A train of thoughts

Depuis les élections américaines, j'ai comme un regret de ne pas être aux USA pour voir ce qui s'y passe de l'intérieur. Mais bon, lorsque j'étais là bas, j'ai pas mal discuté avec Peter qui bossait au Trident tout en étudiant à Northeastern University. Et Peter a accepté d'écrire un texte sur les USA en ce moment et le changement qu'a représenté l'élection de Barack Obama. Le voici... I have an old friend whose name is America. My friend America is the most optimistic, upbeat, and, as I've only recently noticed, most at odds person I know. Lately, this change in Americas mood has caught not only my attention, but it seems the whole worlds attention too. Everyone seems to be looking to America for something, some kind of deliverance, some kind of more profound change; but has anyone stopped to ask what we are expecting from America? On the surface America seems to be going about its business as usual. The trains are still running on time, people are still working hard, the new iphones keep coming out, so whats the deal? They say there is a new president, but I can't see any difference except the new headlines are about an 'Obama' instead of a 'Bush'. They say we are in the 'worst economic crisis since the Great Depression'. That's interesting I guess, but here in my room, there on the street, I see no crisis, I see no new president. So, whats the deal America, whats going on? Ok, more seriously. Yeah there is a new president and everybody seems to know it! If you asked any group of Americans six months ago to say something about Bush, you would be sure to illicit the same response, that Bush is a lame fuck, oops, I mean duck, and that he has got to go. Then if you would have asked them who in his place should lead, be sure your answer would be greatly different dependent on where in America you asked it. A group of American's taken from any city of over 1 million, for example the East and West coast (where the majority of the US population lives), would be strongly in favor of a democratic president. With more energy and money at stake in these regions, these city dwellers would like to see a bold, ambitious federal government aiming to tackle the threats to their prosperity and optimism which, taken together, represents one huge tranche of the American dream pie. Now, on the other side of the 12 lane highway, if you asked a group from the more rural, Christian conservative side of America, what direction of leadership they would like to see, they would go republican. However, republican is not to be confused with Bush, although nominally he is a republican. It seems Bush has been candidly ostracized from the republican platform. But what matters is that this other side of America, rural, heartland America, with strong religious and community values, this side represents another huge tranche of the America dream pie: freedom. These people don't want to see their children's children paying off the debt from massive democratic spending which increases the national debt as well as the size of government, thereby limiting the freedom of local and state government. They don't want to see checks they don't believe can be paid off reduce America to anything but the greatest nation in the world. Their love for the American way is so strong that they would see it threatened by change. However, the people have spoken and change came to them. The gears of liberal democracy turned and out popped change in the form of President Obama.

Comments

[P.]

J'en suis à chercher où je vais dormir à Paris...... la vie est dure!

[NP]

Coucou Pascal,

Tu n'as pas une réunion à Paris à nous raconter ?