Hey Folks,
This entry is going to take a bit of a break from my normal Taiwanese story-telling, and rightfully so considering the events of the last 24 hours or so.
It has been quite interesting viewing the American election from this far away and surrounded by people that are not from the USA. Literally the whole world has been watching, waiting to see who would be next to lead the most powerful nation on Earth. I hope they have found the result as pleasing as I have.
After eight long years under Mr. Bush, I really can't say that I'm sorry to see him go.
For nearly a decade America's foreign policy has been used like a hatchet instead of a scalpel and our image abroad is horribly tarnished. The theory of trying to meet with other nations on the premise of "do what we want or we won't talk to you" is just plain idiotic. Combine that with W's inability to form a complete sentence and an approval rating that made even Richard Nixon look good and you've got a recipe for disaster. So, it's no surprise that things have turned to such an ugly hue these last few months(I believe James Carville called it "the economic cataclysm"). I couldn't follow someone that made me ashamed to say I was an American because of how he presents my country to the world.
Can you blame me? Eight years of that man and all the bullshit he represents and now...no more. There is something about Barack Obama that I can find faith in, that I believe in. I have never said that about any politician ever. Watching his victory speech today was wonderful, I was captivated. It was the first time in a long time that I felt truly patriotic, truly happy to say "Yes, I am an American" without fearing the stigma of a cowboy hat-wearing, beer swilling, gun carrying hedonist. Being an American is about more than that and Obama reminded us all, especially today, what that is: we are a country together. It brought tears to my eyes seeing the people gathered in Grant Park, Ill. Every age, every ethnicity, every gender, together for one common purpose. I saw hope, genuine hope and it was overwhelming. It was as if they were all saying "Finally, something, someone, we can believe in. Something we can trust, someone to give us hope."
It was beautiful.
Now, I'm no political expert, I'm not a pundit, I don't have a political science degree or even a respectable grasp on politics in general, but I know what I saw today. Today I saw history. Not the first black president of the USA, it goes deeper than that. Today I saw the culmination of people willing to band together for something greater than theirselves, something more grand and meaningful. A campaign for the ages. The US has seen ups and downs of every nature and in many ways it will always be divided. But today I saw a different America than the last eight years. Today I saw what it could be, what it should be, what it wants to be: a place of prosperity, of unity, of hope. A place of peace. In those people's eyes I saw a yearning for something better and the dawning realization that maybe, just maybe, the door has been opened and the path revealed. Perhaps just a glimpse, but its a start nonetheless.
Forgive my paraphrasing and editorialising but Obama said it right when he said that yes I won, here I am at the finish line and the highest office in the country; and all because of you. We won today, together. But it doesn't stop here, the hardest part still lies ahead and we musn't shrink from the hardhip of that road. We have a duty to each other and to the world to rebuild our country piece by piece, and make it whole again. I agree. It won't be easy, it won't be immediate, it won't be convenient; but I think that's ok, I think America is ready for the challenge.
Today I saw the recognition of that and the willingness to try. That ironclad American ideal of work, of sweat and blood and tears to get the job done and it seems to surface right when we need it most. Today I saw the hope for a better future, for a better world, all we need do is try. And alongside that hope, I saw pride. A deep, human pride that shouts of accomplishment, of resilience. "Yes we can" became "Yes we did."
And now I say:
"Yes we will."
Here's to four years of hope.
--n