Thomas Friedman in his Op-Ed Piece this morning:
Yes, all of this Obama-mania is excessive and will inevitably be punctured should he win the presidency and start making tough calls or big mistakes. For now, though, what it reveals is how much many foreigners, after all the acrimony of the Bush years, still hunger for the “idea of America” — this open, optimistic, and, indeed, revolutionary, place so radically different from their own societies...
That’s the America that got swallowed by the war on terrorism. And it’s the America that many people want back. I have no idea whether Obama will win in November. Whether he does or doesn’t, though, the mere fact of his nomination has done something very important. We’ve surprised ourselves and surprised the world and, in so doing, reminded everyone that we are still a country of new beginnings.
This brings me to something Friedman wrote awhile back that rings true again and again in my encounters overseas. People still smile at the idea of America.
If one day, all political barriers and borders were erased around the world, there would be a big queue of people waiting to get into the United States, and a whole lot of countries quickly emptying out. This is a real case of global supply and demand-and the life that can be attained in the US is still, even after the damage of the Bush years, in demand by many of the world's citizens. The simple promise of personal freedom and a the opportunity to succeed in a relatively flat environment is something that is not a reality in most areas of the world; it is a reality that we need to recognize, harness, improve upon, and thrust into the future.
It is a comfort that even in today's wired world, hundreds of years of history may fray, but will not completely unravel, under a near decade of misguided use.
