The World is Looking to Obama — and America
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First published online by UCLA Today Online, on July 15, 2008. July 2008 |
I was reminded of Obama's global appeal in mid-June when I traveled to Malaysia to speak at the Asia Pacific Mediation Forum conference. My colleagues were mediators from China, Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and many Pacific Island nations. They were also Christians, Muslims and Hindus.
Despite the group's great diversity, my fellow mediators shared a common sentiment — they wanted the Democratic candidate to win in the November elections. And because I am not just American but, like Obama, a biracial Harvard Law grad who has an immigrant parent, they wanted to tell me exactly why.
My international colleagues didn't care about Democrat vs. Republican and their inspiration didn't come from Obama's policies; instead, they were inspired by us — everyday Americans. These foreign mediators saw in Obama's ascendancy a message of broader change. Electing Obama would signal to the world that Americans have changed.
Sure, electing a black president four decades after the Civil Rights Movement represents change. But the hope of much of the world lies in the forward momentum of what this one act could signal: The promise of a new America.
A new America would be a place where everyday people, like those from my home state of Ohio, could find the courage and the inspiration to engage in deeper change, reconciling — like South Africa did with apartheid — from our nation's long struggle with racism and the legacy of slavery. But even more than that, a new America might just stand for freedom, justice and equality for all, not just for Americans.
As mediators, my colleagues recognize that addressing global challenges, whether HIV/AIDS, climate change or overpopulation, requires global cooperation. The world needs Americans to help lead the way toward solving these problems.
In recent years, America has turned away from the opinions of foreign leaders and the advice of the international community. But the long view of history reveals that our world is ultimately connected and that there is value in taking sound counsel from abroad.
The great chronicler of American democracy, after all, was a Frenchman, Alexis de Tocqueville. This is not to say that Americans should look to foreigners to decide who to vote for in November. But in casting our votes we do well to remember that we are not only electing a new president but a new reputation for what kind of Americans we want to be.
Biography
Anna Spain is the Assistant Director of the Burkle Center for International Relations and an Adjunct Professor at the UCLA School of Law where she teaches international dispute resolution. Her scholarship focuses on the intersection of international law and dispute resolution and on the study of international and cross-cultural conflict.
A mediator with over 12 years of experience, Ms. Spain has successfully mediated over 40 disputes in the public, private and academic sectors. She has also trained and advised clients in mediation, negotiation and international law.
Prior to joining UCLA, Ms. Spain was an Attorney-Adviser at the U.S. Department of State. She served as the U.S. delegate to the United Nations Compensation Commission in Geneva, represented the United States in two cases before the the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal in The Hague, and served as the State Department’s primary legal adviser for international investment disputes in Asia and the Pacific.
Prior to legal practice, Ms. Spain clerked for the Honorable Judge Raymond Finch in the U.S. District Court in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. She also has a policy background in international trade and climate change and participated in negotiating the U.S. – Chile Free Trade Agreement and the Kyoto Protocol during her tenure at the U.S. Trade Representative's Office and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Ms. Spain holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Economics from Denison University. She is a certified mediator in California, Washington D.C. and Ohio. Ms. Spain is a member of the American Bar Association, the American Society of International Law, the Pennsylvania Bar Association and is on the Board of Directors of Mediators Beyond Borders.
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| deshauna , Atlanta GA | 09/19/08 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Jimmy Carter Says Obama will Bring Peace | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| deshauna davids, Atlanta GA | 09/19/08 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Rep. Rahm Emanuel (AIPAC) endorsing Obama... | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| justinSTARKWEATHER , Ottawa ON | 09/16/08 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| ELECTION | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Mike , New York NY | 07/30/08 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Race not the Issue on Obama | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| kobe , Dallas tx | 07/26/08 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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