But all this doesn't mean I'm in love with Barack Obama.
I've been having a somewhat public online argument with my brother Mike, a McCain supporter. One of his main arguments against Obama is that it's just a "cult of personality". I heard some Hillary supporters making the same argument during the primary. It may be true for some. But not for me.
I think Obama may be one of the smartest presidents that we've ever put in the Whitehouse. And what is also amazing about Obama the person, is that he was able to really cut through the bullshit of the mainstream media and get his message to the people directly. He did this in many ways. The internet, the debates, his speeches and indeed his personal charm and charisma. I've always said that the presidency has been a charm contest since the 1960's and TV became a big part of it. But now that there are other ways to get information other than just television, charm and personality are no longer the only criteria. Now there's something called issues.
Here are the reasons I think it's great that Obama's in the Whitehouse now:
1. I believe in a woman's right to choose.
2. I think the Iraq war was a horrible mistake.
3. I want healthcare to be fixed in this country.
5. I know global warming has to be stopped and we need a green economy.
6. Gay people deserve equal rights.
7. The banking and investment industries need to be better regulated.
8. And I think George Bush along with most of the republican party have just about ruined this country.
Theses are the main reasons I supported Obama as hard as I did. And I'm glad the democrats finally had enough sense to put a smart, charming, magnetic, hard working, well focused person up for the job.
But the hard work starts now. We need to let him know that he's got to follow through and not succumb to the pressures we all know are now bearing down on him. Some people on the "real" left are already disappointed by some of the people he's setting up in his cabinet. If you or I feel the same way, we should let them know. (He's set up a pretty cool site where you can send your thoughts to his administration. change.gov ) And if that doesn't work, we'll all let him know at the polls 4 years from now.
But don't get me wrong. I'm still quite optimistic. I think Barack has the potential to be one of the best presidents ever. My hopes are quite high in fact. But I'm trying not to get to high about it. It's another one of the things that Obama the person HAS inspired in me. His even keel. I read somewhere that he doesn't get too high or too low. It's something that's already inspired me in my work, my personal life but more importantly, in the expectations of my political leaders.
I'm in love with the fact that all the fighting of the last decade hasn't been in vain. Everything from making calls each two years, local organizing, blogging etc., As well as mainstream and popular culture starting to finally inform people in a substantive and sometimes entertaining way. I'm not ashamed to say I'm a fan of Moveon.org, Michael Moore, and Air America radio as well as the more entertaining and slightly cynical world of Stewart, Colbert, and Bill Maher. ALL of this along with the internet has helped inform people. Much more than any news channel.
I also put everything from Bill O'Reilly to Democracy Now on my podcast list, because it's important to hear every side. I find it easier to sift out the truth when even the most different voices get to weigh in. My brother get's most of his information from one website. (newsbusters.org). This is the way everyone USE to get their information. From one source. The evening news. We don't any more. And we shouldn't.
So I'm NOT in love with Barack Obama. I'm in love with what he represents. An informed electorate. Us. Finally.
4 comments:
spot on!
Nice one, Barn.
I think I actually AM in love with Barack. To label the Obama phenomenon a "cult of personality" is, to my mind, beyond sour grapes, and it denigrates and attempts to diminish what he has accomplished, which you enumerate really well. As the euphoria is gradually tamped down (but surprisingly, not extinguished) I think folks are wary of disappointment, and they feel compelled to let some air out of the balloon. Perhaps they don't want to see their Democrat brethren's hopes dashed. Plus, there's this notion that good decisions cannot be made in a cloud of euphoria and international good will. Which bespeaks the creeping cynicism that initially beefed up but in recent years has eroded the Republicans and that the measured, positive tones of the Obama campaign helped to highlight.
Of course he did not do it alone. That's the point. He said it in his acceptance speech: We did it. The internet, bloggers, Facebook - they all played crucial roles. And yes, the fascinating thing is that those very same communication innovations also are colossal time wasters and spreaders of as much bad stuff as good (see www.obamaisamuslim.com). But that's yet another reason to have hope for humans. I started thinking this when the surprising and seemingly unlikely news came out that social networks had surpassed porn sites in popularity. Who would have predicted that? Someone like Obama.
We all know a president has not had so much on his plate since FDR. And no one with any sense thinks this will be an easy haul. But it's worth noting the electorate and the international community has not been this involved and this supportive in a long, long time - if ever. To assume that so many have jumped on board because of charisma or a "cult of personality" shows a lack of faith in aspects of human nature that simply have not been catered to.
Obama's style is a type of secular faith. He expresses faith a lot, combined with what Colin Powell calls a "vigorous intellect." But the word FAITH makes people squirrelly because of its religious connotations. But it's a real word and a real concept that is not dependent on adhering to, as Bill maher would say, "religulous" claims.
Through secular faith and a vigorous intellect Obama has inspired the world and exposed the Republican party for what it has become - no longer a "party of ideas," but a win-no-matter-what party, an appeal to the base/basest instincts of the party and of human nature (file under: Palin), squandering wealth on saber-rattling, isolationism and greed. The world is shrinking; the Chinese, the Afghans, the Russinas, the Iranians are all in our backyards. With so much at stake (life on Earth as we know it) on a heretofore unseen global scope, what is needed is someone with Obama's unshakable faith in people's better selves, in their innate desire to connect and to help out their neighbors, regardless of what prejudices they have been taught. Part of his genius is his ability to avoid freaking out the atheists and agnostics when using powerful, motivating language of faith, language that awakens people's altruism and ability to believe in something better, in "a more perfect union."
Other stuff: Here's a guy who was born into the middle class, the class that has seen its standard of living decline while oil companies register historic profits. Obama understands the nightmare that is health care partly because his single mom had to deal with insurance companies on her death bed; here's a guy who went to Harvard on a student loan and who later taught Constitutional law at Harvard; here's a guy who did not rise to the bait when the opposition blatantly tried to appeal to the fear, ignorance and prejudice that is growing like a cancer in our country.
So not only does Obama understand the problems of health care and the importance of federal involvement in education on an empirical street level, he has found a way, through word and deed, to tap into a long-dormant need that the world community has to connect, to reject more base instincts, even in the face of intense opposition.
I will pump more hot air into the balloon when I say he is destined to be one of our great presidents, alongside FDR, Kennedy, Lincoln and even Washington. All of those men were flawed in their way, but they seized the moment, inspired the world, and shaped our country. Even in their corporeal absence, they continue to do so. Were they "cults of personality"? No. Just rare men that we had the good fortune to call our own when we needed them most.
"My brother get's most of his information from one website. (newsbusters.org)."
Thanks for the plug, Barney!! :)
"This is the way everyone USED to get their information. From one source. *The evening news.* We don't any more. And we shouldn't."
We've found common ground... a place we can agree... FINALLY!
- mike
Great post. I was one of the far leftist who was won over by Obama. For me, his stance on the issues, his cool, calm manner, his high intelligence and his willingness to meet in the middle, were the reasons I went out and worked for him and voted him. It had nothing to do with his "superstardom." And there are many areas I feel he really needs to be much more vocal about.
But the most important thing for me about Obama has not much to do with Obama. It has to do with hope. This campaign inspired hope not because of Obama's charmisma but because people were willing to work together to get change. In the South, I've found this campagin reach across racial, age, and class divides in a way I have never seen before.
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