Can he change the world?

(Oita Godo Newspaper, February 2nd 2009, evening paper page 5)

As the President of United States of America, President Obama has to deal with difficult tasks immediately. During the war in Iraq, many people died and were injured, while the relationship between the United States of America and Iraq did not get better. Meanwhile, the current global crisis which started in the United States became worse. Throughout the world, there are a lot of people who are suffering from war and poverty. Since currently the United States is still playing a leading role in the world, President Obama has to take actions in order to eliminate war and poverty in the world.

In his speech in inauguration ceremony, President Obama said that "We are now in the middle of crisis. From today onwards, let us regain our enthusiasm and take up responsibilities to revive America".

During election, the word "reformation" (the process of changing something and replacing it with something new), in other words "change" has captured people's hearts. We are wondering whether the United States of America can lead the change in the world.

Comment: President Obama is a man with a strong vision to save the world from crisis and he has a good leadership skill. However, it is not fair if people demand evident changes in the world and put all the responsibilities on him alone. Each of us have to set a new paradigm, and be aligned with one another, so that we are ready to make the world a better place to live. We do not have to start by initiating demonstrations like many people who want to appear on television usually do, but we can simply start from ourselves, by just growing to be a better person, actualizing our talents in all the works that we do every day, while cultivating a heart that yearns to make the world a better place each day.

NUGROHO Katarina Marsha Utama

Indonesia

APM2, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University