I just got the chance to sit down and watch Barack Obama's inaugural address online, and I have to say that it brought tears to my eyes. Here I am, sitting in an internet cafe in Thailand wearing my Texans for Obama t-shirt and crying. A girl from Holland sitting next to me asked if I was ok, and the only response I could muster was to point at the screen. She smiled, gave me a hug, and said, "I think the whole world is proud of him today."
I'm still sitting in the same chair, but an hour later. I watched Obama's speech twice and then sat in stunned silence thinking about what he had said. I'm having problems trying to write down my thoughts because my mind is racing and my heart is beating loudly in my chest. So instead, I will try to write down what this speech means to me.
It has been a long time since I can honestly say I am proud to be an American. A very long time. My first big traveling trip was ten months in Europe in 2005-2006, where I spent a large percentage of my 20th year listening to people complain about my country, how George W. Bush was destroying the world, and how it seemed to somehow be my fault even though I didn't vote for him. It also did not help that I was born in Texas at all. I felt devastated and ashamed, and started hiding my accent and the fact that I am American. I absorbed their hatred, holding America accountable for the actions of a greedy and mis-lead government. Although it has been hard, I am trying to forgive and move on.
I have known from an early age how lucky I am to have been born in a first-world country. As a child I was introduced to Mexico and to the poverty, over-population, polution, and corruption they deal with on a daily basis. I know that being born with the freedoms of speech and religion are something we take for granted every day, and there are so many people in this world who smile through sufferings we cannot even imagine. And through it all, I still felt judged and ashamed to be an American.
Three years later I have a different outlook on the world at large. I know that the media has stereotyped and destroyed a lot of beauty that America holds. I know that over the last eight years our actions have landed us in a heap of hatred and anxiety, and I have felt trapped, as if we might never escape. I feel that our over-consumption and greed will come back to haunt us if we do not rectify our mistakes soon. I know that America is a beautiful country filled with beautiful people, and I feel so blessed and lucky to be a part of this turning point in our history. I mailed my voting ballot from London and popped open a bottle of champagne there at 10:00 a.m. that cold November morning while Brittney and I stared at the TV screen in awe and disbelief that Obama had actually been elected. It felt good, so good, to be proud of my countrymen and woman again, and to know that it was a step, even if just a small one, in the right direction.
What can we expect now?
Barack Obama is not a saint. He cannot snap his fingers and make the world a better place. He is a strong man who was handed all of the world's problems and is expected to fix them fast. Yet these problems are not just his, and not just Americas. We, as Citizens Of The World, all have a responsibility to do what we can to help make and inspire change. We cannot wait for the politicians of our country and other countries to make all the decisions and sit idly by hoping some good might come out of it. Blaming other people in other places will get us nowhere, nor will blaming ourselves. We all know the tasks ahead of us will be tough and many, but with inspiration in the form of my new president, I have hope.
A favorite quote from Barack Obama's inauguration speech:
"Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, that the next generation must lower its sights. Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord."
Hope over fear.
Unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
This is what I wish for my country and for all countries. I have faith in the good of this world, that it will triumph through adversity, and that we will someday be able to put our differences aside and share this beautiful world we live in together in peace.
If you want to watch Obama's speech or read it:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/obama_inauguration/7840646.stm
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