http://dhp.disqus.com/Independent music, independent politicsenTue, 20 Jan 2009 01:39:20 -0000http://danpatterson.creepysleepy.com/the-obama-inauguration-and-you/#comment-5384066<p>I love that "The Sweetest Thing" was playing in the background.</p><p>Is America entering a paradigm shift by electing him? I felt that Obama was a way to apologize to the world for our foreign policies. I can remember my European and Canadian friends tweeting me and writing on my wall at the end of October, “Don’t mess this up!” In so many ways, I feel that it was the world who elected Obama, more so than the US Citizens - I could hardly grasp the concept that my friend in Wales stayed up until 6am to get the news about the presidency, while students on my campus were apathetic.</p><p>Does Obama mean change? I think he does.</p><p>Can he accomplish change? He can accomplish change only if we change as well. I think many feel that once we elected our president that our civil duties are over. I foresee radical changes if Obama can stir a cry for justice - or at the very least get us off of the couches. But if Obama is unable to persuade the common man that his inaction is a detriment and that community and unity is vital to our future, then Obama will be dragged down by the weight of an apathetic America.</p><p>“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” Martin Luther King, Jr.<br></p>hidamaTue, 20 Jan 2009 01:39:20 -0000