Thursday, June 4, 2009

Still looking to us

We arrived in London yesterday night, met our daughter Julia for a late dinner and returned to our hotel, where we popped into the hotel bar for a nightcap. We met an interesting couple, she is Swedish, he is a Scot but they live in Dubai. We began a conversation about politics, and talk turned to our new President. It was amazing to me, during the course of the conversation, that it became clear that the world is still looking to the United States to set the tone for the world. After all that our country has been through - the war, the economic downturn and the massive corporate and political corruption - that the US is still our world's leader.

It made me proud to be an American, but I also shudder to consider the tremendous pressure that President Obama and all of us are under as Americans. It was the same feeling that I think that 1950's men would have had as breadwinner and head of household - responsible for everything, presumed to be all-knowing and strong beyond measure. Remember that program, "Father Knows Best"?
Scary, huh?

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