After the raid last night, we followed the election coverage for as long as we were able before we fell asleep, and then woke this morning to find that Obama had been elected. You have no idea what this means to me as someone who has felt very bitter, very betrayed about the country of her birth.
During the Bush era, I always said that this was no longer the country that I had been born in. We never used to be a nation of hate, of insular xenophobia, of greed and pettiness. We believed that the Constitution actually meant something, and that riches and power couldn’t buy you everything. For years, we were wrong.
This election gives me hope that we will once more regain our dreams, stop the hatred and fear, and become the nation that we once were. I can almost believe that things will change.
Although there are a few things that I dislike about Obama (his lack of support for same-sex marriage, his support of surveillance programmes), but overall I support him. I think he has integrity, and he certainly has a “real people” charisma. I can see him becoming a Kennedy-esque figure…although Miz had a very good point about that comparison extending all the way to assassination. You have to admit, it’s a distinct possibility, and that scares me.
Americans, due to their geographical isolation from most of the rest of the world, and also the censored view of world news that they receive, don’t realise how important this election was to the rest of the world. I didn’t realise until I became an expat American. We are all connected. Everything we do and say has consequences for the rest of the world. The terrible harm that the Bush administration has done to the rest of the world, and the ill repute that America now suffers, will take time to repair. But I believe this is the first step to doing so.
Good job, America…I’m proud of you.