The world has changed
The world has changed.
Not just the nation.
The world.
Everything has changed. Everything.
In the grand scope of history, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney may one day be no more than a blip in the timeline that created the groundwork necessary for peaceful revolution. They challenged America’s greatness, which had for decades taken a slow, inexorable path toward power, selfishness and manipulation over truth, justice and legitimate freedom. The beacon of freedom and land of opportunity had become a shallow shell living comfortably on the backs of corruption.
Today, all that has changed. They challenged our greatness, and we answered firmly that we will not accept any less than an America that lives true to our ideals.
I dream of a place where truth, justice and greatness exist not merely as abstract concepts but as defining traits of a people. Today, I can no longer be dismissed as a deluded idealist.
Today, I live in that place. It’s called America. And we have taken it back.
My home has proved to the world in so many ways that we are not a country of bullies and warlords, that there is no place for a government that controls the rest of the world by diligently distributing guns, money and favors to warlords, industrialists and weak politicians.
We were the world’s first nation founded on ideals, and in the last 24 hours, we have shown the world that our ideals are not merely historical myth. We have overcome history and righted wrongs. We believe that every person is entitled to be free and equal at conception. We have shown that humans can be as great as we wish to be, that we are not slave to history, that we determine our path and no one else.
This is the Camelot they told us about 48 years ago. Kennedy called, and our parents answered.
On Tuesday, we answered an even greater call.
Barack Obama’s election is not so much about a single person.
It’s about every person.
It’s about millions of students who ignored the cynics and did what no one said they would: Vote.
It’s about the old widow who once crossed the street to fearfully avoid the approaching black man, only to put old prejudices aside Tuesday to give one her trust.
It’s about a family in Nigeria or Brazil that can look at America and not only believe they can find a better life here but also trust we can be the benevolent and just leader the world has so often needed.
It truly is about hope. It’s about hopes coming true.
Obama’s election shows that ideals need not be dismissed as fairy tales told to children. It shows that every child on earth can grow up believing their dreams are possible.
I have never been as proud of my country as I am today.
Today, we can be anything.
Not just the nation.
The world.
Everything has changed. Everything.
In the grand scope of history, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney may one day be no more than a blip in the timeline that created the groundwork necessary for peaceful revolution. They challenged America’s greatness, which had for decades taken a slow, inexorable path toward power, selfishness and manipulation over truth, justice and legitimate freedom. The beacon of freedom and land of opportunity had become a shallow shell living comfortably on the backs of corruption.
Today, all that has changed. They challenged our greatness, and we answered firmly that we will not accept any less than an America that lives true to our ideals.
I dream of a place where truth, justice and greatness exist not merely as abstract concepts but as defining traits of a people. Today, I can no longer be dismissed as a deluded idealist.
Today, I live in that place. It’s called America. And we have taken it back.
My home has proved to the world in so many ways that we are not a country of bullies and warlords, that there is no place for a government that controls the rest of the world by diligently distributing guns, money and favors to warlords, industrialists and weak politicians.
We were the world’s first nation founded on ideals, and in the last 24 hours, we have shown the world that our ideals are not merely historical myth. We have overcome history and righted wrongs. We believe that every person is entitled to be free and equal at conception. We have shown that humans can be as great as we wish to be, that we are not slave to history, that we determine our path and no one else.
This is the Camelot they told us about 48 years ago. Kennedy called, and our parents answered.
On Tuesday, we answered an even greater call.
Barack Obama’s election is not so much about a single person.
It’s about every person.
It’s about millions of students who ignored the cynics and did what no one said they would: Vote.
It’s about the old widow who once crossed the street to fearfully avoid the approaching black man, only to put old prejudices aside Tuesday to give one her trust.
It’s about a family in Nigeria or Brazil that can look at America and not only believe they can find a better life here but also trust we can be the benevolent and just leader the world has so often needed.
It truly is about hope. It’s about hopes coming true.
Obama’s election shows that ideals need not be dismissed as fairy tales told to children. It shows that every child on earth can grow up believing their dreams are possible.
I have never been as proud of my country as I am today.
Today, we can be anything.
posted by The Honest One at 2:12 PM
4 Comments:
I liked your blog. And I voted for Obama. But I hate partisan politics largely because it causes people to conform to extremes, especially in a two party country such as ours (I know Nader is out there as well as the Libertarians, the Green Party the Socialists, etc. but please, it’s a two party country).
I'm glad we elected Obama because we need a less arrogant Chief Executive. This country needs someone who will examine situations and weigh the benefits of diplomacy, economic sanction and military intervention. I believe that Obama will do this and that, contrary to comments from some quarters, he is willing to use any one of these tools as he sees fit.
For the first time in eight years I have hope that our President will not make decisions based upon prejudice against the Arab world. I have hope that our President will see other nations as necessary allies even when they disagree with us.
But I lack unwaivering faith in any American politican or in the nation's support for any politican. I don't beleive in Camelot and I'm sure the serfs that served under Arthur had their own criticisms about it as well.
With respect to the American Camelot, I think that more was done in Kennedy's name after he was assassinated (including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the lunar missions, and the 24th Amendment) than was done during his administration (the Peace Corps, intergration of educational institutions).
I beleive that Obama will be more analagous to Clinton than to Kennedy. And let's face it, putting the sex stuff and some questionable political appointments aside, Clinton was a mighty fine President. But even Clinton made mistakes - his foreign policy in Africa was disastrous and, among other failings, led to the destruction of key a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant that would have lessened (but not completed done away with) Africa's reliance on the West for imported medicines.
I am also fearful about the unanticipated effects of Obama's administration on our national consciousness. For example, I think there is a real risk that education and healtcare reform could lead to American isolationism.
As Americans begin to realize that we are entitled to a guaranted level of healthcare some of us may question whether we want to extend that guarantee to resident aliens or those applying for residency. As we reform schools and infrastructure, especially in the face of a global financial crisis, we as a people run the risk of becoming miserly in sharing our good fortune with the rest of the world.
If you think this is pessimestic, consider the Nuetrality Act of 1935and the non-involvement of the United States following the annexing of Austria in 1938, invasion of Poland in 1939, the insittuion of hostilities between Britain and Germany in 1939, the taking of France in 1940 and everything else that went on before Pearl Harbor in December of 1941. Our nation was recovering from a Great Depression and we focused on ourselves - we created Social Security, the FDIC the PWA and other necessary programs to provide citizens with a safety net that capitalism denied to working families. And in focusing on the needs of our citizens we felt that it was necessary to ignore the needs of others in the world during a time of palpable crisis.
I don't think Obama will ignore the world simply to focus on America's problems. But I am concerned that the 40-odd percent of Americans that did not vote for Obama did so because they subscribed to rhetoric about how Obama's administration would harm their own interests. I also think that many people who voted for Obama felt that it was necessary in light of the way that Bush over-extended our military resources overseas and the collapse of domestic credit markets.
The greatest threat to America is the fickleness and apathy of the American people. We elected Bush, twice! (Yeah, yeah, he stole the 2000 election, but in the end we let him do that too).
We only subscribe to change when we feel that it is necessary to preserve our own interests.
The election of Barack Obama demonstrates that we do not beleive that a person's race necessarily defines their ability to lead our nation. It also shows that the majority of our voting citizens believe that the answer to our mounting diplomatic and economic problems may come from a non-traditional source (a community leader albeit one with an Ivy-league education promoted by one of the two governing political parties of our nation).
But we cannot allow ourselves to believe that the election of Obama is proof that the American people have overcome all of their baser instincts or prejudices. We did not elect Obama to bring us to Camelot. We elected him to stop the bleeding caused by eight years of poor governance. We did it for oursleves, not for truth, fairness or justice. We must remain ever vigilant that our instincts for self-aggrandizement (including patting ourselves on the back for electing a black man) do not cause us to ignore the fact that we elected Barack Obama because we believe that it benefits America to reform healthcare, end a war, invest in education and redistribute the burden of taxation among those who labor for this country and those who benefit from its labor. Let's try to remember these goals when we are not at war, when transportation costs fall (either because of gas prices or the use of renewable energy), when the stock market is bullish and when we the rest of the world no longer believes that we irresponsably elect assholes to lead us.
Thanks for the long, thoughtful comment. You make some really good points.
To me, the election is more about the American people than it is about Obama. Yes, I think he may be the most naturally gifted president since James Garfield or Abe Lincoln. I have high hopes he'll be the best president since Teddy Roosevelt.
But it's not just about him. It's about us.
The McCain voters don't worry as much as some. Among them are surely those who chose McCain simply out of racism, but there are many more who chose him simply because they felt he was the best man for the job.
McCain's character was revealed very clearly in his concession speech, unfiltered by political advertising. Yes, his flaws were revealed at other times too, but I know good people who voted for him for good reasons.
I'm not so naive as to think Obama's election opens the clouds and brings down that shining light from above. But I'm not so cynical to think that the world hasn't changed dramatically because of America's actions Tuesday.
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