To begin, Happy Washington's Birthday! or more commonly Happy President's Day!! As my day off winds to an end and I try to figure out what to write in this post I can only think of a conversation I had last night to share with all of you. This past weekend a few of my friends who studied abroad in Australia with me came to visit. As we sat on my bed discussing the upcoming holiday, I wondered aloud whether the day Obama was elected would be one of those days that "live in infamy." Just as my parents remember the day that Kennedy was shot, and I recall when and where I was when I learned of the falling of the Twin Towers, I wonder if Obama's victory was one of those days. For that event too I remember when I first heard the news.
I was in Australia sitting through my boring three hour seminar when one of the more worldly-minded Australian students announced to the class that Obama had won the 2008 Presidential election. Following this exciting news, my professor pulled out two bottles of champagne from under his desk, (thank goodness the drinking age in Oz is 18). He told the class that he had brought it as a celebration for when Obama won, and if he didn't win it would serve as consolation. I remember being amazed at how into American politics my peers abroad were. It was not until my senior year of high school that I learned anything significant about American government, so I was a bit embarrassed when everyone around me not only knew about their home government but probably more about mine than I did.
I am probably not so different than most other people my age with a lack of interest in politics. But as I googled President's Day and was bombarded with a number of ads boasting sales I could not help but feel a little sad. We boast how ours is the land of the free yet so few of us know how this came to be and cherish it as we should. Especially this day I believe we should all take a bit more pride in our country and learn what our government is all about.
As always, there is work to be done and deadlines to be made.
Enjoy the last few hours of your holiday and until next Monday, as always, keep on procrastinating.