Barack Obama is my Homeboy

When I was in New York I saw a t-shirt that said, "Barack Obama is my Homeboy" and wanted it immediately. I didn't buy it and regretted it in the days that followed. When I got back to Toronto I ordered a tank top version of the shirt online and anxiously awaited my Obama swag. It arrived nearly a month later and I wore it out in public for the first time today. Now, being a US citizen that has never lived in the US (I have dual citizenship with the US and Canada) I cannot vote as I am not registered in a State because I have never had a US postal address with which to register. That being said, as a resident of Canada and a citizen of the Great White North as well as a citizen of the world, I have been greatly interested in the elections in the US since 2000.

2000 marked a turning point for all of us, which I do not need to expand on here, but it was also the year I turned 18 and was given the right to vote in my own country. I hope that no one takes this the wrong way, but the political structure of the United States matters a hell of a lot more to me than that of Canada. Yes, I live and work in Canada and have a lot of rights and privileges here that I don't want to see taken away by some rogue government party, but in general things in Canada don't seem to change as drastically and therefore I am not as worried around election time in Canada as I am during the election times of other nations. I tend to vote Liberal and hope for the best, but admittedly when Stephen Harper was elected Prime Minister a few years back I cringed and moaned about it, yet in the larger picture I don't feel that Canada has changed all that much since then. (I should mention that my interest in politics is fairly superficial: I merely follow what's going on when it comes time for me to make some decisions to ensure that the country I live in doesn't fall to pieces. Take me or leave me, that's how I roll.)

The reason that I care so much about American politics (again, not for any deep interest in the system of government, but more to see what changes are being made/not being made south of the border) is because what happens in the US matters outside of the US much more than internal issues do for many other countries around the world (including Canada). When America decides to get involved or stay out of certain issues elsewhere, it matters. A lot of people hate the fact that America has extended its reach to so many corners of the world, but the fact remains that America has a visible presence in so many countries and therefore the decisions they make at home DO affect the rest of us.

I realise at this point my thoughts aren't that clear and the point of this whole entry - to explain why I wanted the Obama t-shirt in the first place - seems a bit lost in my pool of ranting. So excuse the lack of continuity here as I move on to my point.

My point is that Barack Obama has some good ideas. Some really good ideas. And though everyone says he is inexperienced and naive (both of which I tend to agree with on some level), he has the ideas and the vision that America needs. When I say "America" I mean the America that attracted so many people to this side of the world so many years ago. The "American Dream" was a wonderful thing and it's seemingly gotten lost somewhere over the last half century or so. It is still a land of opportunity but a lot of those opportunities are being missed for various reasons... again, I don't have that much political know-how to back up everything I am saying here, I'm just getting my thoughts out. And who am I? Well, I suppose we've established that I'm not much of a political advocated. I'd say I'm much more of an optimistic dreamer with high hopes.

Hoping so intensely that Americans will make the choice this November to elect my homeboy, Barack Obama, president. He wants to bring America back to what it once was: a country that people could be proud to call home.

I can't tell you how sad it has made me to travel with some of my American friends in Europe only to have them joke about pretending to be Canadian because "everyone hates Americans." I love Americans. And I'm not just saying this because I am half American or because half of my family and many of my good friends are American. I love them because, in general, Americans are some of the kindest people you could ever hope to meet. (I won't go on here about why I love Americans, because it will certainly derail this already diverted train of thought, but look for a future entry about it.)

So, to sum up: Barack Obama is my Homeboy and I hope that those of you who are not already in Camp Ombama with me will get on the bus before the summer's through - the days are bright and warm here and each and every sunset is so stunning that you go to sleep actually looking forward to tomorrow.