parkumentary
I went for a walk in the park today and ended up being interviewed by three strangers with a video camera for a documentary about the election (all sweaty and in a t-shirt and gym shorts... excellent). Basically, I'm really hoping I didn't sound like a complete idiot. I have actually been paying attention to what's going on in terms of the election, but apparently someone can push a record button and my mind goes blank. I think I mostly said stuff about how I do not like the divisions along party lines and even within political parties, and something about universal health care, and I couldn't think of anything else while they were taping me. I think better when I can write it out, rather than being put on the spot. I thought of a bunch of things I could have said afterwards, and I even went home the same way to see if they were still there, but they were gone when I came back.
One of the things I wish I had thought to say was regarding Obama's speech in Germany a few days ago. In this speech he said, "Tonight, I speak to you not as a candidate for President, but as a citizen - a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world." People are blasting him for it, as he is not President but merely a candidate, and calling him unAmerican since apparently considering oneself a citizen of the world is not putting your own country first.
Frankly, I'd much rather have a president who has the scope of the entire world in his thoughts rather than simply the United States. Many of the problems in the world boil down to the divisions we create amongst ourselves, and one of those is the constant chip on America's shoulder about being better than everyone else. Time to drop it! We have a global economy, a global ecosystem, and with the technology in communications and transportation these days, we are no longer bound by the constraints of geography. It's time to stop thinking of the United States and start thinking of the world and the human race.
So I say to you: I am an American, and I am a citizen of the world.
Deal with it.
One of the things I wish I had thought to say was regarding Obama's speech in Germany a few days ago. In this speech he said, "Tonight, I speak to you not as a candidate for President, but as a citizen - a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world." People are blasting him for it, as he is not President but merely a candidate, and calling him unAmerican since apparently considering oneself a citizen of the world is not putting your own country first.
Frankly, I'd much rather have a president who has the scope of the entire world in his thoughts rather than simply the United States. Many of the problems in the world boil down to the divisions we create amongst ourselves, and one of those is the constant chip on America's shoulder about being better than everyone else. Time to drop it! We have a global economy, a global ecosystem, and with the technology in communications and transportation these days, we are no longer bound by the constraints of geography. It's time to stop thinking of the United States and start thinking of the world and the human race.
So I say to you: I am an American, and I am a citizen of the world.
Deal with it.