Minkgirl Muses

OH OBAMA!

I've never been a particularly well-informed citizen. While I adored my Government class in 10th grade, it's kind of all been down-hill since then. I think my political cynicism set in at about 18, long before it was fashionable in my set - I just don't believe anything that ever comes out of a politician's mouth - maybe it's my director's ears and eyes, but I can hear the subtext of lies and the misrepresentations underneath everything they say, and I can see the light of greedy self-interest flashing behind their eyes. I think people become politicians for much the same reason people become actors - because they like to hear themselves talk and they enjoy having people look at them. It's a rare rare day when you meet someone who does one of these things because they actually believe it can transform the world.

So, I was prepared to believe what I read in the papers about Barak Obama - that he's a nice guy, charismatic, but too inexperienced to survive in Washington, too optimistic to actually get anything practical done. But I ain't singin' that sad media-driven tune any longer. I have seen Obama's marketing material, and I am hooked. He is speaking the message my soul longs to hear - that we are one country, that we are not divided, that our world is not fixed and fatally rocketing toward the doom time, that we can change ourselves, our national identity and our impact on the rest of the world for the better. And here's the thing...he's already won. Whether or not he becomes the next president of the United States, in a short time, he has already transformed our national dialogue. I know there are people who will say that it will all be forgotten in a few short months, but I don't think so. I think the fact that he is gathering so much support so quickly shows that people everyone are hungry to be having this conversation about change. We are starving in fact, for something positive to feed our innate desire to be good and do good in the world. The hope I feel is enough to make me get off my ass and actually do something, like help register people to vote, or walk down the street and talk to my neighbors about the things we care about.

My friend Yosha (can't really come up with a pseudonym for someone with such a cool name) emailed this morning about his support for Obama, and his willingness to temporarily suspend his mistrust of the whole political marketing machine. He invited me to check out this new Obama music-video on YouTube. It's pretty cool. I invite you to view it too. And he shared some of his thoughts about why we need Obama as our next president that I am completely in agreement with:

"Okay, I'm just going to say it: it is way past time, way past time we had a president who isn't white. There are a whole lot of ethnicities in this place, and I'm just sayin'. Sayin' that if we claim to do more than pay lip service to this whole created-equal thing, it's mighty odd there hasn't been the slightest shift in presidential skin tone. That was cute of Toni Morrison and all, but sorry, Bill Clinton was not and never will be black.

Mike Tyson is black, though, and I wouldn't vote for him -- probably because he'd kill me and eat me before I could cast my vote. Ethnicity is a concern, but it is certainly not the only one; rationality also plays a big role. That and scruples. Obama has them. Iowa and South Carolina think he's electable, and I do too. Listen to what he says. It's okay if you're skeptical about rah-rah patriotic American bullshit. You should be, if you're any kind of American worth having. Still, I'm going to vote, and I'll vote for Obama."

Me too. And may God send him an army of angels to clear the path and whisper sense into everyone's ears.

Be well.

Image sourced from www.6seconds.org

Labels: Community Muses