The Obamania

So, America officially got a new president, Barack Obama. I watched the inauguration ceremony last nite, cancelling the CSI Season 8 that has been waiting since last month hehehe.. I am sure that this ceremony is a lot different than any other before it. They just elected the first afro-american president, a leader that came from many backgrounds that for sure have shaped him into a great leader with vision.

Here in Indonesia, the reaction from the people are various. Some are very proud and happy because Mr. Obama spent four of his youth age in Indonesia. He went to an elementary school here in Jakarta, spent his days with some of our local residents. Many of them still remember him as "Barry", a big dark colored foreign student who -at first- spoke little Indonesian language. Then he moved to Hawaii and started his teenage time and career in the States.

His father is Kenyan, Hussein Obama, who got married with American woman. They got divorced and she married an Indonesian man, Soentoro, who at that time worked for Pertamina (state owned oil company). Of course, even his time in Jakarta was only short (about 4 years), but this enough to ignite a thing what they call "Obamania". People talk about him, read his biography and book, even visiting the school he was once attending. They also founded a fans club for him, where his picture is idolized just like they did with Martin Luther King or JFK.

As for me, Barack Obama is a very unique figure. Not because he spent some of his childhood here, but because of what he represents. He represents freedom, equality and hope. I'm sure it's a big challenge for the Americans when they knew that Obama will run for presidency. C'mon, who are you kidding here? Even many countries have claimed to be a democratic society, racism and stereotyping are still the biggest culprit in their social problems. Hatred and negative suspicion are common in almost every society. So, this is a challenge that needs exact proof of democracy, proof of equality.

This could be seen as a freedom realization that every citizen has the chance to run for presidency. They are no longer limitations that focus more on what color is our skin, whether our hair is straight or curly, do we have blue eyes, or which faith we believe in.

These things had attracted me from the beginning of his campaign. Of course I didn't follow his day-to-day campaign or speech, or rally. What I mean is, from many of his speeches, many of his promises, and many of his extraordinary approach, this man is a promising leader. A leader that would not only lead Americans out of their crisis, but also a leader that hopefully will re-shape the prominent image of American Government and society.

Barack Obama represents equality, that all mankind are the same. Each of us needs wealth, needs a comfortable zone whether at workplace or at home. The projection of our hope and needs are as real as the life itself. We all hope that this equality will bring us out of these global problems and it will start in America.

He represents hope, the last thing we have and beyond our dreams. People put their hope on him. Not only his people, or his political party. But people from every layer of societies and countries. People from many backgrounds and ethnicities. Those who have been waiting for so long to see the dreams our previous leader unable to create. This marks the beginning of a journey, not only for the man himself, but for us as a citizen of the world.

Too bad that I'm not an American or I could try to be there in National Mall, listen to his voices of hope and unity. Then perhaps at the end of his speech, I could scream out and do standing ovation with the other two million souls out there in the cold day of January. And perhaps... perhaps I would also shed a tear with the others for we just got one great leader that would shape our modern history into a new beginning.

Congratulations Mr. Obama, and congratulations America.

Things do not change; we change.
Henry David Thoreau