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A day or so before the election, I finally decided to vote for Obama. The influencing factor was my own pessimism about the economy. I still think that "the big crash" is coming, and I think Obama is such a gifted orator and statesman that he might have the stability, calm, and force of personality that it will take to hold this union together during the dark times ahead.
Beforehand, I was not moved by opinions outside of our own citizenry. Our election is an internal matter. Afterwards, though, I am beginning to see how involved the world is in our U.S. politics. I realized that we are actually still special here and that other people do look to us for inspiration sometimes. I realized that we do still have important things to do in this nation that will encourage the world to believe in happier outcomes for everyone. It was hard to remember these things during the Bush years.
It's been so many years, I had forgotten what it was like to have the world respect us and be genuinely happy for us.
I saw the video of the French man smiling and saying, "Only in America." I read the pro-Obama Chinese woman say, "China will never have a minority president.” I read the person in Thailand who said, "What an inspiration. He is the first truly global US president the world has ever had... He had an Asian childhood, African parentage and has a Middle Eastern name. He is a truly global president."
A distant (great, great?) grandfather of Obama came from Ireland. So prior to the election some of the locals enjoyed singing at a pub about their connection to this American. Now that he's won, I imagine this song to get used a lot more.
A foreign nation declares a national holiday to celebrate our new president. People dance in villages in another part of the globe.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7710394.stm
This effect is altogether different than the divisive rancor that "a recent president" has accomplished in 8 years. I don't expect roses to bloom tomorrow and rainbows to appear in the sky, but I do feel confident that Obama can get this nation through the dark times ahead that we've been steering toward for too many years. I didn't vote for happy fun times. I voted for someone who can keep us in one piece through hard times still to come.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/11/the_next_president_of_the_unit.html#photo11
And, finally, a reminder of his skill at speaking, and the creativity that he inspires in others. "Yes, we can."
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mYY
We really did accomplish something special, didn't we?
http://www.patrickmoberg.com/november-4-2008.jpg
Beforehand, I was not moved by opinions outside of our own citizenry. Our election is an internal matter. Afterwards, though, I am beginning to see how involved the world is in our U.S. politics. I realized that we are actually still special here and that other people do look to us for inspiration sometimes. I realized that we do still have important things to do in this nation that will encourage the world to believe in happier outcomes for everyone. It was hard to remember these things during the Bush years.
It's been so many years, I had forgotten what it was like to have the world respect us and be genuinely happy for us.
I saw the video of the French man smiling and saying, "Only in America." I read the pro-Obama Chinese woman say, "China will never have a minority president.” I read the person in Thailand who said, "What an inspiration. He is the first truly global US president the world has ever had... He had an Asian childhood, African parentage and has a Middle Eastern name. He is a truly global president."
A distant (great, great?) grandfather of Obama came from Ireland. So prior to the election some of the locals enjoyed singing at a pub about their connection to this American. Now that he's won, I imagine this song to get used a lot more.
O'Leary, O'Reilly, O'Hare, and O'Hara / There's no one as Irish as Barack Obama.
From the old blarney stone to the green hills of Tara / There's no one as Irish as Barack Obama.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=EADUQWKoVekFrom the old blarney stone to the green hills of Tara / There's no one as Irish as Barack Obama.
A foreign nation declares a national holiday to celebrate our new president. People dance in villages in another part of the globe.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7710394.stm
This effect is altogether different than the divisive rancor that "a recent president" has accomplished in 8 years. I don't expect roses to bloom tomorrow and rainbows to appear in the sky, but I do feel confident that Obama can get this nation through the dark times ahead that we've been steering toward for too many years. I didn't vote for happy fun times. I voted for someone who can keep us in one piece through hard times still to come.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/11/the_next_president_of_the_unit.html#photo11
And, finally, a reminder of his skill at speaking, and the creativity that he inspires in others. "Yes, we can."
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=jjXyqcx-mYY
We really did accomplish something special, didn't we?
http://www.patrickmoberg.com/november-4-2008.jpg
