Obama by David Sedaris Essays

Obama by David Sedaris Essays Obama by David Sedaris Paper Obama by David Sedaris Paper The essay is a flashback from David Seeders time in France during the election in 2008 in the United States. Skin color. Our skin color is part of our appearance, but is it also a part of our personality? In America this question were discussed when Barack Obama was running for his presidential election in the year of 2008 2009. Many Europeans believed it was impossible to see a half-black candidate win the election in 2009, because they thought that any Americans would never vote for a black candidate. In David Seeders essay: Obama!!! , he explains, in a rather humorist way how prejudices can lead to huge misconceptions between different countries. The reader mostly hears about Seeders life in France. The essay focuses on the differences between European and American politics, when it comes to racism, race discrimination and sexual discrimination. One of the things David Seeders mentions is how much an American election all of a sudden becomes a world election. In the start of his essay, David Seeders describes how people he ivied among in Normandy did not take part of their national politics and local government affairs. However, when a black candidate is running for president in America, thousands of miles overseas, they wake up and are willing to be a part of the election even though they are not inhabitants. This can be interpreted as the importance American politics has in Europe. In this context the topping of the cake is when a black is leading the campaign for president in the ASSAI, which is host the famous Sucks Klan and also the Tea Party movement. This irony and sarcasm constitute the tone and style throughout he essay: Its not that I dont have opinions about these things; I just dont feel theyre in any way special. David Seeders uses a lot of humor, so that his message becomes more eatable for the reader. I does this to raise concerns about the topic in a humorist way, without it becoming frivolous. What allows him to talk about prejudices and racism is that he is a gay comedian, which is the ironic and humorist fact about David Seeders. This allows him to talk about these sensible subjects, because many in Europe and USA have prejudices towards gays and comedians. Seeders explains, which headlines here published in the French newspapers during the years before the election. Seeders writes: The farmer across the road from us, Robert Bob Greener was profiled in the late 1 sass. The Man who Truly Whispers to Horses, read the headline. The picture was Of him seeming to gossip into the ear of his Peppercorn, a dappled mare as solid as a dump truck. Then it takes a turn when people finds out that a black man is running for president. The story above is completely different from the stories during the American election in 2008-2009 it turns 180 degrees to a more global perspective. Seeders believes it is the skin color of Barack Obama which draws the attention and not his politic which makes the people of France interested in his campaign. During his time in Normandy Seeders describes how people approached him and told him that: Americans never would vote for a black candidate, because many in America are racists. This key point is, elaborated later in the essay. In this context, he also describes how his dad thought that people in France were hostile towards Americans and it was a dangerous place to for an American to be. By this, Seeders plants the thought in the adders mind that when a French individual thinks of a typical American, the individual bases his thoughts on a fictive stereotype. This also applies when an American thinks of a French or other Europeans. Seeders writes: I remember my dad calling after the Iraq war started and asking if I felt safe on the streets of Paris. He had the idea that Europeans, and specifically the French, had become openly hostile and were targeting Americans even throwing bottles at them. If that Was happening, I neither saw it nor read about it. In this passage, David Seeders tries to tell the reader that to judge n American or a European based on prejudices and stereotypes is wrong. This is seen clearly in the last sentence in the passage above, where he tells the reader that none of his dads prejudices is correct -and he is not experiencing any hostile behavior from the French people in the period during the Iraq war. Therefore, David Steadiers main allegation is that it is impossible to judge people without knowing them properly. In this context David Seeders is being rather objective because he criticizes both countries for having prejudices towards each other. This makes him very reliable because e has lived in both countries and experienced both cultures therefore it makes his allegations and conclusions reliable. Seeders moves on and tells the reader about his experiences with the European reporters during his travel through Europe in 2008-2009. David Seeders was surprised by the European attitude and he describes them as a people with many prejudices towards the American people. David Seeders says: The reporters in Greece, the ones in Australia and Amsterdam and Dublin, all of them assured me that the American people never would elect a black president. To this Seeders replies: Maybe, he said, but Ill bet you that half of America could elect a half-black president. By this Seeders means that around half of the American inhabitants are colored and therefore would be able to elect Obama. This consequently leads to David Seeders main point in the essay; David Seeders is surprised that many Europeans believe that inhabitants Americans would not vote for Barack Obama because of his skin color and not because of his politic program. The Americans are therefore accused of being more racists than the European countries. In this context, David Seeders wonders why France has a far-right political party, where the leader glorifies the Nazi-occupation of France during World War 2. This is an interesting point, because we often tends to forget how our own political system works when we compare it with other countries. In this case, the people that David Seeders talks with forgets all about how their own country works and looks in the eyes of none- inhabitants. They wanted Obama because he was black and because his politic was more like the European politic. The conclusion to the essay is that David Seeders explains how prejudices between different countries can lead to huge misconceptions between nations and how different political systems affect the minds of people in terms of judging other countries political system. Seeders also concludes that racism is still a part of our normal life; it has changed from the known Nazi-racism to a new form of racism. Throughout the essay David Seeders is being rather objective because he criticizes both countries for having prejudices towards each other. He does this in a humorist way, so that no one feels offended.