Today is an auspicious day whichever side of the fence you sit on, and indeed whichever particular fence you have. No matter what your nationality, race, religion, creed, colour, lifestyle, or way in which you dress, the inauguration of Barack Obama today is going to make a difference to you.
Recent events have shown just how closely the world is interlinked with the US, either through economic or other less civilised interaction, and this has become increasingly the case over the last decade or so for many countries for better or worse. Or even worse than that.
Not only are there already ‘green shoots’ of change, and in the rather obvious words of the BBC spokesman last night ‘There’s going to be a Black Man in the White House’, but Obama’s policies are going to be radically different, his views of race relations will certainly be different, and his foreign policies will definitely be different. Indeed, he’s going to be a breath of fresh air, and boy do we need fresh air at the moment.
Barack Obama in front of US flag
Decisions that President Obama and his team make are more likely to have a greater impact in restoring our economy and stopping any more of our servicemen being killed or wounded than anything our own Prime Minister can do, which is a sad state of affairs. Indeed, the vast majority of our politicians look like bumbling clowns in comparison. Where are our statesmen? Where are our inspirational leaders? Gordon Brown et al certainly wouldn’t fall into my definition of inspirational, and that’s what this country needs. It’s no wonder that more British people vote for Celebrity Clog Dancing or Cooking on Ice than in our General Elections.
Obama genuinely represents change on a global scale. He’s walking into a job which very few people would or could take on, and what he does will impact on everybody’s life not only in the US, but also in this country and that of many others around the world. What he says in his inaugural speech will be recorded as a defining moment in history. It’s a shame he’s not our Prime Minister really.
