Hope

Having grown up outside of this country, I have often had mixed feelings at best about having to call myself an American. It is hard to know how to explain. So, for example, "I am an American . . . aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!" It often goes something like that, at least in some part of my internal world. While being an American is something I do feel glad about some of the time, it is also something that causes me to feel much shame. Yes, shame! I am often ashamed of my country and of being associated with it. I am well acquainted with the concept of what it means to be an "Ugly American" - how people in the other 192 countries (plus the dozens of territories) in the world often experience visitors from the United States when we live or travel outside of our borders. But I really don't want to go on and on about "Ugly Americans" here and now. What I do want to go on and on about is a politician who is quite possibly one of the most beautiful Americans to have seized my attention in an age.

Rarely do I utter the words beautiful and politician in the same sentence. Rarely do I hear a politician speak and actually feel compelled to trust them. Rarely do politicians ever even strike me as "real" people. But, there is just something incredibly special about Barack Obama. He speaks, and I begin to cry. Seriously, I mean not just a tear or two - it's more like something cracks open deep inside of me and I just begin to weep. The other day I watched his speech about reconciling faith and politics. It's almost 40 minutes long, but please, watch it. Please. Hearing him speak - I was a mess. His words stir something inside of me kind of like the type of stirring that occurs when I find myself longing for heaven. Never in my adult life have I felt such genuine and wholehearted excitement about the promise of a presidential candidate until now. Never has a politician inspired me to hope for something new and more honorable for this country in the world than the way that he does right now. And to top it off, I guess I’ll just have to come out and say it, Barack Obama may be the first United States politician in my lifetime who actually makes me feel glad to be an American, and that (sigh) is amazing.

Comments

[Jessica]

amen.

[elnellis]

josh, as a fellow third-culture-kid, i couldn't agree more.
btw i still need to hear how your conversation with that tck woman in seattle went.
peace

[sarahlee]

you make me proud to be an american josh.

and barack has also won my heart. haha.

[kimberly George]

Thanks Josh...I just watched it and I really appreciate the post.