Post-election analysis
Friday, November 7, 2008
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Now that the 2008 presidential election is over, we’re left to determine what its outcome may hold going forward into the next decade.
The supposition that it will only affect the United States is absurd; from the war in Iraq to foreign aid to the financial crisis, there are countless examples of how America has improved or destroyed the lives of people halfway around the world.
President-elect Obama has the unenviable task of bringing together a country so used to division that diplomacy is seen as a weakness. But the days of America being an omnipotent, singular superpower are over. It’s a reality John McCain refused to accept and this, in large part, is why he lost.
We are entering a new chapter of American history. Here’s what we can expect from this nation under our new president:
Cooperation – Obama realizes America is no longer the force we once were, both psychologically and in practice. Working with other nations seems to be the only way forward, and this is made clear by China’s rapid growth, whose GDP is now increasing faster than our own. Will the United States continue to bully its way around the world, or will we engage our friends and enemies in thoughtful dialogue? Under Obama, look for the tone of the United States to shift from confrontational and sharp to being more adaptable and engaging.
Prioritization – America finds itself using more resources per capita than any other nation on earth, and yet America seems stuck on using what wealth we haven’t yet squandered on flawed, temporary fixes. Obama will shift the public dialogue – and our funding – away from short-sided solutions (such as oil drilling and an increased military budget for our energy needs) toward long-term, more permanent fixes (electric transportation and solar technology to fuel it, which will ease us from foreign oil). Do we really need to be paying Halliburton to supply our troops with $45 cases of soda and $600 toilet seats? This is no accident; the people in power have essentially established a complex, and somehow legal, money laundering scheme. For further consideration: the man who served as chairman and CEO of Halliburton from 1995 until 2000?
Vice President Dick Cheney. Expect issues such as these not to arise during the next four years.
Responsibility – One issue President-elect Obama takes with America is our national sense of entitlement. Obama has consistently made public his desire for there to be more help for the middle class, but he has spent just as much time lamenting our lack of service to our country. Look for working students who today are given few options for financial aid to be given greater opportunity and reward for their public service, such as with the Peace Corps. There may also be a shift away from Americans viewing military service, as critical as it is, as being the only way to serve one’s country. In the echoes of John F. Kennedy, sacrifice may again be seen as a privilege instead of a burden.
Hope – If there’s anything America has been known for, it’s her ingenuity and adaptability in times of crisis. We’ve seen that fear can paralyze a nation, that fear can consume our thoughts and actions, that it can be used as a weapon against our own people, and can turn even the most resolute protectors of liberty into lock-step advocates for a systematic erosion of our civil liberties. But we’ve also seen what hope can do to transform a wounded – though powerful – country such as ours. President-elect Obama takes on responsibility for a nation waging two wars, in the throes of a true financial crisis, adapting to a changing world stage and suffering from widespread public frustration with our inability to get anything done. Yet there seems no better time for a transformative leader such as himself to turn that frustration into action. We don’t need a politician who can lead, we need a leader who can govern and inspire, who can listen to opposition but still be firm, who acts with our country’s best interests at heart instead of their own.
Not everyone who voted thought that Obama would make the best leader for our country, but all will be influenced by his choices and actions. In the years ahead, look for ever-widening gaps between wealth brackets begin to slow or even contract. Read some international newspapers and find out how those in countries under our influence feel. Most importantly, look for America to begin to pull itself together through a renewed respect for our nation. Watch for once-cynical people to openly declare their pride for our country, and for a new generation of intrepidation and optimism to replace the cloud of pessimism and apathy that has hung over us for so long. In the longer run, look for America, however gradually, to go from a nation divided back to being “One nation, indivisible.”
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