To those who voted red or blue for red and blue's sake
I'm not one of those people who thinks Barrack Obama is the messiah, nor is the fact that he's black especially relevant to me in particular. It's more of a big added bonus than it is anything else.
That being said, while I think it's healthy and probably for the best that we take Obama's future presidency and all the promises of his campaign with a grain of salt, I don't ascribe or agree with the notion of "you could've elected either one of them; nothing will change." I don't have the experience of 30, 40, 50+ years of political interest, so I don't think I have the experience to make the assertion that all politicians are the same or all presidential candidates are the same. A healthy dose of skepticism is a good thing to have going into these next four years, but I think that if older people of all creeds, complexions, and political affiliations that I know say that this politician is different from the others or that this election year is different from the others, I think their perspective at least has a enough weight to consider. I really haven't had the experience of more than a these twenty-two something years to base my judgment of politicians on -- but at least in this election season the campaigns suggested different things about the parties -- that voters responded to.
The race-baiting, outright lies, and mistruths of the McCain campaign honestly frightened me because it seemed like more of the same, single-minded nationalism-called-patriotism that have marked the past 8 years. I haven't forgotten Abu Ghraib(sp), Guantanimo Bay, or the Patriot Act, the torturing, the war in Iraq or the people I know who went there on false pretenses -- the Bush Administration isn't necessarily representative of the Republican party, but the party is without a doubt largely responsible for the policies of these long eight years.
"Are you with us, or are you against us?"
That kind of mentality that causes people to turn off their brains and see things in black and white in a gray world. The kind of talk that suggests that being a Muslim means you support terrorism -- and lost my friend's parents their jobs. In all his fear-mongering, and rumor pandering, John McCain who could have before the race been considered a very respectable man really stooped low to win this election -- fortunately, it fell apart at the seams at enough places and frequently enough that all the people who'd forgotten all the inequities and injustices of the past eight years ran out of things they could actively forget because they weren't immediately relevant to them. Obama's win wouldn't have come if it weren't for the threat of the collapse of the economy, in my view.
I just find it hard to believe that for many people it came down to something as simple as "democrat," or "republican," in light of these eight years. What's the difference between John McCain and Barrack Obama if putting either of them in office will have the exact same result? If there weren't marked differences between the two, why vote for either? I don't quite understand how people our age who've been "following" politics for 8 to 10 years with on-and-off interest can state, so absolutely, "All politicans are the same, Obama and McCain just support slightly different initiatives. Doesn't make a difference who's elected."
I'm not saying I expect some magical unicorn of change to sprinkle his fairy dust of "prosperity" and "reform" down on this land of ours. I just wonder what it is that makes Obama and his tax cut plan sound so unlike The New Deal. I'm sure there were plenty of people back then who thought the whole idea was ridiculous and a waste of time -- but look at how things turned out. I want to know just what it takes to make presidents that were more than just presidents -- like John F. Kennedy, for example, or Franklin Delano Roosevelt, or Honest Abe -- what exactly does it take for people to have seen them as more than just politicians? I'm not saying Obama will be a revolutionary new president -- I honestly don't know -- but to all of you with low expectations; are all those historical figures just names, and were they all "just politicians" in the end? What's it take? I mean, shit, can you be impressed?
Is every politician the same? Is every lawyer the same? Is every plumber (lol) the same? I don't think they are.
Because all of the older people -- teachers, family friends, mentors, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and so many others (people black and white), who I've spoken to throughout this election season -- who've lived through a hell of a lot more than I have, seem to see something presidential in Barrack Obama that they say they don't see often, but reminds them very strongly of those big names in our history books, some of whom they'd met, enlisted for and marched to. I don't know, I can't really go on much but old videos, books, and documentaries to find out what these people before my time were like.
But damn if I don't think it's a little sad if I can't be the slightest bit optimistic because this particular politician was elected to office. I hope I can look back on this time and say that voting for this man meant something... but I'm not old enough to know whether voting for Obama will or will not make a difference -- and I don't think any of us are.
I like to think he will.
That being said, while I think it's healthy and probably for the best that we take Obama's future presidency and all the promises of his campaign with a grain of salt, I don't ascribe or agree with the notion of "you could've elected either one of them; nothing will change." I don't have the experience of 30, 40, 50+ years of political interest, so I don't think I have the experience to make the assertion that all politicians are the same or all presidential candidates are the same. A healthy dose of skepticism is a good thing to have going into these next four years, but I think that if older people of all creeds, complexions, and political affiliations that I know say that this politician is different from the others or that this election year is different from the others, I think their perspective at least has a enough weight to consider. I really haven't had the experience of more than a these twenty-two something years to base my judgment of politicians on -- but at least in this election season the campaigns suggested different things about the parties -- that voters responded to.
The race-baiting, outright lies, and mistruths of the McCain campaign honestly frightened me because it seemed like more of the same, single-minded nationalism-called-patriotism that have marked the past 8 years. I haven't forgotten Abu Ghraib(sp), Guantanimo Bay, or the Patriot Act, the torturing, the war in Iraq or the people I know who went there on false pretenses -- the Bush Administration isn't necessarily representative of the Republican party, but the party is without a doubt largely responsible for the policies of these long eight years.
"Are you with us, or are you against us?"
That kind of mentality that causes people to turn off their brains and see things in black and white in a gray world. The kind of talk that suggests that being a Muslim means you support terrorism -- and lost my friend's parents their jobs. In all his fear-mongering, and rumor pandering, John McCain who could have before the race been considered a very respectable man really stooped low to win this election -- fortunately, it fell apart at the seams at enough places and frequently enough that all the people who'd forgotten all the inequities and injustices of the past eight years ran out of things they could actively forget because they weren't immediately relevant to them. Obama's win wouldn't have come if it weren't for the threat of the collapse of the economy, in my view.
I just find it hard to believe that for many people it came down to something as simple as "democrat," or "republican," in light of these eight years. What's the difference between John McCain and Barrack Obama if putting either of them in office will have the exact same result? If there weren't marked differences between the two, why vote for either? I don't quite understand how people our age who've been "following" politics for 8 to 10 years with on-and-off interest can state, so absolutely, "All politicans are the same, Obama and McCain just support slightly different initiatives. Doesn't make a difference who's elected."
I'm not saying I expect some magical unicorn of change to sprinkle his fairy dust of "prosperity" and "reform" down on this land of ours. I just wonder what it is that makes Obama and his tax cut plan sound so unlike The New Deal. I'm sure there were plenty of people back then who thought the whole idea was ridiculous and a waste of time -- but look at how things turned out. I want to know just what it takes to make presidents that were more than just presidents -- like John F. Kennedy, for example, or Franklin Delano Roosevelt, or Honest Abe -- what exactly does it take for people to have seen them as more than just politicians? I'm not saying Obama will be a revolutionary new president -- I honestly don't know -- but to all of you with low expectations; are all those historical figures just names, and were they all "just politicians" in the end? What's it take? I mean, shit, can you be impressed?
Is every politician the same? Is every lawyer the same? Is every plumber (lol) the same? I don't think they are.
Because all of the older people -- teachers, family friends, mentors, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and so many others (people black and white), who I've spoken to throughout this election season -- who've lived through a hell of a lot more than I have, seem to see something presidential in Barrack Obama that they say they don't see often, but reminds them very strongly of those big names in our history books, some of whom they'd met, enlisted for and marched to. I don't know, I can't really go on much but old videos, books, and documentaries to find out what these people before my time were like.
But damn if I don't think it's a little sad if I can't be the slightest bit optimistic because this particular politician was elected to office. I hope I can look back on this time and say that voting for this man meant something... but I'm not old enough to know whether voting for Obama will or will not make a difference -- and I don't think any of us are.
I like to think he will.