seraphcelene (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
seraphcelene) wrote2009-01-19 10:34 am
seraphcelene) wrote2009-01-19 10:34 am
Entry tags:
On Hope, Reality, and the Changing of the Guard
Tomorrow is January 20th.
Tomorrow is the day after January 19th, which happens to be (every year in fact) Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Tomorrow is the inauguration of the new President of the United States of America. It also happens to be the inauguration of the U.S.'s first black president. There's tremendous symbolism in all of that. People are excited and hopeful. I am excited and hopeful. Mostly. With so much of the countries hope pinned to Obama's slim breast pocket, there is inevitably going to be a huge crush of disappointment as things don't get done exactly as people had hoped, or as quickly.
I never thought that in my lifetime (I will be 32 on Sunday), a black anybody would even be nominated to run for a party, let alone run a very tight race and come out the winner in the end. For all that we are celebrating a more inclusive era, there's still a lot of racism out there and racism isn't something that just goes away. People are inherently given to variations of tribalism. There is and always will be an automatic division that determines an "us" and a "them". Whether us and them are divided by color, race, sexual orientation, political philosophy, religion or nationality, it will always be there. We can't get around it. Most of the time I don't think that we really want to get around it. Groups and classes and divisions are comforting for people. There is fear in the unknown and the unfamiliar. We like to be comfortable and let's not forget that comfort is what got us into the mess that we're in.
I say this because as much as we are all hopeful about the changes that the incoming administration represent, we also must be mindful of the fact that our country has a two (some might say three if we include the lobby groups) party system and it's structured around a three-pronged government of checks and balances. Nothing gets done in Washington easily or especially quickly. Changes as sweeping as the American public seem to be expecting aren't going to happen overnight, in the first 100 days or, probably, even in the first year. There are many cooks in the political kitchen, many fingers in the pie, many Us's and Them's and that does not suggest smooth sailing of any kind.
But let's say that everyone gets along pretty well. Despite Obama's "post-partisan" style and a democratic majority in Congress, there is still the matter of the countries very real, very deep and perilous problems. A crumbling financial system, a war, a failing educational system, an aging population, and a broken healthcare system (among other things). There are some dark days ahead and many tough decisions to be made. Tough decisions are, inevitably, unpopular ones. Like I said, no one wants to be uncomfortable, I foresee many unhappy people in the coming term as things are done to fix or mitigate the effects of the problems that we have short-sightedly created. The fallout of the previous administration, although weighing heavily on the legacy of the previous president, are inextricably tied to the incoming administration. Despite the running of the country being a group effort, there is always one man largely held responsible for the perceived success or failure of the country at large. I am just as guilty as everyone else of pinning the blame on Dubya.
Listening to the final press conference President Bush gave last week, I was confronted by a man who was frustrated by the machinations and partisanship rife within the political system. While I do not think much better of Bush's policies or the direction in which he led the country, I am also forced to consider that, really, its not all his fault, although he makes an excellent mark. There's an entire government that helped to get us where we are, not to mention our own reactionary short-sightedness. We are just as much to blame as anyone on Capitol Hill because when there's good times ahead we see nothing but the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and damn the next storm when it comes, and it *will* come.
On the eve of this momentous and historical inauguration -- definitely a time for reflection, celebration and hopefulness -- I think we might need to take a moment for a reality check and remember that Barack Obama is one man confronting decades of tradition and policy. Decades of decisions, bad and good, that have led us here to this particular juncture. This may well be the crossroads, only time will tell. Hopefully, we will come out of this crisis the better for it, more responsible, more present, and more aware. Hopefully, we will come out of this more tolerant and more inclusive. Maybe. Hopefully.
I'm a cynic, I don't really buy that. We will grumble, the polls will dip. Us and Them will point fingers and lay blame: "It's *your* problem. *I* didn't vote for him." "Those liberals." "Those conservatives." While we struggle to find the light at the end of the tunnel, to survive that darkest part of the night, we'll fight Obama and his shiny new administration every step of the way. Until there's once again "good times ahead" and "smooth-sailing", we'll lament that we voted for an unknown quantity. We'll question that we dared to challenge the status quo. We'll look for scapegoats and throw people under the bus. So long as its not Us. So long as its one of Them.
I hope that we are better than that. I hope, but don't really believe. But this is only my opinion. I've been wrong about these things before. After all despite my vote, I NEVER thought Obama would actually win. Maybe, hopefully, the American public will surprise the hell out of me.
In the end, I suppose, only time will tell.
Tomorrow is the day after January 19th, which happens to be (every year in fact) Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Tomorrow is the inauguration of the new President of the United States of America. It also happens to be the inauguration of the U.S.'s first black president. There's tremendous symbolism in all of that. People are excited and hopeful. I am excited and hopeful. Mostly. With so much of the countries hope pinned to Obama's slim breast pocket, there is inevitably going to be a huge crush of disappointment as things don't get done exactly as people had hoped, or as quickly.
I never thought that in my lifetime (I will be 32 on Sunday), a black anybody would even be nominated to run for a party, let alone run a very tight race and come out the winner in the end. For all that we are celebrating a more inclusive era, there's still a lot of racism out there and racism isn't something that just goes away. People are inherently given to variations of tribalism. There is and always will be an automatic division that determines an "us" and a "them". Whether us and them are divided by color, race, sexual orientation, political philosophy, religion or nationality, it will always be there. We can't get around it. Most of the time I don't think that we really want to get around it. Groups and classes and divisions are comforting for people. There is fear in the unknown and the unfamiliar. We like to be comfortable and let's not forget that comfort is what got us into the mess that we're in.
I say this because as much as we are all hopeful about the changes that the incoming administration represent, we also must be mindful of the fact that our country has a two (some might say three if we include the lobby groups) party system and it's structured around a three-pronged government of checks and balances. Nothing gets done in Washington easily or especially quickly. Changes as sweeping as the American public seem to be expecting aren't going to happen overnight, in the first 100 days or, probably, even in the first year. There are many cooks in the political kitchen, many fingers in the pie, many Us's and Them's and that does not suggest smooth sailing of any kind.
But let's say that everyone gets along pretty well. Despite Obama's "post-partisan" style and a democratic majority in Congress, there is still the matter of the countries very real, very deep and perilous problems. A crumbling financial system, a war, a failing educational system, an aging population, and a broken healthcare system (among other things). There are some dark days ahead and many tough decisions to be made. Tough decisions are, inevitably, unpopular ones. Like I said, no one wants to be uncomfortable, I foresee many unhappy people in the coming term as things are done to fix or mitigate the effects of the problems that we have short-sightedly created. The fallout of the previous administration, although weighing heavily on the legacy of the previous president, are inextricably tied to the incoming administration. Despite the running of the country being a group effort, there is always one man largely held responsible for the perceived success or failure of the country at large. I am just as guilty as everyone else of pinning the blame on Dubya.
Listening to the final press conference President Bush gave last week, I was confronted by a man who was frustrated by the machinations and partisanship rife within the political system. While I do not think much better of Bush's policies or the direction in which he led the country, I am also forced to consider that, really, its not all his fault, although he makes an excellent mark. There's an entire government that helped to get us where we are, not to mention our own reactionary short-sightedness. We are just as much to blame as anyone on Capitol Hill because when there's good times ahead we see nothing but the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and damn the next storm when it comes, and it *will* come.
On the eve of this momentous and historical inauguration -- definitely a time for reflection, celebration and hopefulness -- I think we might need to take a moment for a reality check and remember that Barack Obama is one man confronting decades of tradition and policy. Decades of decisions, bad and good, that have led us here to this particular juncture. This may well be the crossroads, only time will tell. Hopefully, we will come out of this crisis the better for it, more responsible, more present, and more aware. Hopefully, we will come out of this more tolerant and more inclusive. Maybe. Hopefully.
I'm a cynic, I don't really buy that. We will grumble, the polls will dip. Us and Them will point fingers and lay blame: "It's *your* problem. *I* didn't vote for him." "Those liberals." "Those conservatives." While we struggle to find the light at the end of the tunnel, to survive that darkest part of the night, we'll fight Obama and his shiny new administration every step of the way. Until there's once again "good times ahead" and "smooth-sailing", we'll lament that we voted for an unknown quantity. We'll question that we dared to challenge the status quo. We'll look for scapegoats and throw people under the bus. So long as its not Us. So long as its one of Them.
I hope that we are better than that. I hope, but don't really believe. But this is only my opinion. I've been wrong about these things before. After all despite my vote, I NEVER thought Obama would actually win. Maybe, hopefully, the American public will surprise the hell out of me.
In the end, I suppose, only time will tell.