About the Presidency
Seeing all this Inauguration coverage on TV, it strikes me as very surprising to see everyone making such a big deal out of it. People weren't this excited when Bush was elected, right? Of course, I understand that this is a big historical moment and means a lot to many people. I was touched on election night too. These are also hard times, to the point that it's being called the new Great Depression. People really need hope right now. But...I suppose this is just a matter of my own perspective?
There have been four presidents in my lifetime so far. I don't remember Reagan or Bush Senior at all. My clearest memories of Clinton are people saying "THAT LIAR!" and "IMPEACH HIM!", seeing news reports of finding his semen, and SNL skits involving Monica Lewinsky. Next was Bush Junior. Aside from that brilliant moment of patriotism right after 9/11, usually the best people could say about him was that he's ignorant and incompetent.
So I guess you could say I didn't grow up with much esteem for the presidency. I never felt like it would be an honor to shake the president's hand. Maybe that's one of the reasons contributing to my indifference towards politics up to now. The same could probably be said for other generations as well, such as with Hoover and Nixon. But to me it just feels...weird...to see people so excited about just seeing the president-elect pass by on a train.
It's weird...but in a good way. Because I personally do think it would be cool to shake Obama's hand, or to see him in person. It's a nice change. I know that people have a lot of high expectations, and I don't expect him to fulfill every one of his promises. But I really would like to see Obama restore the title of President of the United States to something worthy of honor and respect, both around the world and for people of my generation. :)
And that's my political post of the month.
There have been four presidents in my lifetime so far. I don't remember Reagan or Bush Senior at all. My clearest memories of Clinton are people saying "THAT LIAR!" and "IMPEACH HIM!", seeing news reports of finding his semen, and SNL skits involving Monica Lewinsky. Next was Bush Junior. Aside from that brilliant moment of patriotism right after 9/11, usually the best people could say about him was that he's ignorant and incompetent.
So I guess you could say I didn't grow up with much esteem for the presidency. I never felt like it would be an honor to shake the president's hand. Maybe that's one of the reasons contributing to my indifference towards politics up to now. The same could probably be said for other generations as well, such as with Hoover and Nixon. But to me it just feels...weird...to see people so excited about just seeing the president-elect pass by on a train.
It's weird...but in a good way. Because I personally do think it would be cool to shake Obama's hand, or to see him in person. It's a nice change. I know that people have a lot of high expectations, and I don't expect him to fulfill every one of his promises. But I really would like to see Obama restore the title of President of the United States to something worthy of honor and respect, both around the world and for people of my generation. :)
And that's my political post of the month.