http://www.riehlife.com/2008/11/08/election-2008-congratulations-from-ghana-time-for-change-by-rod-mclaren-development-chief-of-edubiase/ Creating connections through the arts and across cultures Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:30:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.riehlife.com/2008/11/08/election-2008-congratulations-from-ghana-time-for-change-by-rod-mclaren-development-chief-of-edubiase/comment-page-1/#comment-3700 Janet Muirhead Hill Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:01:51 +0000 http://www.riehlife.com/?p=1552#comment-3700 Thank you for posting this message of hope and good will from Ghana. As an American, I am humbled by the reminder of the narrowness of our view of the world. Technology allows us easy connection and the possibility for greater understanding of societies around the globe. Yet many of us remain willfully self-satisfied in the assumption that we live in the greatest country in the world and somehow deserve greater privilege than others. Too many of us look down our noses at other cultures if we look at them at all. \r\n\r\nAfter 9/11, I was shocked by the egotism and greed that allowed our country to attack and invade a sovereign nation that had nothing to do with the attack. As the fallacies on which our invasion was justified were proved false, our invasion and the war continued, purportedly to install our "superior" ideals and to protect the Iraqi people. Whereas I used to be content to live in my own little world, oblivious to "foreign affairs," horror at my country\'s action expanded my world view and concern for my fellow human beings everywhere. My hope is that our president elect can begin to heal the damage created in the last 8 years by a president whose policies were divisive. We hope that Obama\'s influence will be unifying here at home and around the world. Perhaps the biggest challenge to unity is right here in our own extremely polarized country. \r\n\r\nBarack Obama has a difficult road ahead and the grave challenge of fulfilling the hopes from around the world. My prayers are with him. Thank you for posting this message of hope and good will from Ghana. As an American, I am humbled by the reminder of the narrowness of our view of the world. Technology allows us easy connection and the possibility for greater understanding of societies around the globe. Yet many of us remain willfully self-satisfied in the assumption that we live in the greatest country in the world and somehow deserve greater privilege than others. Too many of us look down our noses at other cultures if we look at them at all. \r\n\r\nAfter 9/11, I was shocked by the egotism and greed that allowed our country to attack and invade a sovereign nation that had nothing to do with the attack. As the fallacies on which our invasion was justified were proved false, our invasion and the war continued, purportedly to install our "superior" ideals and to protect the Iraqi people. Whereas I used to be content to live in my own little world, oblivious to "foreign affairs," horror at my country\'s action expanded my world view and concern for my fellow human beings everywhere. My hope is that our president elect can begin to heal the damage created in the last 8 years by a president whose policies were divisive. We hope that Obama\'s influence will be unifying here at home and around the world. Perhaps the biggest challenge to unity is right here in our own extremely polarized country. \r\n\r\nBarack Obama has a difficult road ahead and the grave challenge of fulfilling the hopes from around the world. My prayers are with him.

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