This blog has avoided discussing work and politics, but today is different. It's a new day for America. Her beacon has not been extinguished. The country that broke my heart in 2004 by re-electing a war criminal responsible for Guantanomo Bay, invading Iraq, and Abu Ghraib, has resoundingly turned her back on that downward road. Yes we can change our direction! It will take all of us harnessing all the energy that went into the election to recover the respect of the world and to rebuild the shattered economy.
My contribution on election day was to have a dinner of B-foods: broccoli, bread and beer for Barack, and C-foods: a carrot, crackers and chocolate spread for Christine Gregoire, Washington's governor. Apparently it worked! Because when I got up at 5 am to check, I was just in time to see McCain's gracious resignation speech and to hear Obama's inspiring victory speech. I was teary-eyed. Then, just before 7 am, msnbc.com put a green check by Gregoire's name.
I just got home Wednesday evening from a Chamber of Commerce meeting for expats in Bergen. There was one other American there, a Fullbright Scholar at UiB, and we got congratulations from the other people there on "our" election. The Norway Post has an article on the huge gala in Oslo, with a bipartisan group staying up all night long. I picked up a couple of newspapers this evening. There are many newspapers here with an excellent freedom of speech record. One had a front page story titled "Obamania" about the celebration in Bergen, and the other had a cover about George W, headlined "PUH!" which I think needs no translation.
I look forward to the US once again being a country I can be proud of.
My contribution on election day was to have a dinner of B-foods: broccoli, bread and beer for Barack, and C-foods: a carrot, crackers and chocolate spread for Christine Gregoire, Washington's governor. Apparently it worked! Because when I got up at 5 am to check, I was just in time to see McCain's gracious resignation speech and to hear Obama's inspiring victory speech. I was teary-eyed. Then, just before 7 am, msnbc.com put a green check by Gregoire's name.
I just got home Wednesday evening from a Chamber of Commerce meeting for expats in Bergen. There was one other American there, a Fullbright Scholar at UiB, and we got congratulations from the other people there on "our" election. The Norway Post has an article on the huge gala in Oslo, with a bipartisan group staying up all night long. I picked up a couple of newspapers this evening. There are many newspapers here with an excellent freedom of speech record. One had a front page story titled "Obamania" about the celebration in Bergen, and the other had a cover about George W, headlined "PUH!" which I think needs no translation.
I look forward to the US once again being a country I can be proud of.
It's good news, Pilla and a nice post in my opinion. Like you, my blog is normally a political and religion-free zone but I was compelled to make an exception on this extraordinary day and chatted a bit about this.
ReplyDeleteIt'll take a lot of work to undo the mess of the last eight years but I truly feel that this is our best shot at doing so.
Joe
Pilla, I offer my sincere congratulations on the success of your party. Obviously I am not as euphoric as you are with the results, but I am willing to give Obama a chance to show us the substance behind the hope, and I will support his efforts in every way that I can -- as I am willing to do with every other elected official. I'll give them a chance, and if they fail, I'll try to vote them out. That's the way it should be.
ReplyDeleteI am disappointed however with your last sentence in the post -- that because of the actions of some people you have been ashamed of our country. That should never have been the case.
We elect people in nearly every election who ultimately do incredibly stupid things, but it is those people who should be the embarrassment, and never the country. When I think back over the years, I was disgusted with JFKs womanizing and the fact he put us into Viet Nam, I was appalled by Johnson's further botching of that situation, I was dismayed at the Watergate shenanigans of Nixon, I thought Jimmy Carter was laughable, I could not believe the audacity of Clinton shaking his finger in the face of the American people while lying through his teeth about his disrespect of his office, his family and the American people-- or the fact that he had denounced his country while standing on foreign soil, and I certainly have become disgusted and disheartened with many of the things that the "W" administration has done.
However, through all of that, I have never, ever, ever, lost faith in my country -- a country that I proudly served, even when I questioned the leadership, a country who -- through all of her foibles and mistakes and inefficiencies -- is still the place where lots of other folks would give so much to live.
Europe in particular has traditionally been very good at pointing out whenever they think the US is wrong, but when things go upside down, they have never turned down our help. That's part of the beauty of our land -- when help is needed, Americans give, in terms of time, talent, treasure, and lives. Europe -- and much of the rest of the world -- looks the way it does because of the courage and sacrifice of Americans, who could have remained insulated and isolated when Kaiser Bill, Hitler, Hirohito, Kruschev and the rest of the despots went on their rampages, but we didn't -- we went out and fought and died and made the world a better place. What I simply cannot get my arms around is why it was the right thing to do to go after Hitler, but it was wrong to go after Saddam, who killed just as many innocent folks. If you believe we should not be out messing in other people's business, then we really should have stayed home ever since George III was put in his place.
I love my country. I always have, and I always will, and I will never be ashamed to be an American -- regardless of who has been elected. We make mistakes, but we usually get it right in the end.
Surely you jest, cvow. You can not be able to equate marital infidelity with invading a sovereign nation that had not attacked us, in flagrant disregard of world opinion, declaring the Geneva Conventions "quaint" and authorizing torturing people, and killing thousands of civilians. I will not allow that to go unchallenged on my blog.
ReplyDeleteI still say W was the most dangerous and destructive world leader since World War II.
I still look forward to being proud of my country once again. I am a proud Daughter of the American Revolution, who swears to protect the Constitution of the United States at every meeting. As Barack Obama said in his acceptance speech, one of America's strengths is the ability to change. As psychologists tell us, the first step to change is to admit you were wrong. We were very wrong. Let's change the road we are on!
Oh Pilla, you know I would never jest about something so important! However, I also was not equating marital infidelity with a military action -- I was just pointing out that I have found something to be disgusted about the majority of presidents since Eisenhower, but that it has never shaken my faith in my country and my fellow Americans. It IS your blog and you are one of my best friends, and I want you to enjoy this time, not fret at me.
ReplyDeleteI hope and pray Obama does bring us change, and change in a good way. I hope he chooses wisely in selecting his team, and the people he chooses are able to find new solutions to old problems. I'm always game to try change, and I'll help in whatever way I can. Now if he can do so much that he convinces me to cross the aisle in four years, then that WILL be change!
Peace.