President Barack Obama!!!
Politics is in my blood and I have to say I was very excited about yesterday. I have been exposed to politics from a very young age as my grandfather told stories from his time when he was a politician. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly in Punjab (a province in Northern India) in the 1950s. My grandfather was a hero of mine; he spoke 7 languages, travelled extensively and had a heart of gold. After living half of his life in India he immigrated to the United States with my grandmother to live with his youngest son, my uncle, and become an American citizen in the 1990s.
Sadly he passed away a couple of years ago, I miss him a lot and I would have loved to discuss the current situation with him.
I am a HUGE Barack Obama fan and watching him become the 44th president was great! Yesterday represented a day of hope for people all around the world (including myself), while I don’t know what today, tomorrow and the next 4 years will bring it is nice to feel hopeful about politics. The Audacity of Hope is the title of President Barack Obama’s second book and although I have not yet read it (I just finished his first one, Dreams from my Father) the title really touched me. Audacity means to have a daring spirit, resolution or confidence. In his speech addressing the Democratic National Convention in 2004, Obama said:
“I’m not talking about blind optimism here — the almost willful ignorance that thinks unemployment will go away if we just don’t talk about it, or the health care crisis will solve itself if we just ignore it. No, I’m talking about something more substantial. It’s the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a millworker’s son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope!”
Most people are typically very cynical about politics so it was a very refreshing change to see millions of people who are excited and hopeful for the future.
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/01/20/obama-speech-text.html
I have attached a link here for you all to see the inauguration speech.
Bye Everyone.
Why so many politic in canada? so frustrated. please talk about life. so much more intersting ! ! ! not every one agree with you. as my teacher in vancouver told me so . . .
“politics is the unfortunate byproduct (i still confused a little bout this mean ) of a naturally functioning (i think? ) society”
so many more thing in live then politic! pleaze ! !
Hiya Culips Harp!
I live in California and your site has been very helpful in providing insight into the English language to family members.
Thanks so much for a wonderful blog entry. I especially enjoyed the personal part you shared about your grandfather. I agree with jun-hee that keeping politics to oneself is often a good idea because there can be so many bitter difference. However, this was truly a once in a lifetime event and it is nice to see it getting the attention it deserves all over the world. Being a part-time republican (no, not a Bush fan lol), that is saying a lot I am sure.
Anyhow, thanks again and keep up the good word!
KC
Hi Jun-Hee and Kevin!
Thanks for your interesting comments. Jun-Hee, you’re right that not everyone likes to talk about or read about politics, and we would never expect everyone to agree with us about everything!
Here at Culips we try to discuss many different aspects of Canadian culture and the English language. Right now President Obama is a big part of what’s going on in North American culture.
It’s not just in the United States and Canada that people are talking about him. A book of his speeches recently became a best seller in Japan, where people are using it as a tool to learn English.
But don’t worry. Culips isn’t going to turn into a political site. We’ll always focus on everyday life and the modern English language. As Kevin said, the inauguration of President Obama was a once in a lifetime event, so we wanted to talk a little bit about it.
Keep those great comments coming guys! We love to hear your opinions.