A number of friends and family have commented to me about how I've yet to blog about Obama's victory. First, I'm flattered that people are still reading my blog. I'm doubly flattered that people care what I think about Obama winning.
That said, I'm happy to throw in my two cents.
I know enough about politics to know that just because someone gets elected president doesn't necessarily mean that everything will change. Moving a president's agenda forward requires either a very well orchestrated dance or a forceful jamming home of legislation, the latter having been perfected by the W. Bush administration.
Obama has intense plans for the future requiring extremely difficult legislation. He will have the advantage of a supportive Senate and House (though not quite fillibuster-proof), but he will have to fight some of the most powerful lobbies-the healthcare industry, the fossil fuel industry, and the military industrial complex- to achieve his goals. Further, he is taking the reins during the greatest financial crisis since the great depression. Given the right ideas and execution, he is poised to be a modern day FDR, putting people back to work repairing the infrastructure of our country, leading the world forward with advances in alternative energy, and providing healthcare to all those who are either too sick, poor, or middle class to afford it. By the same token, if he fails in execution and is mired in scandal or conflict, he could be the next Hoover.
What I feel about Obama's victory is not excitement nor relief....but hope. I realize that just because Obama has been elected doesn't automatically mean a happy ending. The agenda he has for the country is at least rigorous. As a nation, we have been eating donuts since the Carter presidency, or the last time that a president asked us to sacrifice. I have the feeling Obama will want to put us on a diet and make us all start running laps. That is, all this change won't come easy. We've got serious work to do. The Chinese and Japanese aren't going to give us the money to fund all of these wonderful programs. Weaning ourselves off fossil fuels will not be extremely uncomfortable. Removing funding from underperforming programs will not be pretty either. In short, to accomplish his goals for the nation, Obama will likely make changes that affect each and every one of us.
At first, despite whether or not a change is in the grand scheme of things a good thing, almost everyone has difficulty adapting. U.S. citizens are not accustomed to sacrificing. It's been a while. Can we do it? Of course. Has it been a while, maybe since Korea or WWII? I'm too young to be able to say it authoritatively, but history suggests it.
My concern is that people will at first reject the changes that Obama makes, that the daily discomfort and change in peoples' lives and routines will be too much. I think people in the U.S. have become accustomed to having it very easy, not having to deal with change or disruptions, always more or less landing on their feet, despite temporary setbacks.
The fact is, though, that for significant change to take place, people will have to put up with momentary and in some cases extended periods of discomfort as we push towards a new stasis, a new form of being. Obama will have to prepare the nation for this discomfort. He will have to ask the country to sacrifice, to be patriotic not just about going to war, but about achieving important domestic goals as well. If we honestly want to make progress with domestic programs, we have to transform from a country of patriotic warriors to a country with nationalistic fervor for assuring that our tax dollars do the greatest possible good for the greatest number and the country as a whole as well. We must be able to believe in and trust our government. We must be better watch dogs. We must all take more personal responsibility for our government. We must be our government.
I personally am sick of seeing the greatest number of my tax dollars go to wars and the military (though I certainly value their role). I'm disgusted by the fact that we're the richest nation on the planet and we don't yet have healthcare for all our citizens. I can't understand how we've allowed college to become so expensive. I'm annoyed at how we've ignored our potential to continue to power our economy forward while at the same time increasing our national security and decreasing our dependence on Middle Eastern oil by investing in alternative energy technology. I want us to change from a country of people who are only patriotic about war, to a country of people who are patriotic about improving life at home.
I think Obama shares this vision. More importantly, I think he possesses the strength, energy, passion, chutzbah, and rhetorical skills to carry us from this mess to a better place. I think he is smart enough to know that he must prepare people for the sacrifices that they will have to make, for the unsettling changes that are sure to come. I hope that he is able to convince people that the effort will be worth the final reward.
But most of all, I hope the people of the U.S. still know how to sacrifice. I hope we truly are the greatest country on Earth. I hope that we have the willpower and strength to adapt, to hold onto our place in the world while we evolve into something better.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Election 2008
In 2004 and 2006, I was a responsible citizen. I volunteered full time for political candidates (in addition to my full time school psychology internship in 2004 and school psychology job in 2006).
In 2008, not so much. This year, I spent the months leading up to the election in a self-centered/reflective state in South America. On election day, I woke up late, ate a large breakfast over the course of 2 or so hours, and then swam the breast stroke for 2 full hours in one of the two beautifully maintained resort pools at my brother's Florida condo complex. When I finished with my leisurely swim, I walked over to the hot tub and spent the next half hour watching the clouds move slowly by while contemplating how much my life had changed in the past 4 years.
I had the best intentions. My plan was to fly back to the states, meet my brother's new baby Nick, and then try to volunteer for Obama as much as I could before the election and on election day. To my credit, I tried to contact the Obama campaign previous to flying to Florida and did not receive any sort of response. However, I know from working on campaigns that if you really want to help, you have to physically go to the office and jump in. No one is going to waste the time to roll out a red carpet. So the onus was on me. I got lazy and let election day come and pass without doing anything save wearing my Obama/Biden shirt during my bus and train trip from Miami to Deland, Florida.
So while I let the jets of the hot tub massage my shoulder blades, I considered the vastly different place I had come to in my life. Not too long ago I had been an obsessive and tireless volunteer for progressive political candidates and election day was therefore like Christmas only filled with work until the polls closed. 2 years later, I had burned out maybe? I considered it...How could I have changed so much in only two years?
As I look back on it, I had always planned to stick around in Ohio for at most one more election. I suppose what happened is that I decided to cut my plans short. As I've said, I never really liked politics. I only got into it because I felt an obligation. For a long time, there were far too few people speaking out against Bush, opposing him in general, or working to elect progressive leaders. At the time, I felt a personal call to action.
When I travelled to Argentina the first time, something changed. I stepped back from the U.S. political scene and felt for the first time like a citizen of the world instead of just the U.S. And so, all of a sudden, the squabbles between the Democrats and Republicans seemed ridiculous as viewed from afar. The content was not ridiculous. Far from it. But the way in which the conflict was carried out, with talking points, soundbites, and a lack of critical thought on both sides....was moronic. This is not to say that I quit my involvement in politics because I felt smarter than politics or better than politics. I think I instead suddenly realized the futility of my passion. And I became more interested in the bigger picture. I started to think more about Argentina and South America than I did the states. I began to pay more attention to Argentine newspapers than I did to papers in the states. I spent most of my spare time chatting with my online conversation partners in Argentina. Last year, in my head, I was already in Argentina, though my body was unhappily in the states.
When I moved down here, after a few months, my heart and mind moved in the opposite direction. I began following the election and most of the news in the states very closely, realizing through the financial crisis the importance of the states: we're the dog that wags the tail. I lost interest in the politics of Argentina. And I felt a renewed passion for politics in the states. But a quiet passion this time. Maybe a more grounded passion.
I felt ok with the idea that I would not be in the states to help with the election. Sure, I was shirking my civic duty. However, I packed many years worth of civic duty into 2004 and 2006. This was my election year off. Further, it was clear that Obama had almost all of the fervent support he needed. So many young people had stepped up to help him. My sense was that if he could win, he would have the money and volunteers to do so. My fear was that he couldn't win because he is half African-American. Or, the election would be rigged so it wouldn't matter.
So I think this time around, I didn't feel the pull or call to volunteer. And I'm in a selfish but necessary place in my life in which I'm powering up for my next stage, my next move. I'm physically and spiritually renewing myself to be involved in some type of new cause or project, whether it be a new job, family, house, business or all of the above.
In the end, the aforementioned is more than anything a big excuse for why I did next to nothing to help Obama become president. I needed to explain it to myself, to see it in words, and to know how I could be in such a different place in my life this time around. Nevertheless, to all those who did pour their hearts out and literally damage their health (Thanks Ed!) to get Obama elected, I thank you heartily. I'm thrilled about the idea of returning to a country led by such a thoughtful, inspirational, and intelligent guy. A truly sincere thank you!! More to come on my thoughts on an Obama presidency in the next post.
In 2008, not so much. This year, I spent the months leading up to the election in a self-centered/reflective state in South America. On election day, I woke up late, ate a large breakfast over the course of 2 or so hours, and then swam the breast stroke for 2 full hours in one of the two beautifully maintained resort pools at my brother's Florida condo complex. When I finished with my leisurely swim, I walked over to the hot tub and spent the next half hour watching the clouds move slowly by while contemplating how much my life had changed in the past 4 years.
I had the best intentions. My plan was to fly back to the states, meet my brother's new baby Nick, and then try to volunteer for Obama as much as I could before the election and on election day. To my credit, I tried to contact the Obama campaign previous to flying to Florida and did not receive any sort of response. However, I know from working on campaigns that if you really want to help, you have to physically go to the office and jump in. No one is going to waste the time to roll out a red carpet. So the onus was on me. I got lazy and let election day come and pass without doing anything save wearing my Obama/Biden shirt during my bus and train trip from Miami to Deland, Florida.
So while I let the jets of the hot tub massage my shoulder blades, I considered the vastly different place I had come to in my life. Not too long ago I had been an obsessive and tireless volunteer for progressive political candidates and election day was therefore like Christmas only filled with work until the polls closed. 2 years later, I had burned out maybe? I considered it...How could I have changed so much in only two years?
As I look back on it, I had always planned to stick around in Ohio for at most one more election. I suppose what happened is that I decided to cut my plans short. As I've said, I never really liked politics. I only got into it because I felt an obligation. For a long time, there were far too few people speaking out against Bush, opposing him in general, or working to elect progressive leaders. At the time, I felt a personal call to action.
When I travelled to Argentina the first time, something changed. I stepped back from the U.S. political scene and felt for the first time like a citizen of the world instead of just the U.S. And so, all of a sudden, the squabbles between the Democrats and Republicans seemed ridiculous as viewed from afar. The content was not ridiculous. Far from it. But the way in which the conflict was carried out, with talking points, soundbites, and a lack of critical thought on both sides....was moronic. This is not to say that I quit my involvement in politics because I felt smarter than politics or better than politics. I think I instead suddenly realized the futility of my passion. And I became more interested in the bigger picture. I started to think more about Argentina and South America than I did the states. I began to pay more attention to Argentine newspapers than I did to papers in the states. I spent most of my spare time chatting with my online conversation partners in Argentina. Last year, in my head, I was already in Argentina, though my body was unhappily in the states.
When I moved down here, after a few months, my heart and mind moved in the opposite direction. I began following the election and most of the news in the states very closely, realizing through the financial crisis the importance of the states: we're the dog that wags the tail. I lost interest in the politics of Argentina. And I felt a renewed passion for politics in the states. But a quiet passion this time. Maybe a more grounded passion.
I felt ok with the idea that I would not be in the states to help with the election. Sure, I was shirking my civic duty. However, I packed many years worth of civic duty into 2004 and 2006. This was my election year off. Further, it was clear that Obama had almost all of the fervent support he needed. So many young people had stepped up to help him. My sense was that if he could win, he would have the money and volunteers to do so. My fear was that he couldn't win because he is half African-American. Or, the election would be rigged so it wouldn't matter.
So I think this time around, I didn't feel the pull or call to volunteer. And I'm in a selfish but necessary place in my life in which I'm powering up for my next stage, my next move. I'm physically and spiritually renewing myself to be involved in some type of new cause or project, whether it be a new job, family, house, business or all of the above.
In the end, the aforementioned is more than anything a big excuse for why I did next to nothing to help Obama become president. I needed to explain it to myself, to see it in words, and to know how I could be in such a different place in my life this time around. Nevertheless, to all those who did pour their hearts out and literally damage their health (Thanks Ed!) to get Obama elected, I thank you heartily. I'm thrilled about the idea of returning to a country led by such a thoughtful, inspirational, and intelligent guy. A truly sincere thank you!! More to come on my thoughts on an Obama presidency in the next post.
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