National Politics, On A Global Stage… On My Blackberry…
In the past few days, we have seen a variety of events, playing out for our supposed enjoyment, or betterment.
The Paralympics wound to a close, and, as sad as we are to see the athletes go… all parties have to end, and so best it goes off when everyone is excited, energized and enthusiastic !
I was not able to attend any Paralympic Sporting Events, but through Twitter, I was apprised of successes and losses, and felt I was “part of the action.”
The Prime Minister of Canada, to much fanfare and hoo haw, made a big commotion about bringing his message to the people, and embracing social media… which proves that the wonks in the Conservative Party have NO idea how YouTube works. They laid out an “unscripted” 40 plus minute video. With NO regard to the average length or attention span of the public… they laid out a long… dragged out… bilingual snoozefest. It was, for all intents and purposes, a regular question and answer session, just released on Video… but waaaay too lengthy to go viral.
It was on YouTube, but QUITE difficult to find, by comparison to the Prime Minister’s foray into Pop Singer Territory, when he sang a Beatles song with YoYo Ma !
The American Government, amid much hue and cry, hand-wringing and name-calling, passed a Health Care Reform, which will (reportedly) extend Medical Coverage to help more people.
There were banners saying it was Communism… Socialism… Barbaric… Overbearing…
I find it ironic, that the country that leads the free world, fears putting into place a program that, at its root, tries to help people.
After the vote, President Obama spoke, and said, in part… “We did not fear our Future, we shaped it.”
Throughout the day, there was a discussion on Twitter, using the #HCR(Health Care Reform) hash tag. Some were for, some against… but using the power of Social Media, I was again able, amidst other chores, tasks and programs, to keep up with the debate, and had tears running down my face, when I read the Tweet heralding their success…
I have a few American friends. Some like this plan, and some fear it.
I believe time will show it to be a good thing… especially my friends who have serious debilitating diseases.
But if it isn’t ? I bet I’ll hear about it on Twitter, first !