FYI ~ a short cautionary tale
Wednesday, November 5, 2008 at 10:53AM It would kind of dumb not to mention the momentous and historic events of yesterdays' USofA presidential election.
I am quite pleased that we have a black man with the very strange (to most Americans) name of Barrack Hussein Obama as President-Elect of this country. Even if it is for no other reason other than he is a black man with a very strange name. This country needs to be slapped upside the head, given a wedgie, and a swift kick in the ass. In addition to the fine fix that we find ourselves in, this is just one more way to do any or all of those things.
That said, here's my tale - I'm child of the 60's. Actually I'm / was a coming-of-age teen/young adult of the 60's. During that tumultuous time, the times they were a changin' and their were many, including myself, who were filled with a sense of the power of hope and the promise of change. Incredibly large gatherings of people, mostly young and white but with a very healthy mix of all ages and ethnicity, marched in the streets and came together in demonstrations for all manner of causes and change.
There were charismatic leaders who fueled the ideas of hope and change - King and Kennedy (Bobby) were 2 whom I admired. And we, the people, drove a sitting president from office.
In a very real sense, nearly half a century later, we find ourselves in a similar place. Of course, on the plus side you have to grateful for the fact that the present charismatic leader has actually achieved his goal of the presidency as opposed to having his head blown apart. And, the fact that all of those gathering in Chicago didn't have their heads bashed in by the authorities. (did anyone catch the irony of a Mayor Daley actually inviting a throng to gather in downtown Chicago?)
But, putting that aside, as I was watching last night's historic events unfold - the election outcome, the incredible number of people gathering to show their support and fuel the fires of the hope of change, the speech by Barrack Hussein Ombama - I couldn't help but have any sense of hope and change that I might have felt greatly tempered by the experiences of what I have witnessed since that 60s decade of hope and change.
Back then, just as now, the agents of hope and change (both the leaders and their followers) and, in fact, the very idea of change, are met with a vitriolic and hateful rhetoric from those who oppose it. Those who seek it are said not to be part of "the real America". They are said to destroyers of families and family values, to be in league with terrorists and those whose aim is to destroy America, to be thieves who will steal both your property and your wealth, and to be both villainous and beneath contempt.
Nevertheless, here we are. Where we will end up is anyone's guess.
gravitas et nugalis
Featured Comment: Mary Dennis wrote: "The irony of the current Mayor Daley issuing an open invitation to the democratic throngs to come into Grant Park is not at all lost on me. In August of 1968 I was nine years old sitting up in my bedroom window just outside Chicago watching numerous street fires burn up and down my street. I was scared shitless that my house was gonna burn and it darn near did. The emotion and immensity (dare I say gravitas?) of the event has been seared into my psyche. I am often floored by the circular nature of things and this is one of them."
Reader Comments (8)
Where we will end up is anyone's guess.
Exactly. Hopefully somewhere better. But Obama will need Congress and the Senate to cooperate, and us to. At least right now we have a relatively clean slate, and that to me means opportunity. It's really up to us what we do with it.
And thankfully we avoided more of the same.
I must congratulate all of you Americans. From a European perspective it looks like democracy is back after years in hiding. McCain took the loss gracefully and signed off with his best performance to date. Obama can't do it all by himself, but he seems like a very intelligent and rationally optimistic fellow. It will get worse before it gets better, but in the end, nothing will ever compare to the last eight years of American politics. It still seems like a bad dream...
Mark,
I am a bit worried instead. Trying to interpret your "cautionary" expression.
The thing that worries me is the high hope that seems to spread from the event given that he (Hussein) is, after all, a today's politician.
An other worry comes from the fact that he seems to impersonate in a somewhat to much perfect fashion the "King and Kennedy" role.
Then there is the nostradamus prediction about the "black pope".
I do not know. Since I am not an American (and for some personal trails I am really distant from your political culture) I really have some difficulties in understanding the real, and practical, mean of the thing. Hope that is not only a matter of humanitarism after dropping the same bombs.
However it is nice to see that this blog is getting more and more global (maybe that is the real nice event).
But till the end of the world, as predicted by nostradamus (4 years) let's happily continue to take and talk pictures :-D
And it is nice too that there is still place for hope among people. A thing we Italians have lost.
Hope springs eternal. Reality check: politicos are all owned by the System. Can you trust a lawyer?? Will he have Bush and Co arrested and tried for their war crimes? Will he close down Guantanamo and leave it to the Cubans? Will he end the embargo against Cuba? Will he put a stop to money and weapons for Israel? We can wait and see.... National health? Tax on the corporations? Capital gains taxes? Relief for the low and middle income classes? Exit from overseas misadventures? Wait and see.... I remain hopeful, but worry that my hopes will again prove unfounded.
My plan is to remain cautiously optimistic and vigilantly skeptical. While I strongly believe that the right choice was made on Nov. 4, there are so many insidious factors at play in this democracy that it is hard, ill-advised even, to let pure hope rule.
The irony of the current Mayor Daley issuing an open invitation to the democratic throngs to come into Grant Park is not at all lost on me. In August of 1968 I was nine years old sitting up in my bedroom window just outside Chicago watching numerous street fires burn up and down my street. I was scared shitless that my house was gonna burn and it darn near did. The emotion and immensity (dare I say gravitas?) of the event has been seared into my psyche. I am often floored by the circular nature of things and this is one of them.
Congrats on your new president. Hopefully he will be able to restore peace in the world and harmony in your country.
On the flip side, I see a country greatly divided and in certain quarters a rather grim and sinister outlook being predicted on Mr Obama's future. That, I cannot understand and is beyond comprehension.
This campaign also showed Ms. Palin to be ill prepared and incompetent as a vice-presidential candidate.
http://tinyurl.com/5722wj
I rather was surprised by Mr McCain speech on election night which showed him to be a very humane person. But it was too late.
To all americans: peace, prosperity and the return of the american dream.
I did not miss the irony Mark...mostly because I recently watched an amazing documentary of sorts called "Chicago 10"...real footage from that Chicago gathering were interspersed with actors reading the actual words of those involved with the trial as voices of their cartoon likenesses...like courtroom drawings come to life in a way. The treatment of Bobby Seale (gagged and bound at the order of the judge) was especially disturbing. Here's the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9uJL7lWdFg
HOPE!!!… but verify.