Well, that was exciting wasn't it. After months of build up America has finally made its collective mind up and elected Barack Obama as the new President.
I've been a bit ambivalent to the whole political scene whether here or abroad, fed up by politicians everywhere seemingly hell bent on ignoring the very populace that elected them and I doubt Obama will be much different. it isn't by choice of course, like most that ascend the political ladder they start with honourable intentions of doing good things, but invariably get ground down in the end by the harsh realities of political dogma, press campaigns, military pressure, religious influence and big business interests. How very disillusioning that must be to find out that you are but a piece in the overall theatre of power.
I remember the feeling well when Britain turned out in droves to sweep a fresh faced Tony Blair into power in 1997. Life promised much and Blair seemed so in touch with real people. The hope was that this was truly a new dawn for this country in terms of being a modern, civilised, balanced and progressive society. No longer. it seemed, would class play a part in how priveleged your education might be, and consequently what profession you might choose. Age, whether old or young would be no barrier to your voice being heard. The same applied to colour, race or creed. Socialism with a glass of champagne, rewarding those who deserved it, rather than the Marxist dogma of everyone bar an elite being the same. Any right minded society will reward Doctors, nurses and teachers etc on an equal basis to those working in banks gambling our money away. After all, they have the biggest and most valuable responsibility, far outweighing that of cash.Our lives and our futures.
As the years went by though it became obvious Blair was crumbling under the pressure of his faith, the myriad of 'Sir Humphrey's' throwing civil service bureaucracy in the way, the secret services and the good old US of A, choking the poodles leash to ensure we did what America wanted. A crying shame to see such bright eyed idealism extinguished like Elton's candle. I hope the same fate doesn't befall Barack Obama because if ever a nation needed re-inventing more than this one, then it's America. It's hard to imagine, after 8 years of Bush, an America that has a friendly face for the world. An America that doesn't take a default stance of mistrust. An America that takes a world view on conflict resolution and doesn't deem invasion or threat as the only methods of dealing with international unrest. An America that doesn't think 'oil first' but looks at ways of pushing new fuel technologies and uses these to help the western civilised world become independent of Middle East oil. An America that smiles at the world, helps those in need, internally and externally and becomes a force for progress around the globe. A tall order of course, but a worthy target.
If the new President can survive for a second term, politically and physically (America has a disturbing tendency to assassinate progressive thinkers) then it can once again be a role model for others to adopt. I'd start by adopting their 'no more than 2 terms' stance for all PM's and party leaders. Later, GJ
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