Wednesday, November 05, 2008

What's wrong in America?

I'm not pissing on parades here ...... Oh no!

I am an Englishman living in Oklahoma, and at 10pm CST last night, I danced for joy in my living room, with my American wife at my side, and my three American kids asleep in their beds.

My next act was to grab my phone and call my friends in Maryland. This gay couple were the first people to invite me to these shores, and remain, to this day, the dearest of friends. I wanted to share the moment with them.

They were drinking champagne and crying. Good for them.

One thing, however, sums up the state of the nation. Despite the joy, and amid the celebrations, several onerous Propositions passed up and down the country. Several were defeated too but it was a mark of the work still to be done.

As Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States of America (Oh I love the sound of that), said ..... this is a beginning.

One simple fact struck me about the next President ....

He only finished paying off his Student Loans in 2006 !!

There, in that sentence, is the whole of it. We can look at healthcare, we can examine the economy, as we must, and we can make policy to mend what is broken, and advance that which is succeeding. We can foster inclusion, and we can and will end discrimination wherever and whenever it rears it's head.

If we want an idea of the depth of the problems though, this one small fact highlights it all.

The man we just elected President paid off his student loans only 2 years before he was elected Leader of the Free World.

It's as sobering as it is joyful.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Steve,

The topic of your blog... "What's wrong in America?"

The answer is too many things to count at this point.

We've spent the last 8 years under the leadership (and I use that term loosely) of a complete moron.

I knew when I went to bed on election day, (yes before the polls closed), that when I woke up the next morning Barack Obama would be our new president.
I never had a doubt.

Too many people believe or want to believe in his message of hope for our country. People wanted a change and that's what he promised. I think there were lots of people celebrating that night...

May the powers that control the universe give Barack Obama the will to push his version of change.

Oh, and it doesn't surprise me that he's just barely finished paying off his student loans. College is kind of expensive... I'm likely to be paying my loans until I retire, and I didn't go to Harvard Law! :-)

Cheers,
Dani