Grassroots creation and politics
On the wall of the Starry Plough in Berkeley is a quote about how when a cause has caught the imagination of the people, the people make songs that draw in more people and express feelings in ways that mere words cannot (this is very much a paraphrase. I would love to find the actual quote.)
It occurred to me, while watching this:
That this campaign season has seen exactly that kind of popular creation -- YouTube vids, web-cams, blogging, Lolcats and macros, icons and songs -- in a way that I cannot recall ever seeing before. I am sure that the internet has facilitated this, but I believe that it is people's own need to express themselves, inspired by hope, that has produced -- and continues to produce -- this outpouring.
I think that the fact that people are making things -- positive, funny, uplifting and even outrageous things -- and sharing them far and wide inspired by the possibility of Barack Obama is very very telling.
It occurred to me, while watching this:
Click to viewThat this campaign season has seen exactly that kind of popular creation -- YouTube vids, web-cams, blogging, Lolcats and macros, icons and songs -- in a way that I cannot recall ever seeing before. I am sure that the internet has facilitated this, but I believe that it is people's own need to express themselves, inspired by hope, that has produced -- and continues to produce -- this outpouring.
I think that the fact that people are making things -- positive, funny, uplifting and even outrageous things -- and sharing them far and wide inspired by the possibility of Barack Obama is very very telling.