After a long working week in US, I have been to the office in Istanbul today, with lots of questions about how was the history witnessing, the crowd, the atmosphere... Being there and here right from the depth is very different. I still think about the election night and what me and all the people around me have been through. And I believe I will be like that more.
However, some of my colleagues think that the world exaggerates Obama. All those celebrations, gigantic crowd, that PR... Maybe they can be right in a way. I have been the States only 3 times, it can be little for many, but one of the impressions I had in States is the exaggeration. In Denver during the conventions, it wasnt a party gathering but a big entertainment with lots of spot lights... Behind the doors there were no lights but dim discussion "parties" I guess...
So behind all the glamorous "Obamamania", all the hope can fade in a little while-at least they say...
But in Turkey, we look at things only from the perspective of "which is best for Turkey." If he is in our benefit, then he is perfect. Of course this can be right, but for me very narrow thinking. There is a much broader word called: global... For what is beneficial to globe can give no harm to Turkey.
I am still shaken, maybe because I was there I donot know, about a black man elected as president. A man that havent been known before the magnificent speech he made 2004 Democratic Convention (listen to youtube-or ktunnel, esp. the part about blue states and red states. a new leader was born that day).
As Paul Krugmann said in his article on NYT right after the elections: If the election of our first African-american president didnt stir you, if it didnt leave you teary-eyed and proud of your country, there is something wrong with you:))...
enjoy more...
(to be continued: Muslim's feelings on the new possible posts in Obama cabinet...)
1 yorum:
Present, past and Obama
Since the moment Barack Obama won the race against Hillary Clinton, I expected him to be the next president. You only count on intuitions when forecasting. As far as the present concerned, after 8-year Bush period, the likelihood of shifting to Democrats in American politics was of course high.
However, I did not
confine myself to the present and decided go back to a past period which may render me to make plausible comparisons. Because the Great Britain was the hegemonic state before US, I thought focusing on the politics of Britain would be useful. But what would be the the correct comparison periods between the two declining hegemonic powers? Because it was essential to examine decline periods of the two hegemonic powers, the cycles of economic downturn of both states were to the point. Many prominent economy historians mark 1870s as financial crisis period, though not as catastrophic as the one occurred in 1929. 1929 is the terminal one which is beyond the financial crisis meaning deep crush of industry. Some historians see continuation between these periods as the former being the signal of the latter. The prominent historians mark the period of
1870s-1920s as a decline time of Britain. Political incidents support the decline of Britain at that era. Moreover we have 1970, again a financial crush moment, and a year which is marked as the beginning of the end of American economic superiority by the most serious economists on the planet. For US decline period should be between 1970s-2030? circa.
Therefore, what to do for a curious person like me was to scrutinize the critical political affairs of both time periods. I have to confess that I come across with the incidents to be analyzed
as useful analogies between the two declines. To me, the most important one was the Boer War of the British era which is unfortunately neglected by most pundits. When read carefully, one comes up the fact that there are significant similarities between the Boer War and the invasion of Iraq in terms of manifest and latent reasons, the conduct, and the close and far consequences. During the conduct of the Boer War, the conservatives were in the office for not one, but two terms. After two terms the liberals under pressure from left won the elections in Great Britain. What do we have at present? We had the Boer War of our time: The Iraqi War of 2003. US won it just like UK became successful. Conservatives were at the White House for two terms just like that of Great Britain. Therefore it is time to remember Barack Obama, not only just for his present position
as an essential achivement as far as the socio-cultural peculiarites of the USA concerned, but also for his position as a "social" liberal, or "social democrat" leader, under pressure from left, of a declining hegemonic power, facing challenges of rising new autocracies playing the systemic-historical role of the old ones...
Okan Umruk
Yorum Gönder