What was I saying?

Wine and tapas-fueled conversational topics at Cafe Gusto tonight, egged on by Sabrina Dent and her friends Grace and Catherine (did I mention the excellent wine?):

• The validity (or lack of) of ethnic self-identification by non-immigrant (e.g., 2nd or 3rd generation, etc) Caucasians in the U.S. (don't blame me for this one!)
  
• Obama's chances of winning re-election in 2012 (Ok, yeah, this one was mine)
  
• The beauty of the neti pot (see my previous post here)
  
• Differences between the use of the family doctor and specialist gynecologist by women in the U.S. vs. Ireland
  
• Childbirth
• Liking or not liking your progeny
• Mental health status of old flames
• Why is it that my friends and family STILL haven't found me a cute guy
  
• Why parents of my patients piss me off so often
  
• The deficits in Ireland's foster care system
• Similarities between Ireland and Jamaica (see one of my blog's most read posts here)
  
• Different world views between Jamaicans (West Indians in general) and AA's
• How the attached found/met their spouses and (have I mentioned?) the need for my friends to get on the ball and introduce me to their single male friends!
• How my standards/requirements for men have changed (e.g., drastically reduced) as I've gotten older

I wasn't bored :-)

U2 - Irie!

I'm a big fan of U2. HUGE. Longstanding. Committed and not deterred by the "pooh pooh the native son" attitude that seems present so much over here. If I hear one more person say that their "friend" has a "friend" who kinda knows Bono and thinks he's an arrogant langer, I'll get violent.

Anyway, that was just to set the stage. You all know :-) that I'm originally from Jamaica and quite proud of my heritage. Living in Ireland has raised interesting parallels to life and culture over there, so in some ways adjusting to life here hasn't been quite as strange as it could have been.



OK, stage fully set. Well, except to tell you that, along with my U2 fan-buddy from the states (we first got into the band together in college oh so many decades ago!), I went to see them for 2 of their shows in Dublin this summer. Woohoo!!!!

U2 has just opened the U.S. leg of their tour (and, yes, my friend also has tickets to see a show over there as well!) and gave an interview with Chris Cuomo of ABC News.

Back Stage With U2

All I can say is, you've got to watch the video in it's entirety to truly get why I now love them even more :-) Great minds do think alike!

Balance, Rhetoric and Talking about Race in America

Always a sensitive issue, it can be hard sometimes to find a relatively fair analysis of what happened at Harvard and the fall-out in the media.  Luckily, Hal Crowther who writes for the Independent Weekly newspaper in Chapel Hill, NC, is pretty good at just that kind of thing. 

Lessons from the Henry Louis Gates case: Black, white and shades of gray

Why The NHS Isn't An Evil Socialist Hellhole

Luckily, I'm protected by distance here in Ireland from the at times vicious nature of the debate in the U.S. over proposed health reform. Public option? Non-profit co-op? Small business decimated by unrealistic coverage rules? Public option equals socialism? All these and more have been argued over, screamed about, and prompted threats ad nauseum.

The British NHS, as an example of a health care system that covers everyone, has been particularly vilified as a horrible example of what Obama is trying to turn the U.S. into. Now, I myself have not been altogether happy with the vagaries of a public health system, as I've experienced it here in Ireland, but that's not to say I don't think the U.S. system needs a drastic overhaul and that a public option is probably just the injection that sick system needs. That or something that makes a real effort to cover the 46 million Americans who have no health coverage now at all.

Today's New York Times article describing an American expat's experience with both health systems was particularly enlightening for me about this issue - "Health Care in Britain: Expat Goes for a Checkup".

Great quote of the day

... from this Op-Ed article in the New York Times, titled "You Be Obama", about how he's handling the political wrangle over health care reform.

You are daunted by the challenges in front of you until you remember that by some great act of fortune, you happen to be Barack Obama. This calms you down.

Heehee, love it! :-)


*Thanks to cousin Sekou for pointing this one out.

"That One" Makes History and There's No Going Back

My stomach is in knots, my heart is like a stone in my chest, and I don't know if I can handle one more truly fascinated Irish compatriot asking me for my opinion about what's going to happen tomorrow. I'm torn between trolling the internet for every bit of election news I can get vs. not wanting to think about tomorrow night at all for fear that I might feel just a bit too much optimism and so totally jinx the whole thing!

Similarly, I'm alternately proud and saddened about what this election means for me personally and as a (Jamaican) American. The fact is it took me years to make the decision to relinquish my Jamaican citizenship for the U.S. one. Not because I ever planned to move back permanently, but because (as you might have guessed by now) being Jamaican is part of the core of my identity and the passport symbolized that. On the other hand, having spent all of the last 30 years but one in the States, I've also been quite americanized and am completely emotionally invested in what's going on at home.

This will be the very first presidential election I'll have had the opportunity to vote in since becoming a naturalized citizen 3 years ago, and what a way to lose my electoral virginity! I'm bursting with pride that America has come to the point of actually almost electing a partially black man to be President of the United States [wow, I get shivers just writing that!] and that I had the chance to be a part of that history. But, I'm also terrified that it all sounds too good to be true. That my hopes will be dashed (or stolen) again. Mostly, that it means so much and my history isn't great for these kind of things working out.

Of course the latter statement makes it sound like I think I actually have the power to personally jinx this. Sadly, I don't think I'm the only one with the same unwarranted superstition - I'm sure a lot of other Democrats feel the same way - so I'm imagining huge swathes of the population in the country right now all repeating the mantra "Don't wish too hard. Don't get too excited. Don't expect too much!"

In the end though, no matter what happens tomorrow, we will all survive. Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike. The world won't really come to an end, though I know several friends who've threatened (jokingly and not so jokingly) to use their passport and join me in expat-life if we have to face another 8 years of the same old, same old. We'll go back to living as neighbors again, no matter whether we're living in Red or Blue (or yellow-striped) country. We'll work together, socialize with each other, go to the same church, love each other, and fall asleep in the same bed together just like before all this started. The yard signs will come down and hopefully all the nasty Facebook flair will disappear, as will most of the rumors about who's secretly a terroristic, socialist-loving muslim. The Us vs. Them mentality will diminish a bit and we'll go back to being individuals again who can admit that our loved ones on The Other Side are actually relatively intelligent, thoughtful people who don't really want to destroy everything we believe in.

America and its politics will start to feel somewhat normal again. But, no one will ever be able to take away the fact that American politics has passed a major milestone, one I never seriously considered I would see in my lifetime. A woman yes. A "black" man? We've come a long way, baby, all of us. And there's nothing anyone can do to make us go back!

Note: Sadly, a piece of Obama's own personal history was lost today when his grandmother died of cancer. My condolences on his loss. But I loved the CNN commentator's quote from Psalm 30:5 - "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." That's something we can all pray for.

I Voted!

Have you?

If you're living abroad, send in your absentee ballot today so it gets there on time! If you're living at home, vote early! (In some states you can even register on the same day as early voting).

Avoid the madness on Election Day and the temptation not to stand in line thinking your candidate doesn't need you. No excuses if you want the right to complain, or gloat, afterwards.

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

I would have voted for him as President if his wife had let him run, despite his being a Republican and making the mistake of serving under George W. as Secretary of State.  But Colin Powell has now raised himself even higher in my eyes by ENDORSING BARACK OBAMA for President on today's Meet The Press!

Take that, George Bush!!  I'm dancing in my seat :-)

If the world could vote?

Ever wanted to see how the rest of the world would vote if given the chance? Now you can. Click on the link below, cast your vote, and then see how McCain and Obama are ranked country by country. Fascinating.


If the world could vote?

Baby thinks Barack Obama is #1!

Shameless plugging of my best friend's immensely smart child!

Start 'em young, I say. Or is it, "train up a child..."? :-)

It's not only Americans who want to believe in change

Interesting New York Times op-ed piece pointing out some of the wider, diplomatic implications of Obama's nomination. I guess I'm not the only one who's eager to believe that change has already begun.

(And, please, no comments equating all Muslims with terrorists. I'll just delete them 'cause it's my blog and I don't want to read crap!)

Change You Want To Believe In

Two reasons I'm proud and hopeful for America right now:

OBAMA!!! I'm actually a little short of breath. This means so much. You all know I'm not one for pulling the race card very often, but... the first Black American to be fielded as a major party candidate (well, he's actually biracial and a hyphenated American, but that's another story that deserves a long, sad commentary on race in America that I don't have time or the inclination to get on my soapbox about now). The sad part is that it's only happening now, most of the way through the first decade of the freakin' 21st Century.

Who knows if he'll win. The possibility that the American people would actually, legitimately, vote for 4+ more years of Bushit via McCain (a man who, pre-Iraq War, used to hold quite a bit of my respect for his independent thinking) literally boggles my mind. The universe should not be able to hold that much illogic and still hold together. But, sad to say, we've all been shockingly disappointed before.

Mental Health Parity in insurance coverage. Shamefully overdue. Really, we should all be ashamed of ourselves that it's taken so long for basic human rights (not to mention consideration) and scientific logic to overcome the influence of big money and society's stigma about this issue. Another topic I could go on about for way to long to hold anybody's interest. But, if this is the only thing to come out of the Democrats' control of the House and Senate, they'll have justified themselves.

Sadly, it's like being proud of the delinquent child who finally starts making good decisions for herself. You're so deep down proud you want to dance for joy, but also sad and a little resentful it's taken so long, and desperately hopeful that they don't muck it up too quickly.