Okay, so Obama is the 44th president in the US of A. Point taken. What his presidency would mean to India and the usual interpretation, speculation, analysis, in other words pretty boring stuff would be reserved for a later post.
What really caught my attention yesterday was his acceptance speech. Generally all acceptance speeches comprise of vague idealistic promises that are swept promptly under the carpet as soon as the leader assumes office. In India, it is not even right to call them acceptance speeches. They are more aptly called the ‘in-your-face-you-losers’ speeches. Or better still ‘i-won-yay-you-lose-boo’ speeches.
The 15 minute monologue efficiently covered his gratitude, his promises, his hopes and his greatest aspiration of resurrecting the American dream. Though in few places it sounded a wee-bit too optimistic, it can be forgiven as it was Obama’s big day too.
Forget the speech, what struck me the most was the arena thronging with supporters. It was huge with absolutely no decorations and no blown-up cut outs of Obama’s face. There was a long blue ramp that even looked royal. There were no cracker-bursting party workers, no bodyguards and definitely no raucous creating crowd.
This reminded me of the victory speeches of our dear leaders. The loud guttural utterances of hazy promises, read from a paper that the leader himself would have seen for the first time would be amplified by a hundred speakers and determined to blow your ear drums off. Also surrounding the leader would be beefy looking bodyguards with guns and staid expressions to match the grimness of the guns. The leader himself would be clothed in ten different shawls and a huge garland that would look more dignified if it were left at the flower shop itself.
Another notable speech was McCain’s. The very fact that he took defeat (not that he had too much of choice) in a very dignified manner itself was very impressive. Whereas here, it would have meant two days of hunger strikes and threats of how the government would not even stand for a year from the losing party.
All said and done, Obama now shoulders the responsibility of change he promised to make. Only time can tell whether he would join scores of other leaders who only gave hopes and pushed the wretched people into more darkness or if he would actually become the beacon light for the Americans and rebuild the hope the rest of the world had on America, once upon a time.
