It's an obsession
Well, it's lunch time here in Cambridge and most of the people in my office are enjoying a sandwich while perusing the internet. We are a diverse group - me from the US, a postdoc from Finland, a graduate student from South Africa, and a number of others from within the UK. As I happened to glance around the room while finishing up my lunch, I couldn't help but notice what dominated the screen of each and every one of my officemates' computers:
The news sources, countries of origin, and languages represented were all different, but this one news topic was dominant throughout. Regardless of what you think of him as a person or a future leader you have to admit - the rest of the world's obsession with him is perplexing. I can't even get more than two words out when speaking with a stranger before they recognize my American accent and want to talk about Obama. I just don't get it...
2 comments:
Is it really that perplexing? I know what you mean, of course, but one of the things that I love about his election is that he's a melting pot writ large: he represents an idea that we pay lots of lip service to but don't necessarily embrace with real enthusiasm. Obama, unlike many of his recent predecessors, represents to many Europeans that I know a sign not only of change, but of the values that Americans talk so much about.
In addition, there's a bit of introspection, I think: although racial issues are not as exacerbated in Germany or France (to pick two at random), I do not believe that either nation is "ready" to elect a black leader. That America has done so is a nice reminder that the moral plateau that certain European nations have stood on in the past few years is not nearly as high as they've surmised.
Is it the same reason that people go to car races to see the crashes? Ha ha! I'm so kidding, I hope he does a great job. You know from my blog I didn't vote for him and I'm just a big republican so I couldn't resist the joke...
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