[MD] Congratulations America!

[gav]

hey dave and all,
thanks for pointing that out dave....that gives me pause for thought and reveals my response as coming more from a familiar reflex of distrust than anything else.
mate the whole world is hoping barack is something special and it honestly seems as if he is....i mean we are all within reason to believe he won't be as crazy as dubya....that would be very difficult to match.
will he be a catalyst for sustainable social change? that is a different question. we don't see that much anymore. the last australian pm to really have vision and intelligence was paul keating (92-96 roughly). his acid tongue turned parliament question time into compulsive viewing - he disembowelled his opponents with the skill of a matador and he understood the economic side of politics better than anyone. he began australia's integration into asia and he was a champion of indigenous rights and betterment, as an inclusive, self-directed process (the aboriginal affairs peak body - atsic - was disbanded by john howard who came after him). 
the musical 'keating' was a smash hit here over the last 2 years. the vid is probably on the net somewhere - very funny, even if you know little of australian politics.
but obama has inherited a time of crisis and opportunity - will he be able to quickly redirect america away from its suicidal path? he will have to do several things:

1. he will have to scale down the military, step by step. america spends more than the rest of the world combined on arms. 
2. he will have to build bridges with the islamic world. this looks quite promising given his background.
3. he will need strong clear environmental policies. gore would be the logical advisory choice here.
4. he will need to invest in community. developing sustainable community enterprise is the key to harmonious societies.

there are probably a lot more things to do but these seem key to me.

i don't know about barack's policies. i actually haven't heard any. be interested to know what they are (if he has any).

but america is capable of whatever change is necessary. of that i have no doubt. the power and will of americans, collectively, is beyond question. that is what a true leader does i suppose - harnesses the collective will of the nation....

we are in truly amazing times. i hope barack is more of an agent of evolution than an impediment - as is usually the case. in any case it is imperative that we all continue to develop the matrix of interdependency - the nodal web of consciousness that is evolving into the noosphere - the global or gaian mind. for only when we think as a planet, primarily, will there be peace and a future for humanity.



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