fearlesshistory

I mean this in the most profound, metaphorical sense, of course. History, whether Barack Obama wins of loses, is being made tonight. I know a lot of people on the conservative side are dismayed that so many people are voting because Barack Obama “inspires” them - the point of view of conservatives supporting John McCain is that it should be experience that matters. Here’s the thing; both people are right. How? Well, these two camps view the world differently and trying to reconcile the two is like getting two people who are color blind to agree what “green” means.

Still, here’s my case as to why Barack Obama’s win would be good for the country and good for the world:

1) he’s a Liberal. Why is that good? Well, radicalists such as Bill Ayers and agitators for extreme leftist social order hate Liberals while they love Conservatives. Why? Conservatives make the ultra-left party seem like a viable choice for the country’s direction. In the 1930’s, the Communist party was gaining ground and recruiting many who felt that Capitalism failed them and was allowing exploitation of the masses. FDR was elected and coopted a lot fo the arguments of the ultra-Left (the WPA, Social Security, government work, etc.) and undercut the arguments of the Communists. Communists wanted things to get worse in order to breed revolution. Liberals are a pressure release valve on society so that pressure can’t build up too much and cause an explosion.

2) he inspires. What the hell does that matter? Let me put it this way; there were no large crowds gathered to watch the 2004 election in Africa, the Middle East or Europe. Sure, some expatriots or others might have watched, but currently, Germans, French, and Kenyan people are staying up all hours of the night with their fingers crossed. America’s power does not extend from the barrel of a gun nor from its financial markets (those are the extensions of that power), but from the ideals and inspiration that America embodies. Obama’s speeches and personality - his “Rock Starness” if you will - are actually making people in other countries re-assess how they want to deal with the United States. Even in Israel (where they usually back McCain because of his stance on Iran), citizens applaud Obama’s success thus far (Haaretz , the official paper is full of personal opinions that Obama’s plan for the Middle East is a good one and fills them with hope for example). On the other hand Poland does want John McCain to win because of his position on the missile shield pact which will bring billions of dollars (and American troops) to Poland, so at least there’s some inspiration there.

3) he represents a new generation of voters. Not in the Pepsi kind of way, but look at the voter turn out among both Republicans and Democrats; whether voting for him or against him, the turnout has been phenomenal; my own state of Ohio reports an 80% turn out rate - 80%!!! that’s amazing and proves that forever more Americans will not be passive about their elections and Democratic duties.

You see, America is the leader of the free world only by consent; to prove it, look at the hard time Americans are having going it alone in Iraq and Afghanistan. If another military engagement cropped up, nobody would be around to fight it, no matter how good our technology was. Also, the world financial markets use the dollar by consensus and could easily choose Chinese, European, or Russian currency as the standard in this downturning economy, but they have not yet taken that drastic action, even when the dollar was at its weakest. Inspiration and hope for a more mature, less belligerent America makes the world hold it’s breath for this election - 300 million people watched by the entire world! What other country’s elections generate so much excitement? Have you ever watched an Italian, French or even British election? How many people were elected to the Shoura council in Iraq? America can make history - I hope it does.

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