The Speech Heard Around the World
Europeans react favorably to Obama's inaugural message
Published: 01/29/2009
BARCELONA, Spain – Elevator rides in my apartment building can be awkward. The machine is ancient and it would probably be faster to take the six flights of stairs.
My Spanish neighbors are very nice and exceptionally courteous, but when they’re crammed into the elevator with my roommates and me, I can’t help but wonder if they only regard us as those loud Americans who are always playing music and filling up the recycling bin with wine and beer bottles.
But the day before Barack Obama’s inauguration was different.
Returning from class, one of my roommates and I stepped into the tiny elevator with an older Spanish gentleman we had never met. Dressed in a fine gray suit and tie, he could have easily come from any corporate boardroom in the city. Hearing us speaking English, he asked in slow, polite Spanish if we were from England. No, we replied; “Estados Unidos.” Upon hearing our nationality, the man did something highly uncharacteristic of a somber Spanish professional. He raised his fist in a clear sign of victory and said one triumphant word: “Obama!” We couldn’t help but smile and respond in kind. The man went on to excitedly tell us, in a mix of Spanish and English, that he would be closely watching the inauguration the next day.
The following day I found that, to my dismay, my first political science class coincided with Obama’s oath of office. I seriously contemplated skipping, but as it was the first day of a class in a foreign country I thought better of it.
Three metro stops later, I walked into my classroom to find CNN.com projected broadly onto the wall, and my professor eagerly beaming up at an image of the packed National Mall on the screen.
“This is a global politics class,” he said in shaky English. “I thought it would only be appropriate to watch this today, as it is so important to our world.” We devoted the entire class period to watching and discussing the opening addresses, oath of office, and the poetry readings afterward. I was thankful I didn’t stay in my apartment to watch it on my laptop.
During the presidential campaigns, John McCain criticized Obama for being a “celebrity” in Europe and overseas. He argued that his popularity outside the U.S. had no real bearing on his ability to be commander-in-chief, and that it was merely a trend.
Looking at this historic American event with a Spanish set of eyes, I strongly disagree. After experiencing the inauguration from a European perspective, from talking to countless Spanish bartenders, professors, my neighbors and many more about Obama, I can truly say that today I am proud of my country. And for once, so is Europe.
The Bush administration spent eight years degrading America’s image abroad. While the expectations set for Obama may be impossibly high, his election to our nation’s highest office has already produced a heady victory for our country and its international relations.
What’s more, the hope and excitement in a new America that Obama has sparked in the citizens of foreign countries is a triumph for me, and every other American living abroad.
To see the unbridled elation in that Spanish gentleman’s eyes when he mentioned my country’s new president gave me hope for a brighter future in America, Europe and the rest of the world.
