The Tripod

The Alpha Delta Phi fraternity (AD) and The Trinity Tripod are proud to present the winning submission for the 2008 Presidential Election Essay Contest. The Contest was very competitive and over 20 students decided to participate. Collectively, students saw that to improve our international relations will be the greatest challenge that the next President will face. President-elect Barack Obama will need to work with other nations to build alternative energy solutions, stabilize the world economy, and fight terrorism.

America: the land of the overweight, fanny pack sporting, McDonald's frequenting masses who drive their fuel burning SUVs from strip mall to strip mall. Presiding over this land is a cowboy president who has recklessly started wars and alienated foreign friends and whom, on top of it all, Americans have blindly followed in each of his decisions.

Accurate or not, this is the current world opinion of the United States of America, once one of the most respected nations in the world - a center for freedom and opportunity, a guiding light for the world to follow. Leaders and citizens who once held the highest opinion of our nation now look at it in disdain. One can simply look to the November 4, 2004 headline of London's Daily Mirror newspaper to see this opinion confirmed. "How can 59,054,087 people be so DUMB?" read the headline of its lead story on the re-election of President George W. Bush.

Yet on November 4, 2008 the American people collectively have the unique opportunity to change this opinion. With one small mark on a ballot, we can return the United States back to its former self. By electing Senator Barack Obama as President of the United States, Americans can prove to the rest of the world that they are a competent and progressive people who understand the challenges that the world faces; a people who have put their faith in a man with clear vision and sound judgment. Cynics and isolationists will automatically reject this notion, dismissing the importance of world opinion in favor of a self-absorption of sorts focusing solely on the well being of themselves and America. What they fail to realize is that the future of the United States depends on its relationship with the rest of the world. Senator Obama understands this concept. He knows that through the simple act of extending a handshake and sitting down to talk, one can avert war, solve differences, and find common ground based on the inherent fact that we are all human beings. Moreover, Senator Obama possesses a calm yet firm demeanor and a fundamental comprehension of all issues that one should expect in a president. His ability to stand in front of thousands and inspire them with his words is not, as his critics contend, rhetorical fluff, but a rare gift that can be implemented in times of crisis. In a nation and world so wounded by ignorance, division, and xenophobia, Senator Obama sees beauty in nuances and differences and believes that, through them, we can better understand each other. This is the change that he embraces and that the world so desperately needs.

When Senator Obama spoke in July to a crowd of over 200,000 at the Brandenburg Gates in Berlin, he addressed the 'my country, right or wrong' philosophy that has come to define the attitude held by the United States. "In America, there are voices that deride and deny the importance of Europe's role in our security and our future," he said. Senator Obama dismissed this attitude by presenting himself in the way that Americans need to view themselves and their relationship with the world. "I speak to you as a citizen - a proud citizen of the United States and a fellow citizen of the world," he said.

It is crucial for the American people to elect Senator Obama. The world knows that its relationship with the United States can only be mended with a change in attitude, and Senator Obama realizes and welcomes this new attitude. The setting of the sun on November 4th can mark an end to the politics of the past, a change in the world's perception of us, and an embrace of America's potential to become once again the world's greatest and most respected power. Yet only we can make that happen. With that one mark on our ballot, we hold in our hands the precedent we want to set, the message we want to send, and the fate of our future. Citizens of the world, from Chicago to Cairo, Hartford to Hamburg, and San Francisco to Shanghai will all be watching.

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