We’re gonna go off topic a bit here, but it’s my right to rant. This is the first day I have ever truly felt proud to be from the United States of America. When I was in high-school, forming my view of the world, we were in the first Iraq war - which I could see even then was an Oil rush, not a moral issue. If you’ve read much of the philosophical rants here, you know I’ve got no love for authority, so I really had nothing much positive to say about my country. When I saw the stars and stripes fluttering in the wind, all I really saw was hypocrisy and a new form of corporate colonial abuse around the world. Certainly the last 8 years have been beyond embarrassing.
While 9/11 was certainly a horrible event, to have the response be a declared war on a tactic and a general closing down of the communication process is inexcusable. To let it fester for a second term was beyond depressing. I find myself in Portland, Oregon frequently only surrounded by people with a similar world view - so to be part of a country that seemed to be so wholly missing the point was horrible. I wondered if our system was truly broken beyond repair. I wondered if our international reputation was broken beyond repair. I wondered if this was a place I wanted to raise my family.
Last night I became a new man. We had all heard the polls, we all had given our time and money to Barack, but still we all assumed McCain would win in some inexplicable evil way. Maybe Diebold would just hand him the vote, maybe there really were millions of closet racists as the media kept implying with the “Bradley Effect” - who knew, but the seldom voiced opinion of all of my friends was “snowball’s chance in hell” that a man named Barack Hussein Obama would be our President. But.. Amazingly..
He DOMINATED.. 2:1 in the electoral college!! took ALL of the battle ground states - none of this waiting around for a week while the lawyers hash it out - we knew while still having an after dinner drink! It was a clear and total victory and I couldn’t be prouder.
I feel like we just made a stronger move in the “war on terror” with that one vote than we did in the 8 years of that cowboy dicking around. I feel like if I were to be on an international tour, I’d be PROUD to have an American Flag on my backpack because we may not be perfect (my God that’s clear) but we’re able to do a 180 degree switch and elect a black man with the middle name of Hussein to the most powerful job in the world. “Give us your tired, your poor” because you TRULY can make something of yourself here. This country is NOT just a good-ol-boys network and we’re NOT Rome falling to chaos - the best truly IS yet to come and it’s going to make the WHOLE WORLD a better place.
Ya know I got truly excited about Barack almost 2 years ago now when I read a New Yorker article detailing his most enduring trait - the inherent ability to be a diplomat. Take two people with completely different views on something, accept that there is no “us and them” - no “good and evil”, but rather help them find common ground and a new understanding about how we all can get along. Its about communication and I believe that through open communication we can solve everything and anything. Frankly, I wouldn’t have chosen to give away c5 for nothing if I didn’t deeply believe that. Freedom of expression is freedom.
I honestly believe Barack Obama IS empathy and communication incarnate. I don’t think it’s gonna be easy, and I’m sure he’s gonna make us all work hard for it, but get ready for some actual thoughtful, deliberate, caring understanding and bridge building from your friends in the good old U, S of fuckin A.
PS: sorry about the last 8 years again.. uhh. mulligan?
PPS: I’d love to hear from our international friends as I know c5 is used as much out of the states as in em..
-frz
An amazing day and a beginning to what I see as one of the most exciting times in American history. Some of the comments made in the media today have been interesting, implying that the American public shouldn’t expect too much, after all he is only one man. But I think there is something that has been overlooked by the media, if the right man is put into a position of power by his people, those same people will work harder than ever to make the changes they want to see. I lost count of how many people I heard interviews with last night saying they wanted to get involved and would feel proud to go to work for the US Government. This is the reverse of the brain drain the public sector has seen over the past decade. So President Obama may be only one man, but because he is an empowerer OUR country can realize the changes we have longed for. It’s about damn time the people of the US stopped shooting themselves in the foot every four years!
Yes, many of us Europeans believe that Obama could make a change. And yes, I’m impressed that the American voters did make this choice. It shows the world that Bush USA and USA Bush (Had my doubts when he got reelected though).
Congratulations!
Happy Swiss guy! It finally happend.. It’s great having a black president!
After bush got elected the second time, most of the Swiss were really shocked.
They wanted to impeach Clinton because of .. (I guess that word is in the black list) but Bush could lie about a war and nothing happend!
While it was quite a feat to elect an African American, it’s too bad that man elected has minimal experience in American politics and has never fought for our country.
I’ll never disagree that the last 8 years were horrible, but if you think that just because we have someone new and different in office the world is going to change immediately, you’re being ignorant.
Barack has a LONG road ahead of him and many challenges to face. Maybe, just maybe, he can help us pull ourselves out the rut we’re in. But Barack is not God, he is not the second coming of Jesus. He is President-Elect.
Let’s not rush into judgment, many people thought Bush was going to save our country. Give it some time before we start calling Obama our ‘Saviour’.
All-in-all, congratulations to President-Elect Obama. There is much hope that he follows through with his victory speech and that he meant every word of it.
You misspelled the word Barrack. There is a double ‘r’ in there. Anyway cheers bro!This message is from the counry that brought to you Barrack Snr: who shagged Ann and then the rest as they say is history.
I think it’s sad that you haven’t felt proud of your country until Obama was elected President. Maybe you should learn a bit more about history.
I too disagreed with much of Bush’s policies, but I was never ashamed to be an American. My love of my country and pride in all the wonderful things it offers is not contingent upon my agreement with the policies in Washington. That’s akin to saying you love your parents only when they do what you think is right.
I voted for Obama and wish him the best of luck. I think your expectations of what he can accomplish as President may be a bit inflated.
My opinions are rarely formed through lack of education or information. It’s not that I think Washington should be utopia, or that Obama is going to wave a magic wand and make everything better. (as someone else implied in a comment here) I think my post was pretty clear that I saw Obama as a community organizer and I think everyone I talk to fully expects to simply be called to action, not to have anything done for them.
That’s part of what I was always TOLD made this country great, but I’m not a fellow that easily takes someone else’s “say-so” as gospel. I am 33 years old this month. I have never SEEN anything happen in or by my country to be truly proud of until last Tuesday. Yes, I am well educated enough to dribble on about WWII and the suffrage movement, but that’s all very abstract. When your leader says “we’re going to war on a tactic, and if you’re not with us your against us!”.. its unforgivably embarrassing. Not because I’m un-aware of history, but rather because I’m painfully aware of it. Who were the last people who did well in Afghanistan and Iraq with this approach… Alexander the Great?
Regardless… I don’t want this to get in a shouting match at all, I don’t mean to dismiss anyone else’s patriotism and I think one of the coolest things tuesday was when Obama said “to those who did not vote for me, I will be your president too.”
I heard someone else put it quite well the other day:
When we were attacked on 9/11, Bush’s response was to tell us to go shop. Seriously. He told us to be consumers.
Obama is clearly telling us to Give. Be contributors.
That feels right.
That’s something historically proven to work.
THAT’s something to be proud of.
I don’t think HE will accomplish ANYTHING as President, I think WE will accomplish GREAT things with a GREAT leader, and I finally feel like we’ve chosen one who has a chance. He doesn’t need your “wish of luck,” what we all need is your help.
“Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year.”
That’s exciting.
Ballsy. How many times have I been at a dinner party where someone said “The Swiss have it right, you should HAVE to help somehow as part of growing up.”
I’m happy to see that you’ve joined the rest of the country in being proud to be an American. It took you long enough. Though I find it interesting that you’re proud now and not before. Will you still be proud when a Republican is back in the office? Probably not.
In spite of the fact you’re a blithering idiot, I’ll still try your product. In the future, politics is a subject you should stay away from on your site. Politics and religion tend to drive people away from your product.
Actually, I’d get behind anyone that made me feel like they were trying to make the world a better place. I’m certainly not a registered democrat. I think Kerry was an idiot too.
Moreover, I’ll continue to ‘blither’ thank you very much. I stand behind my product on its own two legs. I don’t need you to share my politics to use it, but I’m afraid you will be hearing about mine if you do.
I’ve spent my years in khaki’s and a blue shirt. I don’t need lessons in PR from you. To be perfectly frank, I feel like if something I’ve said above is likely to drive a person away from my product, I’d be better off without them. I realize that’s not particularly corporate, but I ‘betcha’ if you read some more posts on this blog you’ll realize I don’t give a shit.
I find it particularly annoying that you feel comfortable calling me a “blithering idiot,” while still taking advantage of something I’ve paid for thousands of hours of development to go into, AND you seem unable to actually respond to a SINGLE point I’ve made above. If you feel I am a “blithering idiot,” tying the success of your potential project to my work is probably less than prudent. (see, I just called you an idiot by extension, cool eh?)
The only meaning I can infer from your post is you think I’m supposed to be proud of the USA, just because I’m part of it. Well I wasn’t. I am now. Excuse me for expressing myself on my blog, James. To bring the connection full circle for you - I wasn’t proud of the state of the services and software the web industry was offering their clients in 2003 when we started building Concrete CMS. I wasn’t proud of the impact we had made after 5 years of corporate consulting, and I’m finally starting to be proud of the product and community that’s emerging on concrete5.org today.
I think questioning authority and the status quo is the most important thing we can do. I think my job as CEO of a CMS that is being looked at by a world audience is to express my personal values as they apply to things like freedom of expression. It is not by accident that our competition’s names are Expression Engine, Moveable Type and WordPress. The web is going to be a huge part of the future. I hope it’s part of what Barack uses to help continue motivate a disenchanted country. It’s certainly how he won, and what’s been happening even in the last few days on change.gov is exciting.
So ‘nah’. Anyone else wanna tell me how to do my job today?
I’m not really prepared to step onto the stage of world politics but the result of this weeks election has accelerated my need to do so. Surely this blog is a small ‘world’ but a world it is nonetheless.
First, I think James was out of line calling Franz a ‘blithering idiot’ simply over a disagreement in political values. I’m quite certain Franz, you are not an idiot, blithering or otherwise. I liked your ‘idiot by extension’. Yes, it was cool.
Secondly, its easy to rant and rave a few days out of the election. ‘Monday Night’ politicking is also easy. But it’s naive. I think I’ve heard it referred to as ’standing outside the fire’. You and I, we, are a long way from Washington. Let’s examine ‘that cowboy dicking around’ thing. BTW, Bush wasn’t really telling people to go shop, he was saying ‘move on’. Think about it. Everybody was sitting around stunned and the economy was in a standstill. I guess he could have said, ‘go volunteer’. He probably thought shopping was better for the overall good. I thought they taught this stuff in economics. Nobody shops. Nobody works. Go figure. Go shop. Actually, it’s brilliant. It’s simple. But brilliant.
Out of curiosity, did you ever stop and think what you would have done if you were the President and they just flew planes into the World Trade Center on International TV? Funny, it’s the first thing I thought. What’s he gonna do? He had to do something. He has to take some sort of action. Then I thought, ‘poor bastard’ no matter what he does, right or wrong, it all falls on his shoulders. He wasn’t in office all that long, either.
Now, stop and think about it. These radicals over there want to control the oil to take down the West. That’s you and me, fellas. Now, I imagine I’m the Prez. What would I do? (Hey, I’ve watched The West Wing) I need a presence in the Middle East. I’ve got to have my tanks & troops over there to protect my interests. And yes, my interests are in that oil. It sustains the country I’ve been sworn to protect. My fellow Americans might hate me but I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do. Even, if it proves unpopular. I think, Franz, you referred to it as, “I don’t give a shit”. You’ve got to admire him for that.
I can’t roll my tanks and set up shop in just any country. But there’s this rogue idiot over there in Iraq and I can bring that guy down. Oh, and geez, guess what? My new next door neighbor is Iran. Picture gang members down the street buying nuclear technology on the black market. Would you want to keep an eye on them? Let’s put this in lay man’s terms: there’s a houseful of tattooed and tear-dropped gang members down the street with a stockade of weapons. Which one of you guys is going to go down there and negotiate with them? Better yet, let’s get Obama to do it. Or perhaps we could even move in next door to these guy and keep an eye on them. Would you rather be on defense or offense? And who would you rather have leading the charge? A guy who was the editor of the Harvard Law Review or the guy who spent five years in a POW camp?
Well, there you have it. You get what you pay for. (No pun intended, Franz) Tears streaming down peoples faces, arms raised in worship, a crowd of people so large it can only be liken to a ‘sea’ and the entire world in awe and worship of a new leader. Sounds like something out of ‘Revelation’ to me. This is not a new day and time for change its Devine intervention. Let’s see how things look four years from now. Creation longs for what’s in store.
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. It’s always refreshing to have a meaningful debate with someone. After I wrote that reply to James I worried that the curtness of my tone might have been more combative than constructive, so I’m glad to see I haven’t turned off our readers.
Lets see…
Yes, amazingly, I have been impressed with Dubya’s ability to blithely keep on doing what he’s doing, in the face of so much negative feedback from the world and 75% of our own country. I really doubt that 100 years passing is going to turn him into the fearless leader he thinks he is in history’s eyes, but yeah - he’s got balls, no doubt.
I also agree that 9/11 was not an enviable problem to have. From what I’ve been reading Obama actually has the wisdom to see the current set of problems he’s facing as more of an opportunity. If you already thought a system needed some fundimental rethinking - having everyone else realize that before you take office is not a bad thing. I don’t think that’s the type of problem Bush got, so yeah - tough job.
Here’s my prospective on the middle east / war on terror issue you detailed, which incidentally is only one of many amazingly bad plays Bush made. We actually started this in the 80’s in Afghanistan. We used those people up like they were our toys to fight the russians, and as soon as the russians left, so did we. I understand that in cruel world there’s no reason we should HAVE to stay around and build a school after spending billions on a covert war - but the image I was taught, we were supposed to make the world a better place, not just pursue our most immediate interests.. Clearly a stable Afghanistan would have been in our interests anyway.. If you have no idea what I’m talking about here, go watch Charlie Wilson’s War.. Actually a pretty enjoyable movie in-spite of Tom Hanks.
So we made a bunch of promises to people in the 80s and left, and guess what, 10-15 years later, they’re pissed and some of the powers that be over there fly two planes into one of our great American icons. This is absolutely unacceptable and unforgivable and Bin Laden should be caught and tried. That being said, like almost anything in life, it didn’t happen entirely out of context. This is not the first time our country has gone throwing its military might around at great cost to make some small country a better place, only to check out when the much less expensive and glorious hard work of building a place up starts. In fact, we’ve pretty much been doing that since wwII, over and over with less and less success..
So, to use your metaphor, if I was trying to make the ghetto a better place, and I had pissed off the crips for years and years and they finally retaliated.. No, I don’t think my next move would be go attack the bloods, just because they look scary. I think a much smarter move would be to deliberately and inequitably deal with the few individuals who had wronged me, and actually sit down with everyone else and start fixing the real problems. How about creating some opportunity with all those billions of dollars instead of dropping bombs. How about building some schools? These same people conservatives are so eager to say “hate us” are perfectly willing to love us if we just give them a reason. Look at the few remaining countries that do, they’re scattered all over the world and love us because we have walked the walk and not just talked the talk in their country in some way or another.. Be it an AIDS program that’s well designed, or even an oil contract that’s fair.
Regarding Harvard Law Review vs. POW camp for being good training for being our commander in chief… Wow man. I frankly can’t think of a WORSE set of experiences to give someone whose finger could have been on “the trigger”. McCain is known in the Senate for having a short temper, which made itself shown a few times during the campaign, but I’m sure nothing like what would have happened under the stress of POTUS. Moreover, what if that stress had done him in and we had Palin up there, who actually believes the world is ending and heaven’s army is coming down to earth in the next couple of years. So do I prefer having someone with the smarts to become editor of one of the most coveted forums for critical legal thinking in our country, in a conservative school, being black, and doing it at a reasonably polarized time? Yes. I prefer thoughtful diplomats with real track records of finding common ground between disparate view points making important decisions, over someone who spent half a decade in a POW camp. I just don’t see how that could have a positive impact at all. Lemmie put it this way; you’re going hunting. Do you take the dog who has been sent to the best dog training school in the world, excelled at it, and then went off to do some hard hunting in rough grounds (political climate in Chicago) - or do you take the one who was tied up in a cage in the back yard? I hear that second dog is really mean, so I’m sure whatever you’re hunting will be scared shitless.. Sounds great, eh?
Now. I /do/ agree with you about everything else. (amazing eh?)
1) Yes, it is easy to be excited the week after something dramatic as a black man with the middle name Hussein gets elected to the white house.
2) No, that in itself will not solve anything. It /IS/ a very powerful message and I think just from the replies here from people around the world anyone can see that. Yes, it absolutely has to be the beginning of an ongoing effort from everyone, not just liberals, to make our country and our country’s contributions to the world more meaningful. I have never considered myself a liberal. I do not support government spending. I would probably more likely be a republican if they actually did what they claimed, but I’m an independent. I’ve always felt like it didn’t much matter what I did because nothing really seemed to change in our country. I now see that my parents were right. The best resource our country has isn’t our bank account, or our military, it IS our people.. That always sounded like a load of cheese to me because I had never seen the people rise up and do something dramatic and sane. They now have. That’s exciting..
3) Yes, I agree - hero worship scares me, no matter who the hero is. I was very turned off by the behavior of the dem’s outside their convention. You shouldn’t be accosting Fox news even if they aren’t news. I don’t like the look of crazy ladies crying in ecstasy over Obama taking the stage either. As I’ve said before, Obama is gonna be the conductor but we’re the engine, train, and tracks. I don’t think he’s making any promises otherwise. I think that’s what bothered me about Bush’s “go out and shop for america” approach. Actually, no. If our kids are over in Iraq dying, we SHOULD be asked to make some sacrifices. The fruit is much tastier when there’s some actual labor involved.
So all of that being said, I’d like to steer this conversation into a more useful direction.
Is anyone considering how they might do some community service? I’ve got a 3 year old and a 4 month old, and my wife and I want to start doing something positive in Portland, Oregon with them. I feel like its important to actually get out and touch people, not just send some check or care package off in the mail. I used to work in a soup kitchen with my mom growing up, but I also know that this isn’t a very good time of year to decide to help in a soup kitchen (the established volunteers look at the holiday folks like easter and Christmas christians: thanks for showing up for the fun stuff)…I like to get my hands dirty, but I’m afraid the rest of my family isn’t going to be very helpful in a habitat for humanity type environment.. Kids need naps, aren’t great with hammers… They are VERY cute however, I’m thinking maybe something with a hospital? Vets or Elderly? i dunno.. Is anyone else actually starting to think about how they can contribute and have some advice for me? Are there sites I should be checking out?
I could not agree with you more, Franz! I have been so ashamed of what our country has stood for over the last 8 years. The killing of innocent civilians, the raping of our environment, and corporate greed has made made American look selfish bastards in the eyes of our neighbors. Reason being, we, WE the people, voted for Bush, not once but TWICE!!
As I stood along side fellow progressives Tuesday night, I felt the energy of people hungry for something different. Not rhetorical difference that has been accused in the media, but real change. Yes we CAN help preserve the planet. Yes we CAN give healthcare to all of Americans citizens. Yes we CAN more beyond greed and help support those less fortunate: the hungry, lame, and poor. Yes we CAN have a better future! And finally, Yes we CAN be proud to be an AMERICAN!
BTW - I LOVED how you have expressed this on your concrete5 blog! It is so important to not only say yes we can, but to live it by being better than the corporations out there! i could not agrees with you more about “if they get offended, we didn’t ant them anyway”!
I want to be clear, c5 isn’t “only for liberals.” I truly believe that lack of open communication is the root of all problems. So come one come all, help yourself to our free software..
Just don’t tell me that its business’s role to quietly take money and do nothing more. My business is my life, my life is my business, we’re gonna make the world a better place and we’re not gonna do it by kissing ass from 9-5 only to go home and behave differently there.
Very nice thoughts, as always, Franz. In the past we haven’t always agreed on everything, politically – but I’m glad we agree on this.
I’m especially glad you find Obama’s service initiatives exciting and positive: I’ve been reading responses from the the tech sector on these first few post-election days, particularly the community service initiatives, and I’ve found the knee-jerk responses of many people on Slashdot, for example, to be profoundly depressing. These responses are almost universally in the vein of “you can’t tell me what to do” and “what kind of freedom is that?”
It reminds me of Jackie Chiles, the lawyer, in the final episode of Seinfeld. “You don’t have to help anybody! That’s what this country is all about!”
Guys,
I’m glad the USA is back on my Christmas Card List. But please don’t stop trying, you have still got a lot of dark suits and sun-glasses over there.
Richard (Ireland)
A change like this is welcome, but if you, USA Citizens, want to be seen as less selfish, stop calling your selves Americans. There is a lot of countries in America and all the people of those countries are Americans too.
Well, Gab. What do YOU think we should call ourselves? Surely you must have a better idea of what we as a nation should call our people? Come on, let’s hear it!
We belong to the United States of America, and we shall always call ourselves Americans. This does not mean we are taking claim to the ‘Americas’. We do not have an issue with people of Central American calling themselves that or any other group in the Americas.
Learn a little about the world outside before you spew your garbage on the Internet. You’re being an ignorant child.
Common now. That’s a bit much - Gab didn’t call your kids monkeys or anything, he just brought up a valid point, we are far from the only “Americans.”
Ownage, you also raise a valid point (although in a pretty combative way).. “United States Citizens” doesn’t really have the same ring as Britons, Germans, or the Dutch….
Are we Yankies? I bet there’s a lot of states that wouldn’t like that… What is the politically correct one word for us? I dunno but I think most of the world knows who your talking about when you say “Americans”.. I just hope that it’s not spit out through the side of mouths as much any more..
Yes, those are positive things, although somewhat distanced from most of us.
I have never been to Berlin, and moreover it strikes me that the Germans had a little something to do with that, although I guess Hasselhoff might be considered an overwhelming contribution…
Fall of the soviet union? i guess that’s a good thing, certainly im no fan of communisim or socialism… Can’t say it seems like Russia is /soo/ much better off for it now.. Not sure that the people of Vietnam, Korea, or much of Africa and South America would agree with you that we made the world a better place with the cold war.. how does supporting brutal totalitarian regeims in one part of the world make ending one other one better? Again, I never said “I hate my country” and I’m not saying here that I would have written history any different around the cold war.. but it hardly seems like something to wear on your sleeve in a conversation about moral high-ground.
Tsunami relief, yeah that is a good thing - but something about that seems very individualized.. I was happy that our people rushed to New Orleans as well, but i dunno.. neither one of those strikes me like we did much more than any other county would have.. surely you don’t think we’re the only nation that gives money away, or takes care of our people in a natural disaster.. but yes, our generosity is something to be proud of.
Not burning down mosques hardly seems like something to be proud of, although I do agree with the underlying point that we seem to be fundamentally very forgiving.. just look at how many russians live here happily now, when in the 80’s it was they who were the “evil empire.” Perhaps in 10 years we’ll have an army of Iraqi and Afgan taxi drivers too..
I dunno, I think the underlying gist of my excitement (which still is strong btw) is that I’ve never seen us actually live up to the promise of equality USA touts around, until last week. The idea that anyone can work hard and make it is very compelling. But when you look at a poster of all the presidents - it’s all fat, white, well-connected, white men. It’s cool that at a very shallow level we’ve changed that.
What I think is even cooler is we’ve clearly chosen to not be led by fear. I think that’s what I found so embarrassing about the last 8 years, and what I still find unappetizing about some of the replies here. The idea that there are BAD BAD BAD guys out there we have to be STRONG STRONG STRONG against is not how I want to live, or how I want my children to see the world. I firmly believe that 99.99% of people all want the same thing. Peace, prosperity, a chance for their kids to have a better life… There is no “us vs. them” unless we do stuff to make it that way. Yes bad things happen, but they happen for a reason so lets stop giving the world reasons to hate us.
It strikes me that we’re going to have a leader who sees his role as bringing disparate groups with animosity together around their shared desires, rather than splitting the world apart around some shallow view of their belief system or current politics. I’m proud that we were wise enough to make the right choice.
Well said! I’m actually optimistic about our future again. Let hope he can mend the festering wounds of the Bush years.
Tony
5 Nov 08 at 6:09 pm
International guy: Happy as hell.
nano
5 Nov 08 at 10:21 pm
An amazing day and a beginning to what I see as one of the most exciting times in American history. Some of the comments made in the media today have been interesting, implying that the American public shouldn’t expect too much, after all he is only one man. But I think there is something that has been overlooked by the media, if the right man is put into a position of power by his people, those same people will work harder than ever to make the changes they want to see. I lost count of how many people I heard interviews with last night saying they wanted to get involved and would feel proud to go to work for the US Government. This is the reverse of the brain drain the public sector has seen over the past decade. So President Obama may be only one man, but because he is an empowerer OUR country can realize the changes we have longed for. It’s about damn time the people of the US stopped shooting themselves in the foot every four years!
Big John
5 Nov 08 at 10:34 pm
Yes, many of us Europeans believe that Obama could make a change. And yes, I’m impressed that the American voters did make this choice. It shows the world that Bush USA and USA Bush (Had my doubts when he got reelected though).
Congratulations!
Robert
6 Nov 08 at 1:34 am
Somehow the ‘not equal sign’ got lost in my previous posting (Bush not equal USA and USA not equal Bush).
Robert
6 Nov 08 at 1:36 am
Happy Swiss guy! It finally happend.. It’s great having a black president!
After bush got elected the second time, most of the Swiss were really shocked.
They wanted to impeach Clinton because of .. (I guess that word is in the black list) but Bush could lie about a war and nothing happend!
Remo
6 Nov 08 at 2:11 am
While it was quite a feat to elect an African American, it’s too bad that man elected has minimal experience in American politics and has never fought for our country.
I’ll never disagree that the last 8 years were horrible, but if you think that just because we have someone new and different in office the world is going to change immediately, you’re being ignorant.
Barack has a LONG road ahead of him and many challenges to face. Maybe, just maybe, he can help us pull ourselves out the rut we’re in. But Barack is not God, he is not the second coming of Jesus. He is President-Elect.
Let’s not rush into judgment, many people thought Bush was going to save our country. Give it some time before we start calling Obama our ‘Saviour’.
All-in-all, congratulations to President-Elect Obama. There is much hope that he follows through with his victory speech and that he meant every word of it.
Owange
6 Nov 08 at 8:45 am
You misspelled the word Barrack. There is a double ‘r’ in there. Anyway cheers bro!This message is from the counry that brought to you Barrack Snr: who shagged Ann and then the rest as they say is history.
symore
6 Nov 08 at 9:13 am
Hrm. That may be true but I think he uses one R..
barackobama.com
Franz
6 Nov 08 at 11:52 am
I think it’s sad that you haven’t felt proud of your country until Obama was elected President. Maybe you should learn a bit more about history.
I too disagreed with much of Bush’s policies, but I was never ashamed to be an American. My love of my country and pride in all the wonderful things it offers is not contingent upon my agreement with the policies in Washington. That’s akin to saying you love your parents only when they do what you think is right.
I voted for Obama and wish him the best of luck. I think your expectations of what he can accomplish as President may be a bit inflated.
Wayne
6 Nov 08 at 1:01 pm
Yeah Wayne,
It was sad.
My opinions are rarely formed through lack of education or information. It’s not that I think Washington should be utopia, or that Obama is going to wave a magic wand and make everything better. (as someone else implied in a comment here) I think my post was pretty clear that I saw Obama as a community organizer and I think everyone I talk to fully expects to simply be called to action, not to have anything done for them.
That’s part of what I was always TOLD made this country great, but I’m not a fellow that easily takes someone else’s “say-so” as gospel. I am 33 years old this month. I have never SEEN anything happen in or by my country to be truly proud of until last Tuesday. Yes, I am well educated enough to dribble on about WWII and the suffrage movement, but that’s all very abstract. When your leader says “we’re going to war on a tactic, and if you’re not with us your against us!”.. its unforgivably embarrassing. Not because I’m un-aware of history, but rather because I’m painfully aware of it. Who were the last people who did well in Afghanistan and Iraq with this approach… Alexander the Great?
Regardless… I don’t want this to get in a shouting match at all, I don’t mean to dismiss anyone else’s patriotism and I think one of the coolest things tuesday was when Obama said “to those who did not vote for me, I will be your president too.”
I heard someone else put it quite well the other day:
When we were attacked on 9/11, Bush’s response was to tell us to go shop. Seriously. He told us to be consumers.
Obama is clearly telling us to Give. Be contributors.
That feels right.
That’s something historically proven to work.
THAT’s something to be proud of.
I don’t think HE will accomplish ANYTHING as President, I think WE will accomplish GREAT things with a GREAT leader, and I finally feel like we’ve chosen one who has a chance. He doesn’t need your “wish of luck,” what we all need is your help.
Franz
6 Nov 08 at 3:39 pm
“Obama will call on citizens of all ages to serve America, by developing a plan to require 50 hours of community service in middle school and high school and 100 hours of community service in college every year.”
That’s exciting.
Ballsy. How many times have I been at a dinner party where someone said “The Swiss have it right, you should HAVE to help somehow as part of growing up.”
http://www.change.gov/americaserves/serves_section/
Franz
6 Nov 08 at 9:04 pm
I enjoyed your writing style and I’ve added this blog to my RSS reader; keep up the good work!
SimpleMeditationTechniques
7 Nov 08 at 12:46 pm
I’m happy to see that you’ve joined the rest of the country in being proud to be an American. It took you long enough. Though I find it interesting that you’re proud now and not before. Will you still be proud when a Republican is back in the office? Probably not.
In spite of the fact you’re a blithering idiot, I’ll still try your product. In the future, politics is a subject you should stay away from on your site. Politics and religion tend to drive people away from your product.
James Burdette
7 Nov 08 at 2:16 pm
Actually, I’d get behind anyone that made me feel like they were trying to make the world a better place. I’m certainly not a registered democrat. I think Kerry was an idiot too.
Moreover, I’ll continue to ‘blither’ thank you very much. I stand behind my product on its own two legs. I don’t need you to share my politics to use it, but I’m afraid you will be hearing about mine if you do.
I’ve spent my years in khaki’s and a blue shirt. I don’t need lessons in PR from you. To be perfectly frank, I feel like if something I’ve said above is likely to drive a person away from my product, I’d be better off without them. I realize that’s not particularly corporate, but I ‘betcha’ if you read some more posts on this blog you’ll realize I don’t give a shit.
I find it particularly annoying that you feel comfortable calling me a “blithering idiot,” while still taking advantage of something I’ve paid for thousands of hours of development to go into, AND you seem unable to actually respond to a SINGLE point I’ve made above. If you feel I am a “blithering idiot,” tying the success of your potential project to my work is probably less than prudent. (see, I just called you an idiot by extension, cool eh?)
The only meaning I can infer from your post is you think I’m supposed to be proud of the USA, just because I’m part of it. Well I wasn’t. I am now. Excuse me for expressing myself on my blog, James. To bring the connection full circle for you - I wasn’t proud of the state of the services and software the web industry was offering their clients in 2003 when we started building Concrete CMS. I wasn’t proud of the impact we had made after 5 years of corporate consulting, and I’m finally starting to be proud of the product and community that’s emerging on concrete5.org today.
I think questioning authority and the status quo is the most important thing we can do. I think my job as CEO of a CMS that is being looked at by a world audience is to express my personal values as they apply to things like freedom of expression. It is not by accident that our competition’s names are Expression Engine, Moveable Type and WordPress. The web is going to be a huge part of the future. I hope it’s part of what Barack uses to help continue motivate a disenchanted country. It’s certainly how he won, and what’s been happening even in the last few days on change.gov is exciting.
So ‘nah’. Anyone else wanna tell me how to do my job today?
Franz
8 Nov 08 at 10:38 pm
I’m not really prepared to step onto the stage of world politics but the result of this weeks election has accelerated my need to do so. Surely this blog is a small ‘world’ but a world it is nonetheless.
First, I think James was out of line calling Franz a ‘blithering idiot’ simply over a disagreement in political values. I’m quite certain Franz, you are not an idiot, blithering or otherwise. I liked your ‘idiot by extension’. Yes, it was cool.
Secondly, its easy to rant and rave a few days out of the election. ‘Monday Night’ politicking is also easy. But it’s naive. I think I’ve heard it referred to as ’standing outside the fire’. You and I, we, are a long way from Washington. Let’s examine ‘that cowboy dicking around’ thing. BTW, Bush wasn’t really telling people to go shop, he was saying ‘move on’. Think about it. Everybody was sitting around stunned and the economy was in a standstill. I guess he could have said, ‘go volunteer’. He probably thought shopping was better for the overall good. I thought they taught this stuff in economics. Nobody shops. Nobody works. Go figure. Go shop. Actually, it’s brilliant. It’s simple. But brilliant.
Out of curiosity, did you ever stop and think what you would have done if you were the President and they just flew planes into the World Trade Center on International TV? Funny, it’s the first thing I thought. What’s he gonna do? He had to do something. He has to take some sort of action. Then I thought, ‘poor bastard’ no matter what he does, right or wrong, it all falls on his shoulders. He wasn’t in office all that long, either.
Now, stop and think about it. These radicals over there want to control the oil to take down the West. That’s you and me, fellas. Now, I imagine I’m the Prez. What would I do? (Hey, I’ve watched The West Wing) I need a presence in the Middle East. I’ve got to have my tanks & troops over there to protect my interests. And yes, my interests are in that oil. It sustains the country I’ve been sworn to protect. My fellow Americans might hate me but I’ve got to do what I’ve got to do. Even, if it proves unpopular. I think, Franz, you referred to it as, “I don’t give a shit”. You’ve got to admire him for that.
I can’t roll my tanks and set up shop in just any country. But there’s this rogue idiot over there in Iraq and I can bring that guy down. Oh, and geez, guess what? My new next door neighbor is Iran. Picture gang members down the street buying nuclear technology on the black market. Would you want to keep an eye on them? Let’s put this in lay man’s terms: there’s a houseful of tattooed and tear-dropped gang members down the street with a stockade of weapons. Which one of you guys is going to go down there and negotiate with them? Better yet, let’s get Obama to do it. Or perhaps we could even move in next door to these guy and keep an eye on them. Would you rather be on defense or offense? And who would you rather have leading the charge? A guy who was the editor of the Harvard Law Review or the guy who spent five years in a POW camp?
Well, there you have it. You get what you pay for. (No pun intended, Franz) Tears streaming down peoples faces, arms raised in worship, a crowd of people so large it can only be liken to a ‘sea’ and the entire world in awe and worship of a new leader. Sounds like something out of ‘Revelation’ to me. This is not a new day and time for change its Devine intervention. Let’s see how things look four years from now. Creation longs for what’s in store.
Who are they calling a ‘blithering idiot’, now?
Gary 'HooP' Hooper
9 Nov 08 at 4:24 am
Hey Gary,
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. It’s always refreshing to have a meaningful debate with someone. After I wrote that reply to James I worried that the curtness of my tone might have been more combative than constructive, so I’m glad to see I haven’t turned off our readers.
Lets see…
Yes, amazingly, I have been impressed with Dubya’s ability to blithely keep on doing what he’s doing, in the face of so much negative feedback from the world and 75% of our own country. I really doubt that 100 years passing is going to turn him into the fearless leader he thinks he is in history’s eyes, but yeah - he’s got balls, no doubt.
I also agree that 9/11 was not an enviable problem to have. From what I’ve been reading Obama actually has the wisdom to see the current set of problems he’s facing as more of an opportunity. If you already thought a system needed some fundimental rethinking - having everyone else realize that before you take office is not a bad thing. I don’t think that’s the type of problem Bush got, so yeah - tough job.
Here’s my prospective on the middle east / war on terror issue you detailed, which incidentally is only one of many amazingly bad plays Bush made. We actually started this in the 80’s in Afghanistan. We used those people up like they were our toys to fight the russians, and as soon as the russians left, so did we. I understand that in cruel world there’s no reason we should HAVE to stay around and build a school after spending billions on a covert war - but the image I was taught, we were supposed to make the world a better place, not just pursue our most immediate interests.. Clearly a stable Afghanistan would have been in our interests anyway.. If you have no idea what I’m talking about here, go watch Charlie Wilson’s War.. Actually a pretty enjoyable movie in-spite of Tom Hanks.
So we made a bunch of promises to people in the 80s and left, and guess what, 10-15 years later, they’re pissed and some of the powers that be over there fly two planes into one of our great American icons. This is absolutely unacceptable and unforgivable and Bin Laden should be caught and tried. That being said, like almost anything in life, it didn’t happen entirely out of context. This is not the first time our country has gone throwing its military might around at great cost to make some small country a better place, only to check out when the much less expensive and glorious hard work of building a place up starts. In fact, we’ve pretty much been doing that since wwII, over and over with less and less success..
So, to use your metaphor, if I was trying to make the ghetto a better place, and I had pissed off the crips for years and years and they finally retaliated.. No, I don’t think my next move would be go attack the bloods, just because they look scary. I think a much smarter move would be to deliberately and inequitably deal with the few individuals who had wronged me, and actually sit down with everyone else and start fixing the real problems. How about creating some opportunity with all those billions of dollars instead of dropping bombs. How about building some schools? These same people conservatives are so eager to say “hate us” are perfectly willing to love us if we just give them a reason. Look at the few remaining countries that do, they’re scattered all over the world and love us because we have walked the walk and not just talked the talk in their country in some way or another.. Be it an AIDS program that’s well designed, or even an oil contract that’s fair.
Regarding Harvard Law Review vs. POW camp for being good training for being our commander in chief… Wow man. I frankly can’t think of a WORSE set of experiences to give someone whose finger could have been on “the trigger”. McCain is known in the Senate for having a short temper, which made itself shown a few times during the campaign, but I’m sure nothing like what would have happened under the stress of POTUS. Moreover, what if that stress had done him in and we had Palin up there, who actually believes the world is ending and heaven’s army is coming down to earth in the next couple of years. So do I prefer having someone with the smarts to become editor of one of the most coveted forums for critical legal thinking in our country, in a conservative school, being black, and doing it at a reasonably polarized time? Yes. I prefer thoughtful diplomats with real track records of finding common ground between disparate view points making important decisions, over someone who spent half a decade in a POW camp. I just don’t see how that could have a positive impact at all. Lemmie put it this way; you’re going hunting. Do you take the dog who has been sent to the best dog training school in the world, excelled at it, and then went off to do some hard hunting in rough grounds (political climate in Chicago) - or do you take the one who was tied up in a cage in the back yard? I hear that second dog is really mean, so I’m sure whatever you’re hunting will be scared shitless.. Sounds great, eh?
Now. I /do/ agree with you about everything else. (amazing eh?)
1) Yes, it is easy to be excited the week after something dramatic as a black man with the middle name Hussein gets elected to the white house.
2) No, that in itself will not solve anything. It /IS/ a very powerful message and I think just from the replies here from people around the world anyone can see that. Yes, it absolutely has to be the beginning of an ongoing effort from everyone, not just liberals, to make our country and our country’s contributions to the world more meaningful. I have never considered myself a liberal. I do not support government spending. I would probably more likely be a republican if they actually did what they claimed, but I’m an independent. I’ve always felt like it didn’t much matter what I did because nothing really seemed to change in our country. I now see that my parents were right. The best resource our country has isn’t our bank account, or our military, it IS our people.. That always sounded like a load of cheese to me because I had never seen the people rise up and do something dramatic and sane. They now have. That’s exciting..
3) Yes, I agree - hero worship scares me, no matter who the hero is. I was very turned off by the behavior of the dem’s outside their convention. You shouldn’t be accosting Fox news even if they aren’t news. I don’t like the look of crazy ladies crying in ecstasy over Obama taking the stage either. As I’ve said before, Obama is gonna be the conductor but we’re the engine, train, and tracks. I don’t think he’s making any promises otherwise. I think that’s what bothered me about Bush’s “go out and shop for america” approach. Actually, no. If our kids are over in Iraq dying, we SHOULD be asked to make some sacrifices. The fruit is much tastier when there’s some actual labor involved.
So all of that being said, I’d like to steer this conversation into a more useful direction.
Is anyone considering how they might do some community service? I’ve got a 3 year old and a 4 month old, and my wife and I want to start doing something positive in Portland, Oregon with them. I feel like its important to actually get out and touch people, not just send some check or care package off in the mail. I used to work in a soup kitchen with my mom growing up, but I also know that this isn’t a very good time of year to decide to help in a soup kitchen (the established volunteers look at the holiday folks like easter and Christmas christians: thanks for showing up for the fun stuff)…I like to get my hands dirty, but I’m afraid the rest of my family isn’t going to be very helpful in a habitat for humanity type environment.. Kids need naps, aren’t great with hammers… They are VERY cute however, I’m thinking maybe something with a hospital? Vets or Elderly? i dunno.. Is anyone else actually starting to think about how they can contribute and have some advice for me? Are there sites I should be checking out?
Lets not let the “change” become a joke.
Franz
9 Nov 08 at 10:05 am
I could not agree with you more, Franz! I have been so ashamed of what our country has stood for over the last 8 years. The killing of innocent civilians, the raping of our environment, and corporate greed has made made American look selfish bastards in the eyes of our neighbors. Reason being, we, WE the people, voted for Bush, not once but TWICE!!
As I stood along side fellow progressives Tuesday night, I felt the energy of people hungry for something different. Not rhetorical difference that has been accused in the media, but real change. Yes we CAN help preserve the planet. Yes we CAN give healthcare to all of Americans citizens. Yes we CAN more beyond greed and help support those less fortunate: the hungry, lame, and poor. Yes we CAN have a better future! And finally, Yes we CAN be proud to be an AMERICAN!
BTW - I LOVED how you have expressed this on your concrete5 blog! It is so important to not only say yes we can, but to live it by being better than the corporations out there! i could not agrees with you more about “if they get offended, we didn’t ant them anyway”!
YES WE CAN… YES, WE WILL!
GO CONCRETE5
Amy
9 Nov 08 at 11:04 am
Thanks Amy,
I want to be clear, c5 isn’t “only for liberals.” I truly believe that lack of open communication is the root of all problems. So come one come all, help yourself to our free software..
Just don’t tell me that its business’s role to quietly take money and do nothing more. My business is my life, my life is my business, we’re gonna make the world a better place and we’re not gonna do it by kissing ass from 9-5 only to go home and behave differently there.
Franz
9 Nov 08 at 12:17 pm
Very nice thoughts, as always, Franz. In the past we haven’t always agreed on everything, politically – but I’m glad we agree on this.
I’m especially glad you find Obama’s service initiatives exciting and positive: I’ve been reading responses from the the tech sector on these first few post-election days, particularly the community service initiatives, and I’ve found the knee-jerk responses of many people on Slashdot, for example, to be profoundly depressing. These responses are almost universally in the vein of “you can’t tell me what to do” and “what kind of freedom is that?”
It reminds me of Jackie Chiles, the lawyer, in the final episode of Seinfeld. “You don’t have to help anybody! That’s what this country is all about!”
I think we need to be better than that.
Andrew
9 Nov 08 at 6:23 pm
Guys,
I’m glad the USA is back on my Christmas Card List. But please don’t stop trying, you have still got a lot of dark suits and sun-glasses over there.
Richard (Ireland)
Richard
10 Nov 08 at 1:53 am
It´s very nice to see that maybe you guys can go out of the ultra-bellic system and start some changes =D
Adriano
10 Nov 08 at 4:04 am
A change like this is welcome, but if you, USA Citizens, want to be seen as less selfish, stop calling your selves Americans. There is a lot of countries in America and all the people of those countries are Americans too.
Gab
12 Nov 08 at 1:34 am
Well, Gab. What do YOU think we should call ourselves? Surely you must have a better idea of what we as a nation should call our people? Come on, let’s hear it!
We belong to the United States of America, and we shall always call ourselves Americans. This does not mean we are taking claim to the ‘Americas’. We do not have an issue with people of Central American calling themselves that or any other group in the Americas.
Learn a little about the world outside before you spew your garbage on the Internet. You’re being an ignorant child.
Owange
13 Nov 08 at 8:25 am
Common now. That’s a bit much - Gab didn’t call your kids monkeys or anything, he just brought up a valid point, we are far from the only “Americans.”
Ownage, you also raise a valid point (although in a pretty combative way).. “United States Citizens” doesn’t really have the same ring as Britons, Germans, or the Dutch….
Are we Yankies? I bet there’s a lot of states that wouldn’t like that… What is the politically correct one word for us? I dunno but I think most of the world knows who your talking about when you say “Americans”.. I just hope that it’s not spit out through the side of mouths as much any more..
Franz
13 Nov 08 at 9:04 am
Andy Jackson:
Yes, those are positive things, although somewhat distanced from most of us.
I have never been to Berlin, and moreover it strikes me that the Germans had a little something to do with that, although I guess Hasselhoff might be considered an overwhelming contribution…
Fall of the soviet union? i guess that’s a good thing, certainly im no fan of communisim or socialism… Can’t say it seems like Russia is /soo/ much better off for it now.. Not sure that the people of Vietnam, Korea, or much of Africa and South America would agree with you that we made the world a better place with the cold war.. how does supporting brutal totalitarian regeims in one part of the world make ending one other one better? Again, I never said “I hate my country” and I’m not saying here that I would have written history any different around the cold war.. but it hardly seems like something to wear on your sleeve in a conversation about moral high-ground.
Tsunami relief, yeah that is a good thing - but something about that seems very individualized.. I was happy that our people rushed to New Orleans as well, but i dunno.. neither one of those strikes me like we did much more than any other county would have.. surely you don’t think we’re the only nation that gives money away, or takes care of our people in a natural disaster.. but yes, our generosity is something to be proud of.
Not burning down mosques hardly seems like something to be proud of, although I do agree with the underlying point that we seem to be fundamentally very forgiving.. just look at how many russians live here happily now, when in the 80’s it was they who were the “evil empire.” Perhaps in 10 years we’ll have an army of Iraqi and Afgan taxi drivers too..
I dunno, I think the underlying gist of my excitement (which still is strong btw) is that I’ve never seen us actually live up to the promise of equality USA touts around, until last week. The idea that anyone can work hard and make it is very compelling. But when you look at a poster of all the presidents - it’s all fat, white, well-connected, white men. It’s cool that at a very shallow level we’ve changed that.
What I think is even cooler is we’ve clearly chosen to not be led by fear. I think that’s what I found so embarrassing about the last 8 years, and what I still find unappetizing about some of the replies here. The idea that there are BAD BAD BAD guys out there we have to be STRONG STRONG STRONG against is not how I want to live, or how I want my children to see the world. I firmly believe that 99.99% of people all want the same thing. Peace, prosperity, a chance for their kids to have a better life… There is no “us vs. them” unless we do stuff to make it that way. Yes bad things happen, but they happen for a reason so lets stop giving the world reasons to hate us.
It strikes me that we’re going to have a leader who sees his role as bringing disparate groups with animosity together around their shared desires, rather than splitting the world apart around some shallow view of their belief system or current politics. I’m proud that we were wise enough to make the right choice.
Franz
15 Nov 08 at 3:58 pm
Wow, what a whirl of comments.
OK, I read where Obama bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia. How shameful.
Mary
5 Apr 09 at 7:07 pm