Obama revisited
I'll leave that previous post up, but on reflection I think it wasn't the right time for it. I had an email exchange with Tim, some of which I reproduce below, that makes me feel like I missed the real import of the moment a bit.Tim's comments in bold:
for some reason it didn't appear on your first fake 'obama wins' post so i have to send it to you
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!
yes, i'm happy
what a shame... any event that causes you to resort to a string of exclamation marks should be recorded publicly and forever on the web. i'm happy too, mostly ... i feel so sour being the only person i know who hasn't caught obamamania. maybe he will turn out to be the great black hope everybody thinks he is, i just don't see it in his policies. i think he's going to create a very inward-looking america, and i don't think that is what the world needs. hope i'm wrong. we'll know soon enough - let's see what he does with his "hundred days".
give him a chance nicholas! i mean, i know, i'm glad you're there looking closely at his policies, or lack of them, but i feel very relieved. i know it will pass, but you have to sit back and allow the gravity of the moment to sink in. i feel like it's a 'where were you when' moment (ahem...between classes, slyly checking my email, one of my students came in forthe next class and we were chatting, i clicked onto ny times and saw a blue obama appear down the page, slowly -- everything was slow, the whole university was mainlining live streams from the us). i haven't heard his acceptance speech yet (just got home when i sent the last email) but i heard he mentioned the word 'gays' in it! (!!) and no mention of sitting back with a cup of tea and a iced vovo. how could he possibly be more inward than gw?
yup, we really have no disagreement on this. i felt quite moved when they made the announcement, was very moved by jesse jackson crying, was moved even by his speech ... i was also very moved by the clear feeling amongst many of the americans who spoke that they felt they had something to prove to the world, that their country was strong and capable of self-correction.
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Anyway, in conclusion, fuck it: yes we can, hope, change, yay...
posted by Nicholas @ 10:49 PM
8 Comments:
i completely agree with tim.
I have lived outside of the US, and within in, and I think you are completely missing the point entirely.
You sound so cynical nicholas!! I truly have faith in obama. He has said a lot of things that he had to say to win, but he always phrases them in a way that if you are intelligent, you can tell what he really means. He is an incredibly intelligent, articulate, african american who actually gives a fuck about the US, and the rest of the world. He is looking world issues, not just the US! which is a huge change! He's not a magician, he can't fix all the worlds problems; but things are going to change for the better. Have faith nicholas! xob
yeah, i know, i'm the grinch ruining everybody's christmas with my "change what, exactly?" and my "where do you stand on NAFTA?". no doubt it indicates some terrible character flaw on my part. i do hope i'm wrong.
i should point out that i wrote that straight after reading the news that obama had won. the jubilation lasted for about two minutes. i walked past someone on broadway that eve holding an american flag and for the first time ever it didn't seem a sinister and faintly violent symbol...
hey bree, i haven't talked to you in ages - how are you?
tim
I'm feeling grinchy too nicholas - you're not alone.
Having said that, James Kochalka did a really great election day comic. Hope the link works:
http://www.americanelf.com//comics/americanelf.php?view=single&ID=41841
my grinchy thought for the day:
what if the words "hope" and "change" circa 2009 = the word "freedom" circa 2002?
grinchy thought for the day = name of a possible new blog ?
a sign off to an email on a list reads "For now, we hope that you all share the delight and guarded optimism that overwhelms us this evening"
guarded optimism, that's how i feel now. but i'm glad you're there being grinchy nicholas, keeping us in check...
tim
A wierd small world moment: I knew Kochalka (a friend of friends there at any rate) when I lived in vermont (the first state "called" for Obama and the whitest in the Union). Amazed to see folks in Australia reading his stuff.
I'm still thrilled about it - but need to get back to work.
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