Middle Eastern Views

November 4, 2008


I believe I am one of the only people to ever visit Riyadh and never see the sun. Granted, it was a very short visit, but they have had more rain in the last two days than in the past three years. The major problem is that the infrastructure is not set up to handle that much water, the roads, parking lots, building have no drainage systems. On the positive side, the temperatures came down a lot and it has been very comfortable the past few days.

Just a quick note on the election. Over the past 4 months we have been flooded with media attention surrounding the elections, and I think it is fair to say that we can all be proud, no matter of our political affiliations, that the US still represents one the greatest democracies in the world. Many of the people I have spoken with are cynical that the American people actually choose their leader and have a voice in setting the direction of the country. They look at George Bush as dictator and not as an elected leader who must, like every president before him follow a system of checks and balances. I am not a fan of George Bush’s policies, especially overseas, but I will not concede the point that each and every American is responsible for their government and its policies and we get the leaders we deserve.

It wasn’t until this visit that I realized how many people around the world do not have a voice in their government and if they are given a voice it is very often muffled with violence and power struggles. When I flipped on the TV in Dubai this morning, Barack Obama was giving his speech in Grant Park, it was broadcast on 9 channels, 4 in English and 5 in Arabic. I was moved and encouraged by the message and the enthusiasm in which it was delivered and received. I am proud to be an American and am looking forward to the next four years.