And The World Resounds: Yes We Can!
I’ve followed the election for a year now. The debates, the primaries, Super Tuesday, conventions, more debates. I knew the dates and the polls and the opinions.
I even woke up at 4 am hoping the results would be out by the time I had to leave for work. That didn’t happen, and I sat at work for two hours reading live updates that a friend in Canada was passing along.
‘Done. Done. Done!’ he said, as Barack Obama whizzed by the 270 finish line. I missed the historic acceptance speech live as well, except for a line that I caught over a call from Canada!
Yes, I am not American, and this election probably doesn’t mean to me a fraction of what it does to millions of American citizens, but it is a moment in history nobody in the world can afford to turn their eyes away from.
As the world struggles under the weight of the global crisis, we need a strong shoulder to stand beside us. And Barack Obama is that man.
I appear hypocritical, I know, for last year I put up a post ripping Barack Obama apart purely on the basis of his name. I will not take that post down, because it was an opinion I wished to express. Yet, my criticism was completely baseless as it was made without any knowledge of Obama’s character or stance.
For the first six months of the last year, I ardently supported Hillary Clinton. Having read her memoir, Living History, I knew her so well, and wished for a similar change that Obama has achieved. I let go, just as she did, when it was evident that she couldn’t push through the glass ceiling. And just as she did, I threw my support behind Obama.
After watching countless debates and speeches and his approach to every little piece of news - from the selection of Sarah Palin for the Republican ticket to McCain’s nasty and false comments – I learnt something about Obama. Anyone, who can exercise so much equanimity as the world around him spins, is truly made of Presidential fabric. This is the biggest lesson I learnt during my university years and it is the true mark of a great leader. He attacked McCain on only the most relevant points, leaving Palin’s pregnant and unmarried 17 year old and other such stories out of it. McCain, on the other hand, chose to attack him on the most trivial aspects – exploiting his relationship with Rev. Jeremiah and Ayers, even going so far as to allow his VP nominee to call Obama a terrorist! It’s the little things that are a reflection of character and in his little acts, Obama revealed much about himself.
Today, Obama… President Obama, has shattered through his own glass ceiling. It wasn’t very long ago that African Americans fought to be respected in society. Just 40 years. And today, one among them takes the position of the most powerful man in the world.
This election has been about hope, and that’s what Obama gives to the people of the world more than anything else. As an Indian, residing in the Middle East and having never even crossed the Atlantic, I don’t feel removed from his aura. This hope has reached the far corners of the earth, for he has torn down a real wall. If the Americans, whose animosity for African Americans was so ingrained, can turn around and elect him as the President of their country, anything is possible! And the people of the world can dare to dream!
This race had never been about race as much as it had in the last few days. There was so much talk of the Bradley effect – the switch to the white candidate the minute white Americans were alone in the voting booth. So there was a great possibility that the polls were completely off!
Last night, I was talking to my father, and I told him that if America elected McCain as President, that would be the beginning of the end for the nation and that it would really be an indicator of the lack of any intellect in the country! Well, let’s just say the American’s showed us what they’re made of! Kudos!
I even woke up at 4 am hoping the results would be out by the time I had to leave for work. That didn’t happen, and I sat at work for two hours reading live updates that a friend in Canada was passing along.
‘Done. Done. Done!’ he said, as Barack Obama whizzed by the 270 finish line. I missed the historic acceptance speech live as well, except for a line that I caught over a call from Canada!
Yes, I am not American, and this election probably doesn’t mean to me a fraction of what it does to millions of American citizens, but it is a moment in history nobody in the world can afford to turn their eyes away from.
As the world struggles under the weight of the global crisis, we need a strong shoulder to stand beside us. And Barack Obama is that man.
I appear hypocritical, I know, for last year I put up a post ripping Barack Obama apart purely on the basis of his name. I will not take that post down, because it was an opinion I wished to express. Yet, my criticism was completely baseless as it was made without any knowledge of Obama’s character or stance.
For the first six months of the last year, I ardently supported Hillary Clinton. Having read her memoir, Living History, I knew her so well, and wished for a similar change that Obama has achieved. I let go, just as she did, when it was evident that she couldn’t push through the glass ceiling. And just as she did, I threw my support behind Obama.
After watching countless debates and speeches and his approach to every little piece of news - from the selection of Sarah Palin for the Republican ticket to McCain’s nasty and false comments – I learnt something about Obama. Anyone, who can exercise so much equanimity as the world around him spins, is truly made of Presidential fabric. This is the biggest lesson I learnt during my university years and it is the true mark of a great leader. He attacked McCain on only the most relevant points, leaving Palin’s pregnant and unmarried 17 year old and other such stories out of it. McCain, on the other hand, chose to attack him on the most trivial aspects – exploiting his relationship with Rev. Jeremiah and Ayers, even going so far as to allow his VP nominee to call Obama a terrorist! It’s the little things that are a reflection of character and in his little acts, Obama revealed much about himself.
Today, Obama… President Obama, has shattered through his own glass ceiling. It wasn’t very long ago that African Americans fought to be respected in society. Just 40 years. And today, one among them takes the position of the most powerful man in the world.
This election has been about hope, and that’s what Obama gives to the people of the world more than anything else. As an Indian, residing in the Middle East and having never even crossed the Atlantic, I don’t feel removed from his aura. This hope has reached the far corners of the earth, for he has torn down a real wall. If the Americans, whose animosity for African Americans was so ingrained, can turn around and elect him as the President of their country, anything is possible! And the people of the world can dare to dream!
This race had never been about race as much as it had in the last few days. There was so much talk of the Bradley effect – the switch to the white candidate the minute white Americans were alone in the voting booth. So there was a great possibility that the polls were completely off!
Last night, I was talking to my father, and I told him that if America elected McCain as President, that would be the beginning of the end for the nation and that it would really be an indicator of the lack of any intellect in the country! Well, let’s just say the American’s showed us what they’re made of! Kudos!
posted by Melanie at 11:55 AM
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