America

Late on 28 Aug, we landed at Newark after a month in Asia. On the ride home, I had the chance to observe New York and of America again with a fresh(er) eye and inevitably, compare what I saw before me with the images still fresh in my mind of Malaysia, Brunei and (on TV) the incredible spectacle that was the Beijing Olympics. Granted, eastern New Jersey and the far west side of Manhattan are not among the best parts of America, the infrastructure were from the industrial age, the buildings were from the jazz age, the roads were uneven and bumpy, the streets somewhat unkempt; quite far from the slick modernity that one sees in Shanghai or Singapore or even some parts of KL. Somehow the 'new world' was beginning to look old and there is a new-new world that is gathering beyond the horizon waiting to make the 21st century its own.

Then I watched Obama accepting the presidential nomination and he reminded me what makes America great. And it has nothing to do with what America has - not the bricks and mortar, or its busineese, or its guns and stealth fighters, or its laws or government or even democracy. What makes America great is what it is. This is a place that still dares to have faith in its dream and trust that even the wildest dreams possible. This is a place that still believes in and tries its best to be its best self and to live out its dreams and ideals. I felt proud and privileged to be listening to him right here in the USA, as if by being here I could partake vicariously in the greatness of the spirit that made possible this moment - and the even bigger one on 20 January 2009 when he is sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. I look forward to that great day for every national minority, every believer in meritocracy and every self-made man.

I have been wanting to post something on the state of the 2008 elections but events are changing (or obscuring) the dynamics too quickly in the past few days. But one thing has been consistent: regardless of the electioneering and the news cycle, if you listen to Obama you hear hope, optimism and an uplifting energy and if you hear the GOP you hear the same slash-and-burn message based on fear, faux-outrage and mean-spirited energy. In my book, light always fills out darkness, so unless the message changes there can only be one set of victor.