Change I do believe in.

First the first time since I’ve been politically conscious, I am proud to be an American. I am proud of my country and my fellow citizens.

I know the previous statements can be seen as copycat statements of so many and will earn me a few eye rolls from some of you, especially those who are unhappy with the results of the presidential election last night. But I am amazed with the campaign that Barack Obama has put together and the messages that it stands for. And I am very excited for the opportunity to see the great things that he will bring to the country. He started as an unknown politician with a few good ideas and a handful of charisma and rose to inspire a nation-wide coalition network of motivated volunteers and voters. His ability for organization and motivation is apparent from his success. His intelligence radiated from his debate performances. And all throughout the campaign, he retained his calm diplomatic demeanor even when he was the target of a very negative campaign. Organized, motivated, intelligent, calm, diplomatic. Aren’t those qualities that we look for in a political leader?

Let’s just say that with my international and politically liberal upbringing, I haven’t necessarily been impressed with the image that the United States has created for itself. We like to think of our country as a beacon of freedom and democracy at its finest. But our election system has its flaws, most of which we continuously turn a blind eye to. Our government considers itself the democracy police of the world, however we have made our alliances when and where it has been convenient. For example, our allies in Saudi Arabia are absolute monarchs and yet we’ve turned our backs on the democracy in the West Bank because we don’t like who they have elected. Basically, we support democracies so long as they elect who we want. A bit of a mixed message? And our foreign actions portray us as a money- and power- oriented bully out for our own interests with too much military power. That's not the reputation I want to have as I traverse the world.

Obama realized that reaching out to and building bridges with our “enemies” is much more important than the failed Bush policy of the silent treatment (a policy that McCain would have continued). I’m thrilled that we will start building and strengthening our relationships with other countries. It’s time to stop pretending that we are the only country that makes decisions (and that our decisions don’t have consequences for the rest of the world). We are a member of the global community and we need to start acting like one. What we do from here on out needs to be in conjunction with the international community. Let’s open up communications with other nations. There’s really no harm that could come from it. Didn’t we learn in primary school that problem solving works when you communicate and collaborate with others? Let’s be a global team member rather than isolating ourselves further. And I am confident that a President Obama will bring about that change much more effectively and diplomatically that a President McCain.

But I’m not thinking only of the international successes of these election results, but the domestic implications as well. The state of the economy is on everyone’s minds. I believe that Obama’s economy plan was far superior and better thought out than McCain’s for several reasons. During his campaign, McCain vowed as president to implement a federal spending freeze on everything except the war in Iraq and veteran’s affairs. That was the most disturbing thing for me. The majority of Americans are not soldiers in Iraq or veterans. They would not benefit from this. Education would not benefit from this. No new jobs would be created. The stocks would plummet. McCain promised to create new jobs, but never said how. Instead he just repeated over and over that he knew how to do it.

Obama had a more comprehensive economic plan. It involves investment in greener energy research and production. A withdrawal of Bush’s tax breaks for the wealthiest 1%, a policy McCain would have continued. If you give money to the already wealthy, they have the option of sticking it in a bank account to earn more money off of it. If you give money to the poor and middle class, their economic situations force them to spend that money; some don’t have the luxury of saving. That money spent will be recycled back into the economy. It’s time to burst the Bush bubble and show that the trickle-down effect will not work. It hasn’t worked in the past and it’s not going to work in the future.

Obama certainly has his work cut out for him. It’s not going to be an easy presidency; America is seeing some hard times. But if I had to put my trust in someone, I’d put it in Obama, a diplomatic, intelligent, responsible, thoughtful, passionate, calm, well-spoken, leader who believes that America (and Americans) has (have) the responsibility to step up and be the leader and collaborator that the world so desperately needs. Let’s set aside our differences in opinion, roll up our sleeves, and work side-by-side to be the change that we want to see in the world.