11/5/08

yes we can

i woke up this morning with a deep feeling of satisfaction within. yes, all those days that i have talked ill of this country may now be erased from memory, please god? :) i am humbled by the win of yesterday, as i think of all the people who came together to make it happen - all those people who put aside their own prejudices, who acted after deep thought and consideration to bring about change. change is no longer 'coming', change has come.

what was it that brought the american people to unite thus? if it were the financial crisis, as statistics seem to affirm, then may we be grateful for this crisis for uniting america thus, for helping it grow as a nation? regardless, may this day serve to remind us for years to come that there is hope, no matter how tough the times may be.

6 comments:

Adu said...

i don't wish to put a damper on the high, so maybe i'll leave my comments on this post till tomorrow :)

Adu said...

okay fine, i'm party pooping:

i worry that we're rejoicing for the wrong reasons. we're rejoicing for the rich symbolism of the moment, we're rejoicing for the unity of the american people (but even germany was united behind hitler), we're rejoicing for change for the sake of change, some of us are rejoicing just cuz we have a crush on Obama(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKsoXHYICqU). but really we should be rejoicing because "the best man won".

8&20 said...

first - i think it's a really good thing that you think about why we're rejoicing right now. i am trying to keep my wits about myself as well, and to keep myself detached from all this excitement :).

second - how can we know that "the best man" won? we do not know what lies ahead, and who knows if this is indeed the best decision for america, for the world? we cannot know, at this point.

third - what we do know, however, is that there is symbolism in this moment, the american people have united (and unity may not always be for a good cause, but it is unity nevertheless), and indeed - change for the sake of change is also needed sometimes. (as for the crush, well, i have one too, so i don't know what to say to that except that i'm sure the crush is a consequence not a cause :).

Adu said...

i guess what i meant was that i hope the voting was based on honest thinking and evaluation and that people voted for who they genuinely thought was the best man (obviously they could not know). as opposed to for reasons of race and symbolism, change (without evaluating if for better or worse), getting carried away by the general euphoria/mesmerization.

know what i mean? i have this seed of doubt for some reason.

Adu said...

hmm...i would like to see statistics on registered republicans who voted for obama, broken down by race.

Amrithaa said...

Check out
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96648705
for some candid perspectives for why the election victory brought much joy and hope, and did go beyond just race and symbolism