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Why do we care what Obama does?
I'm a New Zealander, living in Australia. Most of the people I know are Aussies, Kiwis and Poms (the English). So why does what the leader of another country does on the other side of the Pacific have such an impact?
Firstly, thank god for his first couple of days in power. Formulating the orders and making the statements to get rid of Guantanamo Bay (and the secret CIA facilities), to ban lobbyists from being appointed to agencies they have lobbied about for 2 years, to strongly affirm a pro-choice stance, to affirm a policy of openness in government, to cap the wages of senior government figures, to instantly appoint a Middle-East envoy who was instrumental in brokering the terms which led to settlement in Northern Ireland, to ban fucking torture, to include the "non-believers" in his inauguration speech, and on and on.
Since I'm not an American, why is this so great? Because like it or not, America is a model for Western democracies. How the US handles its foreign relations and its economy affects us signficantly. (And we've certainly learned that pretty directly in the economic sense). Regarding the US's internal affairs, they are again a model. The erosion of social welfare, the casualisation of the workforce, the increasing stratification of society, free-marketeerism and so on, have all come about due to models that the US has provided and that various other countries have emulated to a greater or lesser degree. Basically, if the US rolls over, we have to move as well.
Naturally, compared to the US, most of our countries still seem pretty socialist by comparison, and the religious right has not really gained a political foothold (although they have slightly in Australia). But it seems it will increasingly become the fact that neo-right-wing politicians will not be able to point to the US to justify their plans to erode our rights and working conditions, or to promulgate pointless wars, or to engage in actions of dubious legality in the name of "security". For that, I am grateful. Long may it continue, and I'm sure that those of you who voted for him are thrilled to the core.
Firstly, thank god for his first couple of days in power. Formulating the orders and making the statements to get rid of Guantanamo Bay (and the secret CIA facilities), to ban lobbyists from being appointed to agencies they have lobbied about for 2 years, to strongly affirm a pro-choice stance, to affirm a policy of openness in government, to cap the wages of senior government figures, to instantly appoint a Middle-East envoy who was instrumental in brokering the terms which led to settlement in Northern Ireland, to ban fucking torture, to include the "non-believers" in his inauguration speech, and on and on.
Since I'm not an American, why is this so great? Because like it or not, America is a model for Western democracies. How the US handles its foreign relations and its economy affects us signficantly. (And we've certainly learned that pretty directly in the economic sense). Regarding the US's internal affairs, they are again a model. The erosion of social welfare, the casualisation of the workforce, the increasing stratification of society, free-marketeerism and so on, have all come about due to models that the US has provided and that various other countries have emulated to a greater or lesser degree. Basically, if the US rolls over, we have to move as well.
Naturally, compared to the US, most of our countries still seem pretty socialist by comparison, and the religious right has not really gained a political foothold (although they have slightly in Australia). But it seems it will increasingly become the fact that neo-right-wing politicians will not be able to point to the US to justify their plans to erode our rights and working conditions, or to promulgate pointless wars, or to engage in actions of dubious legality in the name of "security". For that, I am grateful. Long may it continue, and I'm sure that those of you who voted for him are thrilled to the core.
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80% of philadelphia voted for obama, so yeah people here are generally pretty excited this week :) hell, they danced in the streets - literally - when he won the election.
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