Obama speech reaction

I'm back after yet another long absence and this time I am not making any delusions of regular updates. You get what you get and that's all that you get (cha cha cha). This time it is my reaction to the Philadelphia speech of Barack Obama. This is my immediate reaction upon seeing the speech on YouTube. This was originally a letter to my parents presented with only minor edits for anonymity. If it sounds like I am stealing material from Countdown with Keith Olbermann, that's because I am.

I just watched the the latest Obama speech and wow! I just wanted to give voice to my immediate reactions. Incidentally, I am writing this before I see the reaction on Countdown so I am not copying from anyone, this is all me.

I've come to the conclusion that if Barack Obama is not elected to the office of President of the United States, I will never return to that country save to visit family. If the American people don't elect this man then there is no reason to ever return long term. He has said absolutely everything correctly and the country will be severely, if not irreparably, damaged if he is not elected.

Some of the views that he expressed in his speech, specifically the ideas that racial tension is connected to deeper problems that can and should be easily addressed are the similar (although far more elegantly spoken) to the ones that nearly got me run out of several college classes before I learned to shut the heck up. Furthermore, I have been nearly and actually beaten in the past for daring to suggest that the United States is not yet a perfect country and that there are more steps to be taken. To hear a presidential candidate express those same views and making the excellent point that the entire system is in place to make those very much needed steps possible is inspiring. "This union may never be perfect . . . but it can always be perfected."

It is Obama's use of quotations that impresses me almost as much as anything else. I have been criticized in the past for using the Constitution to back up my political opinions and for proclaiming that the values of the Christian faith (and the Catholics more specifically) are based on acceptance, forgiveness, and love rather than "There is only one correct answer, my way or the highway." Obama did both in this speech and it truly inspired me in a way that no public figure of my lifetime has. Admittedly, the speakings (a more apt description than speeches) of the current president have invoked equally strong reactions from me, those mostly involve amusingly shaped dents in the wall and the consumption of aspirin.

All of this is not to say that the speech was devoid of political strategic moves. His use of bible quotes and his religion, aside from being an obvious topic for the speech, did have the effect of flashing a large neon sign over the back of the Senator's head that said "I am Christian!" That said, he worked it into the speech so well that is didn't feel like being hit on the head with a cross shaped mallet. It reminded me of a public speaking course that I was required to take at WSU (easiest A of my life by the way). The textbook held up Former President Clinton as an example of what to do when giving a speech. It is inevitable that future editions of such texts will hold Obama in that place.

Toward the end of his speech, I experienced what can only be described as an "Edu-gasm" after the comments that every school and every student is everyone's problem. If Stephen Cobert wants to use the word edu-gasm on his show, then he had better be ready to pay for it.

In conclusion, there can no longer be any doubt about which of the current field of candidates is best suited to hold the office of President of the United States. I know there are many, even within my own family, who may disagree with me. To them I say: I'm sorry, but you are wrong. Others will say that I am over reacting by saying that I don't want to come back to the US with out President Obama in office. To them I say: You're probably right. However, at this specific point in time, Sen. Obama appears to be the best and possibly last chance to fix my country. In the past, it has been said during poor administrations that America will always survive. If we don't make some serious changes to our nation, government, and way of thinking, then will the spirit of America survive? "Not this time."

Thank you for your patience during this rant. Please remember that this was written fairly late at night, but I stand by every word of it. If it makes you feel better, imagine me throwing my script at the camera and breaking the screen.

This has been Ryu Sensei on this, the 365th day since my arrival in Japan. Good morning, and good God I need to go to bed.