I can't believe it actually happened. I am so god damn happy today. I can't really think of anything to say that doesn't sound like a cliché, last night felt like watching and being a part of history, of having political hope for the first time, feeling like the world is going to get better and that things will change. So I'm not going to try, this is going to be a clichéd filled blog of the highest degree of cheese.
It really hit home last night that watching Obama being elected will be the defining moment of my political life, this the Berlin wall for those of us in our twenties. I was too young to appriciate Labour's landslide in 1997 (and in retrospect probably a good thing for the disapoint that has ensued) and I'm so happy I made the decision to stay up until 7am watching. I like the idea that I'll be able to recall where I was and what I was doing for this election when I'm old and grey.
One of the biggest things to come out of last night was just how much I want America to be great again. I truly believe that the best of the US is the best of Western society - it's just that their worst is the world's worst and that's what we've had for the last 8 years. I am truly looking forward to being able to respect the US again, to not minding their dominance of culture - but a dominance that arises from world acceptance of it rather than it being enforced.
I'm blathering. I don't care. Obama's victory speech was awe-inspiring. I have hope and for that I thank him.
Wednesday, 5 November 2008
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11 comments:
Awww...love it. And don't worry—you're not alone. We're all basking in this, too. I was certainly on an emotional high today—despite the raging headache that's been going on since earlier yesterday.
I hope to get my blog finished in the next day or two.
yeah but the bloody californians voted to outlaw same sex marriage. WTF???
I remember 1997. And I do remember feeling really, really excited on May 2nd. I even wore red, in celebration.
It's fantastic that he got elected. The fact that he ran most of his campaign via nice-sounding but politically empty soundbites (except on Iraq and the economy) means that in many areas he can do as he pleases as long as they're based on the principles of Hope and Change.
Identifying Hope as a objective is a fantastic piece of political rhetoric; it sounds lovely but means absolutely nothing whatsoever. You may as well have 'Tomorrow' as a political principle - sounds fantastic, it brings to mind all sorts of ideas; new dawns, progress etc. Best of all, if anyone ever asks why tomorrow hasn't come yet, you could just tell them to keep waiting.
Having said that, it probably makes about as much sense as a war or Terror - a soundbite which was accepted without too many questions being raised on what it actually meant. Obama clearly knows how to communicate to his audience then.
oooh francis you leave such intelligent comments. I feel most unworthy.
ra ra ra, I'm Francis
Well, this discussion's hotting up!
The car park pay station at the Omni centre uses the strange phrase "change is possible" to tell you that it gives change. It seemed very much like a political slogan to me.
A lot of people have been talking about the eloquence of Obama's victory speech, which I found to be surprisingly lumpy. Even the first sentence doesn't quite make sense:
"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible ... tonight is your answer."
You can see what he's getting at but it's far from "exquisitely beautiful" or a "Pulitzer Prize winner" that some commenters have claimed.
Hope is not an empty soundbite for Americans like me who have spent our entire voting lives in a country run by George Bush. At the very least, I now have hope that we will not bomb Iran, hope that we might actually talk to other countries in the world, and hope that people in this country may be able to go to the doctor when they are sick, even if they are poor. Even if Obama ends up living only up to half our our expectations that's still 1000 times better than the last 8 years, or the way the next four would have been had he not won.
McCain offered exactly the same crap we've had for the last 8 years. Don't diminish hope. This is the first time we've had any for a very long time. To quote Margaret Mead, "never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
I've been thinking about this for a while and I'm going to side with Molly - with a caveat. I appreciate what Francis is saying, we haven't heard a great deal of concrete ideas so far (mind you that may be skewed international media coverage)and it is important that people realise Obama isn't the messiah but a politician.
That said, I think you underestimate what the concept of hope can do. From an international perspective, the image of America has already started to change and the importance of that cannot be understated. If Obama can simply make people believe that things will get better and give them the motivation to try and make it better then that in itself is a huge achievement.
Hope's great, I like it.
Let's have more of it :)
Git
:P
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