06 November 2008

'Yes we can'

A young Indian friend wondered why so many of us in this country were getting so excited about this time's US election. The answer that came to me was "A beacon of hope".
For people like me, there were several events that I never thought would take place in my lifetime. But this is one of three events which, to me, signal hope and the feeling that goodness can prevail. The first of the three events was the breaking of the Berlin Wall, then the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa and now this--that the US can elect a president without race getting in the way. Every time I think about it, it brings tears to my eyes.
Whether we like it or not, US values/attitudes/prevailing ethics, do have an impact on the rest of the world. In the last so many years--particularly from the Reagan era--there seems to have been a sharp rise of materialism, which permeated the whole world. I am not saying that the US is responsible for what the rest of us did; but somehow the message being conveyed, was that materialism was the only way to go. Barack Obama's election seems to bring back a warm fellow feeling for other people, a concern for each other, which is an essential in attempting to reverse the damage Man has done to Mother Earth, in his pursuit of this selfish materialism. Increased concern for others also brings hope for kindness to all people, irrespective of whether they believe in the same religion as you do or not.
Cheers to the American people.

12 comments:

  1. Beautifully written .The elections in America were indeed inspiring as a harbinger of change and as you so beautifully put it , to be one of its kind like the bringing down of the Berlin wall and outlawing of apartheid in S Africa.Now it is up to the Americans to prove it was not just a token gesture on the rebound from Bush

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well written and hope us americans can move in the right direction!

    ReplyDelete
  3. "Barack Obama's election seems to bring back a warm fellow feeling for other people, a concern for each other, which is an essential in attempting to reverse the damage Man has done to Mother Earth," I couldn't agree with you more.

    I must agree with the others above and say that your post is beautifull written.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you so much for the appreciation.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am echoing what everybody else has already said - you so eloquently put forth the momentousness of this time!

    ReplyDelete
  6. You so beautifully put what I feel. Kindness and hope over materialism and greed.

    ReplyDelete
  7. A lovely post Sue. Let's hope Obama can help to make a better world.

    ReplyDelete
  8. In many ways US has led the way for the rest of the world - I hope changes there will percolate around and we will see positive changes all around. Here's to hope for better times.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yes we can!how appropriate.we can do away with casteism,racism,communalism and all those social evils that are a shame to mankind.America has shown the way.Time for us to emulate.

    ReplyDelete
  10. tagged.Please take it up if you haven't already.

    ReplyDelete

I love comments! Do give your feed back.