Total Eclipse

The view from Tel-Aviv:

I was really nervous all last night. Laying in bed, watching the US Edition of CNN off the intertubes, and frequenting twitter reports from various friends in the states (Hi Corey!) on my iPod.
It was about 4:00 past midnight when Ohio went for Obama. That’s when I knew it was over and I could finally get some sleep.
Today I just feel ecstatic; I’m so pleased with this outcome — and I’m somewhat jealous of what my American friends must be feeling now. Personally, I’m reminded of 1999, when Barak took the Prime Ministership here from rightwing SOB Benjamin Nethanyahu, and people spontaneously flooded the streets, cheered, hugged, high-fived strangers and danced all night. I hope Obama has the courage, strength and tenacity to deliver on his promise. Fundamental change is not going to be easy to deliver, and critics will start crying even before the first 100 days are over, I guarantee.

The only pinch in my heart right now is that Prop Hate looks like it’s going to pass in California, which is a big blow to the Gay Rights Movement. I hope a Democratic Washington will be able to move things forward on the national scale, so while that battle was lost, the war is far from over.

To me, personally, I just feel relief. Relief that the Texan is going home, and relief that he is not being replaced by another warmonger and his dimwitted Evangelical sidekick. Relief that there’s finally a slim chance that tomorrow will be better than today. Cautious Optimism, if you will.

Like I recently said on livejournal, I was not an Obama fan from the get-go (I wanted Hillary to win) and I still take issue with certain policies he and Biden have proposed over the years (in particular Biden’s passion supporting a zero tolerance War on Drugs policy which has never ever proven itself). However, I’ve come to be swayed over by his charisma, and by my solemn assessment that the man is a brave and calculated individual, singularly intelligent and possessing of strong leadership traits.
It is my judgment that this is what America needs, moreover, this is what the world needs, if it is to regain faith in American leadership and respect for the American ideal.

Around me, a lot of people seem skeptical. Perhaps because former-leftist Israelis (for there really isn’t a left to speak of anymore thanks to Intifada El-Aqsa) are a particularly cynical bunch. A lot of people here seem to believe that Obama is a Muslim, and that that is inherently bad. This of course smells of racism and bigotry that I wish didn’t live in the hearts of people so close to me. Somehow I doubt that anyone would call a white church-goer a Muslim just because they lived a few years in Jakarta when they were very young. Obviously, there’s other reasons for many Israelis to be pro-McCain. For the same reason most Israelis are centrist-right; When a hawk says Iran will not be allowed to possess nuclear weapons, it has more bite to it than when a dove says the same thing.
The bigger problem here is; What if he really were a Muslim? or -god forbid- an Atheist? Is it so wrong for a Muslim kid growing up in America today to dream that maybe one day he’ll be President? The USA was founded on the vitality of that dream. Perhaps most Israelis don’t understand, or don’t care to understand that, but I sure do.

Having said that, at least according to this unscientific poll, Israelis still overwhelmingly supported Obama over McCain, though perhaps not as much as the rest of the planet.

One of the reasons I initially supported Clinton over Obama, was that I did not believe he had a chance to win. Cynical me did not believe America would vote for a black candidate named Barack Hussein Obama.
Thank you, America, for keeping the dream alive and proving me wrong.

Tagged as 1999, American Dream, Atheism, Barak, Biden, Bush, choice 2008, Cynicism, elections, Freedom, Islam, McCain, Nethanyahu, Obama, Palin, Proposition 8, War, war on drugs, שי ברוג + Categorized as Meta/Personal, Social Politics