Irham, JakartaBush has never been a popular figure in Indonesia — a Muslim country with a strong history of anti-imperial struggle (notwithstanding of course, its own colonial adventures in East Timor and Papua) — and his re-election ensured that dislike of Bush would extend to the American people.
Recently, though, it’s once again become cool to be American. “From Amerika? Barack Obama, Ya!”
What can I do but smile and shrug my shoulders?
Don’t get me wrong — I can’t stand any of the presidential candidates. But there’s still something about this guy that takes it to another level.
I’m not even all that old, and I can still remember a time when this would not have been considered acceptable political discourse.
And of course, the cheering crowd is probably full of the same kind of people who freak out about Shariah law and theocracy in the Middle East.
UPDATE: Check out a very interesting article by Ira Chernus about Faith-based politics at Tomdispatch
I just feel the need to publicly express how disturbed I am that one of the front runners for the next president of the United States is a man who does not believe in evolution.
Darwin help us all!