I've been crying since the announcement on CNN at 6 am my time. I changed my status on Facebook to:
"Its OFFICIAL!!! BARACK OBAMA WINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA ...can i sleep now?"
before that it was:
" is watching election results... fuck ... cant sleep ... ladies and gentlemen... POTUS and leader of the free world... President-Elect Barack Obama!!!!"
and before that:
""O-BA-MA ...O-BA-MA...O-BA-MA...O-BA-MA O-BA-MA ...O-BA-MA...O-BA-MA...O-BA-MA O-BA-MA ...O-BA-MA...O-BA-MA...O-BA-MA O-BA-MA ...O-BA-MA...O-BA-MA... ".
Someone PM'd me to ask me why I was so excited. What did an Obama victory mean for South Africa - US relations. Or do I have a crush on the guy. (Of course I have a crush on the guy! Who doesnt???)
My response after the jump:
(ps. apologies in advance for the pure indulgence of this diary)
i DO have a crush on him actually. he's articulate. and smart. its an incredible turn on.
i've followed his career since he came to SA in 2006. When he won Iowa in Jan 2008 I couldnt believe he beat Clinton.
And the whole election season has just, and I hate to sound cliched, but its given me hope. For America (whom I have boycotted since the Iraqi invasion). For the world.
he is now the POTUS elect and the future leader of the free world. if he lives up to his expectations, he can usher in a world that is progressive socially and politically, make global warming a global priority, promote reliance on non-fossil fueled based economies and perhaps bring sanity where there is madness.
the world has gone mad. im surprised people dont notice. half the world is starving. africa is being decimated by aids and war. if the leader of the free world is someone with humanity and respect and can see how dependent we are on each other then there is a chance and a future for our children and their children.
obama's victory has nothing to do with US - SA relations. its about the global community. our lives are so narrow. we focus so much on the mundane inanities of our own sad little lives that we often forget that there is a whole planet in crisis on so many levels.
It is my hope that BO will inspire the world the way he has inspired his countrymen, for all of humanity to reach out to their neighbours, to realise how dependent we are on one another. to help. to serve. to give back.
In The Struggle we often chanted "An injury to one is an injury to all". By the same token, a victory for one is a victory for all. This victory for the US is a victory for the world.
btw... GWB did more for Africa than any other POTUS, including Bill Clinton.