Having raised a small voice for a president with an eye for the world, not just America, it is my responsibility to give thanks. It was not hard to be grateful yesterday, and there is really not a lot to say. I am realistic; there is a limit to how much a man, a government, even the government of a big nation can do. But if words mean anything, the we have hope.
Barack Obama's Inaugural Address: Humility, Gratitude, Sacrifice
Humility, gratitude and sacrifice. From his first words, Barack Obama
let us know that even on a day so bright, he was not blinded. Not by
the cloud of witnesses in front of him. Not by the lights of cameras
sending his words across the planet. That he was willing to sound so
somber on his day of celebration tells us many things at once. At a
time of scarcity, do not waste opportunities. When the world is
watching and willing to follow, tell them where you want to take them.
And above all, tell the truth. .......
........ He offered to the world a similar prospect: "Know that America is a
friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future
of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more."
And then he brought it all together, the challenge and the
duty and the promise: "What is required of us now is a new era of
responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we
have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do
not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge
that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our
character, than giving our all to a difficult task."
The world seem happy. CNN: Press Review: World hails 'United States of Obama'
"We're a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and
non-believers," said the headline on the front of the Times of India,
taking a line from Obama's inaugural address.
Of course they then went on to press him to deal with Pakistan. Hopefully balance can prevail..
The Guardian: The world watches and hopes
The single most dramatic section of the speech, however, was the part
addressed to the Muslim world. After eight years in which Mr Bush has
regularly demonised and patronised the Muslim world, often in language
deliberately drawn from the Bible, Mr Obama's words, given extra
impetus from the occasion, seem intended to mark yet another clear
break. He offered "a new way forward, based on mutual interest and
mutual respect". The words were coupled with a standard-issue stern
warning to dictators, but the direct address to the Muslim world, along
with the promise to "extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your
fist", plus the very fact that America now has a president whose middle
name is Hussein, all combine to make this a moment of new opportunity.
Once again, though, those powerful words will now have to be turned
into practical deeds.
And Time's Middle East blog was happy: Obama Mideast Watch: Prez Reach-Out to Muslims
Obama is specifically reaching out and providing assurances
of change to all the nations and people of the world who have become
angry, disillusioned or confused by America's bending of moral
principles, through Guantanamo prison and other dubious policies, in
pursuing the war against terrorists.
Obama is making an unprecedented out-reach to the Muslim
world. He is recognizing America's troubled relations with the Middle
East and making a promise to Muslims to put them on a better basis. He
is also indirectly warning regimes such as those in Iran and Syria
against sowing conflict and stoking anti-American sentiment. But in a
reversal of Bush's regime-change policies, he is offering to extend a
hand if they are ready to loosen their authoritarian grips and focus on
building their countries.
But as with all Scott Macleod urges us to wait and see:
All in all, strong signals of a change of direction for the U.S. in
the Middle East. Now we'll wait to see what policies and actions follow
the lofty rhetoric.
There is a lot more to say. I am away and unable to post much, but this needed to be said - mainly in the words of others.
