Thursday, January 22, 2009

video clip

I can't even tell you how this feels. Watching this brief and wordless event makes me feel like I've been granted with a second coming-of-age. My roommate and I are still marveling at it all.

You see, we were 17 when George W. was elected the first time, and it was awful to feel so powerless.

And then, 9/11, and the subsequent "reign of terror", erupted on us when we were 18.
I lost all hope for the future for a little while. The Patriot Act was too reminiscent of Orwell's 1984. And I was so guilty of thought-crime. We were careful on telephones. We were terrified, because of the insanity we were living with.

I made sure to get out and vote, though, in both the local and national elections. And I cried when he was re-elected. As the 2008 election neared, we feared W's insanity would result in a cancellation of the election (in the interest of 'national security', of course).

However, Helen pointed out this week that as the years went on it became more and more apparent that he wasn't that crafty or maniacal, just dumb.

I feel so thankful for this new chapter that has begun, even though things are scarier now than they were 8 years ago.

Oh, WELCOME WELCOME WELCOME Obama family! And bon voyage, Dubya.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm happy to see Dubya go, but I'm not overly ecstatic about Obama.

He is planning some major policy decisions that I just cannot overlook. He is planning to strip citizens of their constitutional rights, in order to enact temporary security.

While most people are out partying over Obama being elected, I'm writing letters to Congressmen, hoping to sway opinions about upcoming bills that Obama has already said that he will sign into law.

Most alarming to me is that he intends to strip people of gun rights. He is going to eliminate the ability for people to conduct private gun sales. He intends to create a list of all gun owners and make this list available to jackboots in the government.

It does not matter how one feels about gun ownership, it is a right that is clearly defined in the constitution. Much like the Bush administration trampled on the First Amendment, Obama wishes to shred the Second Amendment.