Closed-mindedness
Posted on January 22nd, 2009 at 15:01 — Filed under Politics
“That [Barack Obama] leads us now is a breathtaking statement of American open-mindedness and, yes, our native liberality,” writes Joe Klein in Time. I appreciate the sentiment, but I think he could hardly be more wrong. Rather, it’s because of the long-standing American closed-mindedness and their native conservatism that only now do the US have a president who is not a white male. And if Ameria truly were as open-minded and liberal as Klein implies, Obama’s skin colour wouldn’t have attracted even a fraction of the attention it has.
January 23rd, 2009 at 18:15
Interesting. Perhaps he was a little ahead of himself with that statement. Maybe we’re not there yet. But Obama’s having been elected serves as hope that we’re headed in that direction now. “Barack Obama” and “Hope” are interchangeable in my mind right now.
January 23rd, 2009 at 21:25
Yes, “Barack Obama” definitely equals “Hope”, and I share your enthusiasm over his election. Also, for all my criticizing the US here, you do have a black president now. We still have to see the first black president or prime minister in Western Europe.