outsider in his own country.

This quest lands him working as a community organizer and living an austere life in southern Chicago,then one day a sudden visit from his long lost sister makes him realize that people who he can call his own are on the other side of globe in Kenya,he visits Kenya to meet the people of his origin and get to know his true sense of identity.I haven't read the entire book as of now so in what way does he get to know his identity I cannot describe.

In today's age this quest does not sound too relevant, may be because of the widely used metaphor "the world has become a small place to live in" and in many ways this is true.The technological advancement has indeed made this world a small place ,people care to attain highest levels of comfort rather than wasting time finding and getting to know their long lost roots.But here's the catch ---Obama went through this experience in 80s which was the era of commencement of modernism. All these facts lead to only conclusion that Obama followed his consciousness which majority of population never really does. His consciousness asked him to find his true identity which led him to work as a community organizer and made him aware the real problems of black community in a ghetto.He obtained his law degree from Harvard , gaining a fancy degree he had a choice of leading a life of comfort but then his consciousness took over and led him back to Chicago to work for his community.

Very few have led this kind of life, a life which is led by conscience rather than by pursuit of comfort and monetary gains. Leading a great life requires a tremendous amount of self introspection which must remain unfazed by lust of money and power.But in today's age where conscience is masqueraded by the absolute goal of reaching to the higher strata of society one needs to introspect this thought by Emily Dickenson-------

" To live life is so startling it leaves very little time for anything else"