The Fifth of November, 2008.
I feel some odd obligation, pressure, or simple thoughtfulness that, with the flood of LJ posts from friends around the world last night and today, I should add myself to the rush. 90 percent of my friends list is made of posts celebrating the election of Obama and remembering Guy Fawkes. It is strange to look down the page between alternating "it's a new world" and "gunpowder, treason and plot." And yet, on this day, I think it is sadly poetically elegant and possibly all too predictive. Sometimes fate does give us a message. Maybe I am a pessimist.
Despite most everyone's joy, as I surround myself with liberals, socialists, and usually fall into the same categories myself, I cannot find joy in this election. I have heard "We are watching history being made" from more people than I care to count. Yes, it is true. History is a good term for this. Not victory or defeat, not success or failure, but history. Whatever decisions this man makes, whatever decisions congress produces, whether the USA thrives or crashes, it will be historic. Much of that history will not be because of the decisions of this man whom everyone celebrates. Most of it is already in the making. Yes, perhaps he will help us wake up and shake the United States into the modern world.
But this is also a day of gunpowder, treason and plot. The US has shown itself, time and again, not mature enough to receive a man like Obama with an open mind and full support. I hope he survives his term. I hope he survives the week, the month, the year. I hope he survives to fail or succeed as he will. I hope we all survive to see it as well. I have heard too many murmurings already about the chance he might not. Have we really grown that much in just a few decades?
The passing of proposition 8 tells me we have not. But that is a rant for another time. Still, today is a day of gunpowder, treason and plot. I cannot help but think this was a too appropriate day for history, once more, to be made. Pick what rote you will: history repeats itself, all this has happened before and it will all happen again. I just think too many people are counting their chickens before they have hatched.
The US is already in a recession. I left at this point in time almost directly because of that fact. Banks are insolvent. People owe far, far more on their houses than the houses are themselves worth. People would rather hate than love in one of our most open-minded states. Small businesses are going bankrupt by the thousands. Obama's election changes none of that. In fact, for business, he will probably hurt far more than he will help. Democrats do that. They are not about business, they are about the people. Big business? They can survive a democrat. Small businesses? Not so much.
So, once more, as ambivalent as I felt about the election before it happened, I feel the same coming out of the matter. I hope everyone's celebrating is worth it. I hope the US proves me wrong and we are strong, mature and learned enough to support this man that 51% of us voted into office. I hope we've managed to avoid the recession in the road. But hope matters nothing. We'll only know once the history books are written.
RIP Guy Fawkes and your ideals. RIP Michael Creighton and your dreams. Long live history.
Despite most everyone's joy, as I surround myself with liberals, socialists, and usually fall into the same categories myself, I cannot find joy in this election. I have heard "We are watching history being made" from more people than I care to count. Yes, it is true. History is a good term for this. Not victory or defeat, not success or failure, but history. Whatever decisions this man makes, whatever decisions congress produces, whether the USA thrives or crashes, it will be historic. Much of that history will not be because of the decisions of this man whom everyone celebrates. Most of it is already in the making. Yes, perhaps he will help us wake up and shake the United States into the modern world.
But this is also a day of gunpowder, treason and plot. The US has shown itself, time and again, not mature enough to receive a man like Obama with an open mind and full support. I hope he survives his term. I hope he survives the week, the month, the year. I hope he survives to fail or succeed as he will. I hope we all survive to see it as well. I have heard too many murmurings already about the chance he might not. Have we really grown that much in just a few decades?
The passing of proposition 8 tells me we have not. But that is a rant for another time. Still, today is a day of gunpowder, treason and plot. I cannot help but think this was a too appropriate day for history, once more, to be made. Pick what rote you will: history repeats itself, all this has happened before and it will all happen again. I just think too many people are counting their chickens before they have hatched.
The US is already in a recession. I left at this point in time almost directly because of that fact. Banks are insolvent. People owe far, far more on their houses than the houses are themselves worth. People would rather hate than love in one of our most open-minded states. Small businesses are going bankrupt by the thousands. Obama's election changes none of that. In fact, for business, he will probably hurt far more than he will help. Democrats do that. They are not about business, they are about the people. Big business? They can survive a democrat. Small businesses? Not so much.
So, once more, as ambivalent as I felt about the election before it happened, I feel the same coming out of the matter. I hope everyone's celebrating is worth it. I hope the US proves me wrong and we are strong, mature and learned enough to support this man that 51% of us voted into office. I hope we've managed to avoid the recession in the road. But hope matters nothing. We'll only know once the history books are written.
RIP Guy Fawkes and your ideals. RIP Michael Creighton and your dreams. Long live history.