American Elections - From an outsider (page 2)

cantleave

I'd trade in Cameron for Obama any day.....

and I would throw in Clegg at the same time!

Thank you, LouBelle for the compliment. We are proud to be Americans and of the way we conduct our elections. I did not vote for Obama, but he is our President and we have to support him and hope that he will do the best for all Americans. We agrue and debate but in the end we know we have to stick together for the sake of our country.

PHG

princecharmant

Talking about SA, that Malema guy is way above nuts. Not that Jacob Zuma is any better. Cape Town is the love of my life and ranks at the very top of all places I've even been to.

perfect1

Thanks LouBelle,

There are so may things I love about this country.

The food portions, the swagger.

This song grew on me the 8 times I heard it on the 4th of July.

Its very easy to learn the words and sing a long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q65KZIqay4E

Band on the Run

LouBelle,

I have mementos of hope in my home. My treasures include pieces of the Berlin Wall. We barely had regular school during the Cuban Missle Crisis and the construction of the Berlin Wall. I watched regular people gunned down or jumping off roofs to escape. The one I value the most is an actual ballot from the first SA nonapartheid election. It has photographs of all the candidates, including Nelson Mandela. I understand the euphoria is gone. Four years ago, many Americans and the media believed Obama could walk on water. Yesterday's vote was a more realistic one. Nothing changed to offer any hope of a more functional government.

President Obama first came to my attention when he addressed the Democratic National Convention when John Kerry was running for president. I believe he was a freshman senator from Illinois. When he was announced, I wondered why someone with such low status was handed a national profile. What I recall is an impassioned speech not to cede God to the GOP. They do not own God. GOP members may Bible thump but Democrats were on the vanguard of the social gospel. His oratorical skills were impressive. A few years later my local Democratic group is gearing up for the primaries. I attended a fund raiser and someone had made a homemade "Obama for President." I tried so hard not to laugh. When I was home, I telephoned several people to have a good laugh.

He won the primaries and the election. I grew up with images of fire hoses turned on children. De facto segration was alive in the South. Police dogs were turned on peaceful demonstrators. It gives me hope for my issues.

cobaltcupcake

I guess we take it for granted in the U.S. that we can count on peaceful elections and transfers of power. It really is a blessing.

kurtbethel

Well said, LouBelle.

It is wise to view South Africa, and America, as a work in progress. Both are very dynamic countries, with a lot of resources and natural beauty. Both have some history of injustice with certain people that still needs to be sorted. Both of them have great opportunities for creative people. But only one of them has penguins that roam around in the wild.

Diest

Id marry you Lou, but only if you hold your head like that for the whole marriage...Your picture always makes me smile.

panhandlegirl

I grew up with images of fire hoses turned on children. De facto segration was alive in the South. Police dogs were turned on peaceful demonstrators. It gives me hope for my issues.

BOTR, I grew up with the same images. I could not believe what I saw on tv. Those were such tumultuous times; from the images of young American men dying in the fields of Vietnam, the assassination of John and Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Malcom X, Medgar Evers, and the killing of the young men in Mississippi and those protestors at Kent State, it was almost too much to absorb. I witnessed these events from the vantage point of a small Texas town. The events were so surreal. When I was moving from Texas to the Southeast coast, my brother and I went through Selma and Birmingham, Alabama. As we went through those those cities, I remarked to my brother:"Do you realize we are in the heart of the battle for civil rights?" I almost wanted to stop and do homage to those brave souls who forced change on the US.I don't think I would want to have lived in any other age. This one has been wrought by so much turmoil, but good things have also been accomplished by some brave souls. I hope things will get better for all of us in the future.

PHG

LouBelle

princecharment - you've visted our shores - how lovely. Cape Town is fantastic - you can't beat it in summer. I have spent some lovely holidays tanning, taking in the vinyards, watching the sun go down late at night and felt that all was right with the world. You have to head onto the east side, durban - that's my home town. We offer good wildlife, fantastic mountains, the best curries and bunnies in town.

Band on the run - it is a pity our dear Mandela didn't run for a second term, he was too old by that stage, but that is what we needed. It would have kept those raving cazies like Malema and Zuma at bay a little longer. Tata Mandela is in his 90's now and very frail, He would shudder if he truly knew that the south africa he fought so hard to free was being handled like it is. The ANC do their utmost to keep Mandela out of the know - he live padded in his homestead in rural eastern cape - it is very peaceful there and not much news leaks that way.

cobaltcupcake - right now the ANC are the ruling party, if the DA had to win, this country would be in fear of the violence that would rage. It's so sad that the people just can't accept that kind of change. Perhaps one day after 200 years we'll get there.

Excellent Diest - I can always print that pic and just tie it to my head - pose sorted! I'ma packing my bags.

Phg - yeah I also hope things get better.

Kurt - you look so happy in that pic - Boulders Beach suits you.

American Elections - From an outsider

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