Because of the time difference between America and Japan I was unable to follow the election returns – I was busy teaching classes during the day at Kobe University. That meant that I didn’t find out until the afternoon that Barack Obama had won the presidency. During the day I subjected my students to a simple picture slideshow in powerpoint explaining the very basics of the election system in America, and because the system in Japan is so different everyone was pretty interested in how it works. I made certain not to endorse any candidate during the day, but it was clear from my students’ opinions and statements who they were rooting for. And it turned out he won.
Being an American expatriate has sometimes been trying, thanks in large part to a sharp diminishing of America’s image overseas. This article does a nice job in articulating that, and meshes nicely with my experiences in Japan as well as other countries.
It’s easy to rattle off a long list of things that I consider Japan has better than the United States, but often it is hard for my to recite more than a few items about the U.S.A.
Yesterday I was proud of my country. I’m not a big fan of patriotism in any sense, but it felt like my country was taking a big step, and moving the world in a direction it needs to go. I’m hoping that this will inspire people in other countries to strive towards a system where anyone can make it.
Because at least in America, you can.
