Inauguration Day, from the UK

(Note: Due to lack of free internets in London, this post has been published later. Post date and time are reflective of the approximate time at which this was written.)

This morning, while I was getting ready for orientation, I had the TV tuned to BBC. The British reporters are ruminating at the prospect of having a black Prime Minister. I thought that was pretty amusing. On the whole, BBC seemed to be responding positively to Obama being inaugurated today.

Conveniently and very appropriately, we had the privilege of having an open panel discussion with 3 members of the British Parliament, Diane Abbott, Julian Brazier, and Lord Richard Taverne. The students at orientation asked a mixture of general questions about British politics, for example: what critical issues the major parties differ over and how relevant politics are to young people in Britain. While it lent great insight into the impact of politics on the general public, it was not as interesting as the questions about how British politicians feel about Obama being president. It was not a surprise that the general sentiment is relief and admiration that Americans have become so progressive. Americans really have set an important precedent for being able to "turn the page" and uphold the original founding principles of the nation so quintessentially, as MP Abbott had said. "Your new president's mother is from Kansas and his father is from Kenya. He has remarkably succeeded in getting so many young Americans involved in politics. This is something that can only happen in America, and you should all feel proud of your country for coming this far." Lord Taverne also added that it is impossible to underestimate the significance of Obama being elected, for he has instilled a sense of optimism and pride in not only Americans, but also other people around the world. If McCain had been elected instead, the impact would not be as great, but would feel like "business as usual." MP Brazier, a member of the Conservative party, was a McCain supporter, but still feels optimistic for the future of America and the free world since Bush is leaving office. A student then asked how the British reacted when McCain selected Sarah Palin as his running mate. MP Abbott answered the most humorously and candidly, "Sarah Palin is an interesting choice. She staunchly supports abstinence-only education, yet her 17 year-old daughter got knocked up. She is an environmentalist but shoots polar bears from a helicopter. When Katie Couric asked her what newspapers she read, she answered 'Every newspaper,' which really means none. Only in America can you have someone from the religious right be this prominent in politics; the religious right has virtually no influence in British politics."

All in all, I enjoyed the orientation sessions about the uK. I found that the country is quite reasonable and agrees with a lot of my sentiments. Apparently, only 8% of the British population consider themselves to be regular churchgoers (compared to about 60% in America). Gay marriage and abortion are not the main issues dividing the political parties; the British resolved gay marriage conflict by renaming marriage as "civil partnership" and letting marriage remain a mostly religious term, and the only discussion about abortion is over when the latest term is to have one. The separation of church and state is quite clear, which is something that I admire and wish the US government was more like this.