OK. So I'm not an American. I've only ever been to America once, and that was for about 2 hours. We were visiting Canada, and popped across for dinner. The restaurant had a sign saying "no guns allowed" and a porn pictures vending machine in the toilets. I wasn't too impressed (although this is by no means a verdict on the whole of that country).
But what did impress me was US President-elect Obama's victory (can't deny that I had a little tear in my eye) and his victory speech. It was good. In fact, it was impressive. Here are the opening lines, with the bit that is so amazing:
"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founding fathers is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer. It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives (...) It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message ...."
Yeah!
A presidential victory speech that mentions disabled people! Wow.
And the guy has a pretty impressive disability policy too!
Listen and learn, Australian politicians!
OR TWO
3 comments:
An American President who not only mentions disabled people but manages to use appropriate language to describe them.
Hurrah!
Can the British politicians take note, too?
Was seriously impressed he went the 'disabled and not disabled' route, rather than the significantly less satisfactory 'disabled and able bodied'.
Implies he thought about what language to use - because, let's face it, 'disabled and not disabled' doesn't exactly roll off the tongue - and if he's thinking about the language of disability to that degree, you'd hope he was considering his policies in the same detail.
I think it's perfectly reasonable to have hope at the moment.
K
Ja, wij zijn er ook heel blij mee, maar vergeet niet, dan een politicus zijn speeches nooit zelf schrijft. Ik zal je er een krantenbericht over toezenden. Maar ik heb toch ook hoop, alleen al het feit dat iemand over deze groep van mensen schrijft is al hoopgevend.
I have to say that you could actually feel hope in the air last Wednesday. An amazing feeling.
You must come give us Americans another try. We don't all have porn in the potty : )
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