Sunday, November 09, 2008

Obama: the end of pure culture?

I never thought I would live to see an African American becoming president of the United States. The fact that Barack Obama was voted in as the next president of a country with a turbulent racial history, and where African Americans are in the minority, is an event of such historical magnitude that I think it will take some time before anyone grasps its full significance.

What do the results of these US elections signify? I think that, for the United States, this was a result of an entire nation thirsting for new, inspiring leadership. But I think, on a broader scale, that election result signifies a major cultural change that has been occurring for some time.

I think that Obama represents the world as it is today. When you walk through any of the large cities, let it be London, New York, or Johannesburg, you quickly notice how cosmopolitan they are: the many different cultures, languages and religions; millions of individuals with differing life stories, interacting together in the incredibly large melting pot that is the modern world. Obama represents the Spanish born woman whose parents immigrated from Algeria; the English born man whose mother is Irish and his father Turkish; the Rwandan child of both Hutu and Tutsi decent; and the marriage of an atheist husband and Christian wife.


I wonder if Obama represents the fact that, in this day and age, there is no longer such a thing as pure culture or belief, or an absolute, one sided way of thinking and doing things. If the modern world has done anything in recent times, it has blurred the lines of demarcation between different languages, worldviews, religious beliefs, and ways of thinking. The old colonial view of separation, which frequently used violence to protect a certain view of ‘superior’ culture and to force this culture on others, has been slowly replaced by a world where many people are starting to cross historical boundaries to interact with others. Could it be that this paradigm shift has been growing for some time, but only now – through the election of Obama – it is finally represented at the highest level of leadership?

Obama might fail in his presidency; he might only serve one term and be replaced by someone much more mundane. But the fact that he was voted in to begin with is a sign that major cultural changes are afoot. And these changes will continue in all spheres of society long after Obama leaves office.

I am excited that Obama is the next president of the United States. But more than that, I am excited to be living in this time of cultural change.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Kevin, any chance you think (like me) that he is a closet atheist. I know he has paid the usual lip service but I have my doubts about his faith. Just a thought.

CyberKitten said...

stephen said: I know he has paid the usual lip service but I have my doubts about his faith.

How is it possible to say? If he's going through the motions and saying the right things what makes you think he's an atheist - closet or otherwise... and does it actually matter?

Tera Rose said...

i think it is the first time in my life that i am proud to be an american...

and i didn't vote.

how lame is that?

You are very right. I believe that times have changed on many levels.

our country handles its "problems" by putting them on children to solve. I was born in 67 and grew up after all the civil rights events. They integrated us in school. They forgot to tell our parents. Many friends inter racially dated and went home to battles.

I digress. My point?
My generation, we grew up integrated. We are the harvest of the work done in the 60s...
We don't see color the way the generation before us did.

Obama was voted in because most americans are sick of the Regan,Bush footprints on the world... footprints of the rich robbing, killing, plundering even their own for greed; and then praising Jesus for it.

diversity sets us all free.

Anonymous said...

stephen said: I know he has paid the usual lip service but I have my doubts about his faith.

Well, Bush is a Christian. By that standard, here's hoping Obama isn't.