To: America
From: Sam
Subject: Cool it

Dear Cousins,

What is it with all this hatred that’s venting in your country ever since you elected a new president?

Most of the rest of us around the world were hugely impressed that you’d finally broken through your troubled racial past, abandoned politics as usual, and elected an intelligent, relatively young, obviously sincere agent of change who happens to have a better tan than a lot of us.

In fact, we were jealous. Very jealous. The rest of the world had to put up with more of the same-same political hacks (see Canada’s Stephen Harper, Britain’s Gordon Brown etc.) while you went for a superstar, by far the most promising American leader since Bobby Kennedy and a breath of fresh air to the nations.

And then it turned to ratshit! First, the man inherited the mother of all wars and the father of all recessions from Bush the Younger, then he tried to fix your healthcare system which everyone except your rich agrees is an international disgrace.

Now people are yelling and screaming and venting scary hatred at these “Town Halls” that have suddenly appeared on the scene and the media really have no choice but to report on them, effectively displacing the necessary sober discussion of your country’s very real and basic problems.

My point is that under Barack Obama we rather thought you’d moved away from the Ugly American caricature and were embarking on a new America where your history of democracy and decency and hope would prevail and your history of violence would be just that — history.

But it isn’t happening that way at all. And those of us who want to admire you and look to Barack Obama to lead us to a new and more honourable world order hear the screams, threats and lies pouring out from the haters and greatly fear for you and your democracy.

The promise of "a more perfect union" that you made 222 years ago is not being kept and our world is a far more dangerous place because of that.

Sadly, but with lots of love,

Sam


(Samantha Jones is a Canadian journalist publishing her erotic memoir at www.lulu.com)
 


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