I just finished talking to a friend and co-worker. We have worked together for a number of years. She and her husband are from India, and have lived in the United States for over 20 years. During that time, they have come to love this country, identifying and drawing contrasts to their native land. They had however over the last 8 years, grown disenchanted with the U.S. its leadership and its actions on the world stage. As a result, she and her husband had made a decision within the last year or two to remain Indian citizens. That changed last night.
She called me to tell me how overwhelmed she was with Obama's speech last night, that it touched in a way that she could not describe. She again compared it to the electoral process in India - - one that she characterized as often corrupt, and not nearly as transparent. She spoke of the reaffirmation of what true democracy is, that America has proven once again that it can reinvent itself, that it can make democracy transparent, that it reinstill hope and faith in its leaders like no other country in the world.
She called to tell me that as a result seeing true democracy in action, she and her husband made the decision this morning to become U.S. citizens.