I Am Proud to be an American Today

[leoello]

Fellow Boholanos,

It is with honor and pure jubilation that we welcome our new president of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama.

For us in the States, it demarcates one step closer to the realization of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech and his call for a <a href="http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkatimetobreaksilence.htm > "radical revolution of values." </a> 

His candidacy has tapped the energy of millions of Americans that are committed to social change and an excitement I have never seen before in my life.  I am proud to be part of the new majority in this country and I will be working even harder to make our initiatives a reality.  We will make sure this is truly a new America as Obama has already begun to challenge our generation in face our problems we currently have (video of his inauguration speech below).

It is a monumental event as we welcome the first African American, the first Hawaiian and post-civil rights community organizer into the highest office in the US.

One quote that struck me during the speech, "The world is changing, and we must now change with the world."   I truly hope it signals a different direction in our foreign policy and approaches we have to globalization and global warming.  We will be keeping a vigilant eye on it.

Question: In addressing Philippine-US relations, what would you tell the new Obama Administration?

With Obama's exposure to Southeast Asia as a child in Indonesia, his upbringing in Hawaii, some say (and time will tell) by his surroundings, he's possibly the closest thing we have to a U.S.<a href=http://bpimentel.blogspot.com/2008/02/obama-first-pinoy-us-president.html > "Pinoy President" </a>. 

With love,
-Leo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjnygQ02aW4

[ms da binsi]

Welcome to the "First Time American Lovers" Leo!

Im just feeling so proud these few days too!

Leo, have you heard this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOc1Wy7Bg40&feature=PlayList&p=27C32ADCA1AA125C&playnext=1&index=40

[leoello]

ms da binsi,

thank you for sharing that rendition.  I don't think I would classify myself as a "first time american lover", i was born here and recognize the privileges and sacrifies my mother's generation made to get here.

if anything, the Obama campaign proved that we can remake ourselves, and renewed the American dream.  I have a special affinity for him because he was one of the very few federal politicians that ever visited my local work during Hurricane Katrina and he spoke about our specific issue regarding environmental justice in the Vietnamese community just at the right time. now we put him up top, so he is truly in my eye the closest person in DC that has started his approach "from the bottom-up"

[Lorenzo]

You should always be proud to be an American.

There are millions of others in the world who are dying to just live in America. To eat of the fruits that America has to offer.

Count your blessings, always.

[hofelina]

You made a wonderful posting, are you proud to be American Leoello?

Manay