Starting in India in their delayed 10-day Asian tour, the Obamas did more than set the path towards developing a strategic partnership between the US & India, they danced it up Indian style :D While it is indeed important to highlight President Obama strengthening the civilian nuclear pact, acquiring 54,000 new American jobs via Indo-US business deals and committing future US support for India to have a permanent UN Security Council seat, I feel it's equally valuable to share the video below that demonstrates the Obamas' great intercultural skills hehe:
Seeing the Obamas get down with the local Indian children really warmed my heart, I can't deny it. In a country where the caste system is still very much alive, I think having the Indian people see the most powerful couple in the world dance with schoolchildren in a dance celebration of Diwali sends a powerful message about what America represents.
The Obamas arrived in Indonesia today, a long-overdue trip after 3 previous cancellations to the place where he spent 4 years as a child. In a visit to President Obama's childhood neighborhood, the video below shows how Barack's former neighbors reminisce about their interactions and treatment of him.
It was interesting to me that the neighbors remember how confused they felt at seeing an American who is the son of a Kenyan man, going to school in Indonesia. Their teasing of him because he was different and chubby didn't deter Barry from helping those who were smaller than him.
During their trip to Jakarta, the Obamas visited the biggest mosque in Southeast Asia (the Istiqlal Mosque) and President Obama gave an important speech to the Muslim world.
Besides noting the First Lady's fashionable animal-print head covering that was also very much respectful of her visit to this mosque, I find myself once again struck by my President's important words to the University of Indonesia & the world. In a very personal speech in front of 6,000 people, the President started out with "Let me begin with a simple statement: Indonesia is part of me." Here are other snippets from his speech that I found relevant and important:
After Indonesia, President Obama is headed to South Korea for the G20 summit, where he says countries must address persistent imbalances in global economic growth.
Seeing the Obamas get down with the local Indian children really warmed my heart, I can't deny it. In a country where the caste system is still very much alive, I think having the Indian people see the most powerful couple in the world dance with schoolchildren in a dance celebration of Diwali sends a powerful message about what America represents.
The Obamas arrived in Indonesia today, a long-overdue trip after 3 previous cancellations to the place where he spent 4 years as a child. In a visit to President Obama's childhood neighborhood, the video below shows how Barack's former neighbors reminisce about their interactions and treatment of him.
It was interesting to me that the neighbors remember how confused they felt at seeing an American who is the son of a Kenyan man, going to school in Indonesia. Their teasing of him because he was different and chubby didn't deter Barry from helping those who were smaller than him.
During their trip to Jakarta, the Obamas visited the biggest mosque in Southeast Asia (the Istiqlal Mosque) and President Obama gave an important speech to the Muslim world.
Because Indonesia is made up of thousands of islands, hundreds of languages, and people from scores of regions and ethnic groups, my times here helped me appreciate the common humanity of all people. And while my stepfather, like most Indonesians, was raised a Muslim, he firmly believed that all religions were worthy of respect. In this way, he reflected the spirit of religious tolerance that is enshrined in Indonesia’s Constitution, and that remains one of this country’s defining and inspiring characteristics.
Development, after all, is not simply about growth rates and numbers on a balance sheet. It’s about whether a child can learn the skills they need to make it in a changing world. It’s about whether a good idea is allowed to grow into a business, and not be suffocated by corruption. It’s about whether those forces that have transformed the Jakarta that I once knew –technology and trade and the flow of people and goods – translate into a better life for human beings, a life marked by dignity and opportunity. This kind of development is inseparable from the role of democracy.
I said then, and I will repeat now, that no single speech can eradicate years of mistrust. But I believed then, and I believe today, that we have a choice. We can choose to be defined by our differences, and give in to a future of suspicion and mistrust. Or we can choose to do the hard work of forging common ground, and commit ourselves to the steady pursuit of progress. And I can promise you – no matter what setbacks may come, the United States is committed to human progress. That is who we are. That is what we have done. That is what we will do.
Innocent civilians in America, Indonesia, and across the world are still targeted by violent extremists. I have made it clear that America is not, and never will be, at war with Islam. Instead, all of us must defeat al Qaeda and its affiliates, who have no claim to be leaders of any religion – certainly not a great, world religion like Islam. But those who want to build must not cede ground to terrorists who seek to destroy.I would highly recommend reading the entire transcript of the President's speech, you can check it out here.
After Indonesia, President Obama is headed to South Korea for the G20 summit, where he says countries must address persistent imbalances in global economic growth.
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