Below is an excerpt from a post-election email from my dear South African friend. I think this letter is pretty telling:
"Obama's election was really cool. It lifted the morale of this country. People from different walks of life, including the most conservative South Africans were talking about it ... the US elections came at a time where we are going through a very interesting time in our politics … I think the world will be a little safer with Obama. The Iranians who Bush labeled as 'axis of evil' have welcomed Obama's election, Hugo Chaves was also raving about Obama's election, the Pope was one of the first people to congratulate him, the German chancellor was pretty excited about Obama's election, she said she knows that the relationship between the EU and the US will not be as fragile as its been under Bush and our very own Nelson Mandela said Obama's election was an inspiration and he believes he'll go on and become a good president. Anyway, the excitement is still evident here. This weekend was a voter registration weekend and a lot of people registered. The whole nation is saying, "Yes, I can!”
Currently, in one of my classes, I’m studying the recent history of U.S. relations in the Middle East and I’m realizing the grave implications of the negative reputation we’ve established in the last 60 years. Our cultural ignorance, inconsiderate national interest, and manipulative politics has put the American people in harm’s way—not to mention the livelihood of our global allies, as well.
When it comes to international relationships, we must approach the world holistically and creatively. We must make the effort to understand the cultures we engage with. And above all, we must value humanity—all humanity. We must grant dignity to all we come in contact with. And that’s where I believe our future president will excel.
The time is now to reshape our image—from the inside and, maybe more importantly, from the outside.
No comments:
Post a Comment