On September 11th, 2001, I was working in the middle of a clean room in a tiny building somewhere in the middle of Ottawa. Upon walking down the hall, I learned from a co-worker that a plane had just struck the World Trade Center. Thinking it was just an accident, I continued on with my job without any more thought to the event. Upon learning that another plane had hit the second World Trade Center building less than an hour later, I began to realize the magnitude of the day’s events.
A few hours later, I would find myself across the street on Hunt Club, watching history unfold on a small television perched above the bar inside the local Boston Pizza. Tonight, while sitting on a small table at the Yaletown Brew Company with Dave, I felt once again like history was being made.
Today is an historic day. Not just because the United States has elected the first African American president, but because it is once again a nation united together in its belief that things can indeed be better.
Even north of the border up here in Yaletown, Vancouver, the tears were flowing freely during Obama’s acceptance speech. It is clear that people are tired of being lied to, tired of having their freedoms trampled upon, and tired of a life spent slaving away so that the rich continue to get richer and the poor continue to get poorer. Obama represents (not just for the citizens of the United States, but for the entire world), another chance, an opportunity of a life filled with promise and hope, not just hardship and unmeasurable loss.
I sat there tonight watching history unfold, proud to be a Canadian, and proud to be a witness to such an historic political event. Yes, it is true that Obama may let the United States down. And it is true that he may let the entire world down. But now is not a time for defeatism or pessimism, now is the time for hope: hope that the world will be better, hope that the times ahead will be easier, and hope that all of us, despite our differences, will find a way to live together in peace.
[easyvideo video=http://blip.tv/play/gYBP1_USi8tz]
I will no longer wince a little when handing over my passport to be inspected.
Beautiful post, Duane. I agree with you 100%. This is an amazing day for the world, not just the U.S.
On a lighter note, I have to agree with Anthony. This makes heading to the States a whole lot easier, lol.
[…] You don’t need to be political to be patriotic, you just need to be passionate. The people of the United States of America are our friends, our family, and our peers. We share their television, sports, economic woes, and gut wrenching tragedies. Most of all we share passion for our countries. Even north of the border up here in Yaletown, Vancouver, the tears were flowing freely during Obama’s acceptance speech. It is clear that people are tired of being lied to, tired of having their freedoms trampled upon, and tired of a life spent slaving away so that the rich continue to get richer and the poor continue to get poorer. Obama represents (not just for the citizens of the United States, but for the entire world), another chance, an opportunity of a life filled with promise and hope, not just hardship and unmeasurable loss. [Duane Storey] […]
Wow, Duane. Seems like eloquence is everywhere tonight.
The fact that everyone in the world shares this moment is a treasure in and of itself. Here’s to a better future for all of us.
At the risk of sounding like a poor loser (and I assure you I am not). You must realize that we in the US did not unite to elect Barack Obama, we split the nation by a difference of 5 million people.
The President-elect does have an opportunity to unite the country by becoming a great leader, but until he does, there will be a very large portion of the US population believing that things are getting worse.
I sincerely hope that our President-elect can unite the country and better peoples lives.
That’s a good point. But the hurdles that were overcome such that Barack Obama could even be elected are rather substantial. But good point with regards to the popular vote.
I watched the live-streamed speech last night. I had a drink in Obama’s honour. I have hope.
It was an emotional night for alot of people.