I saw an interesting segment on Bill O’Reilly on Obama’s slogan “Change We Can Believe In”. This slogan has been bugging me for a long time, because I saw people rallying with signs during his campaign and saying this is why they were voting for him but most could never articulate what it really meant to them. I feel that they are government educated masses who "follow orders without significant thought". Pollsters recently asked people for one-word descriptions of Obama. The word most chose? Why, it was "change," of course. These people couldn't do anything better than to regurgitate the very word that had been force-fed them by Obamaologists .. the "C' word. Some real independent thinkers we have there.
Obama's slogan of Change We Can Believe In is just conceptual rather than a policy. It is all symbolism. It represents racial change, generational change and partisan change ONLY. He didn't run on heavy policies. The most detail we have seen from him is the $850 billion economic stimulus package he has sent to capitol hill since the start of his 18 months of his campaign. And it's basically just filled with pork. He didn't campaign on specific policy solutions, he campaigned on ideas.Actually I will say regarding his specific policy solutions, he is opposed to gay marriage, and he does want environmental change...he wants to get out of Iraq (which he may or may not do depending on what the joint chiefs tell him this week, if they say we can't get out he won't get out...they only way we can get out is if the joint chiefs tell him to, and the only way they will tell him to is if the surge he was against really did work). What is the change we can believe in besides the environment? I believe it is just symbolic gestures. He ran on the "change" people wanted to see. Whatever change you wanted, he was for. Whatever change you projected to him, he reflected back to the people. Obama simply represents what you want. This is all about the symbolism and the feelings it is not about policy deliverables. But you know what, hope isn't a policy.
I also have to point out something I read during my research for this post that I think makes a lot of sense. It’s a quote from Jonathan Rodgers on Neal Boortz’s website. He says, "African Americans have fallen in love with Barack Obama's family, his candidacy ... we will be covering the democratic convention all the time." I think the African American community ,the Bush haters, the American Idol voters, the government educated masses, the celebrity worshipers, have all fallen in love with Barack Obama. So that explains it ...these people are in love with Barack Obama. And you know what happens when you are in love? You get all those stars in your eyes. You wear those blinders that make it seem like nothing else matters in the world. You are just so darned wrapped up in the person that you aren't able to see any flaws ... you aren't able to look at the reality of the situation. And you know what the fun part really is? When you wake up one day and look over at the person lying next to you and think "How in the hell did I get here?" Only with Barack Obama it will be "where in the hell is all my money" or "the government is forcing me to do what?"
So are you suggesting that "status quo" would be a better slogan? I don't see anything wrong with "change" being something people connect with - especially when we are always in need of improvement. His first change, to reinstate the funding to organizations which support choice and educating people to make informed decisions. Regardless of what any one person "believes" about abortion, our current laws say that it is legal. Should the government be able to withhold funds based on an elected official's personal beliefs? That sounds a little more like a dictatorship to me. I think this is a "change" in the right direction - and I assume (a dangerous thing, I know) that because of your strong beliefs on not wanting to fund welfare as well as your distaste for single parenthood you are in favor of a woman's right to choose (it also limits the role of government in making decisions for us - another position I think you are in favor of - less is more, right?). I am excited to see what change is in our future and prefer to be positive, even knowing that any man working within an institution will be limited in what actually happens.
ReplyDeleteAs for love, I don't see how love is ever a bad thing. It is the greatest motivator there is. It is a positive motivator that brings about lasting change. I am wondering if you believe that love is a bad thing? I would question if you have known love if your idea of love is that it ends in disappointment. True love doesn't ignore flaws, but accepts them, encourages progress, supports efforts and doesn't judge.
Again, I feel the need to judge is where we continue to fall short and what I feel a lot of your writing focuses on. That does not mean we aren't critical in our policies and our relationships and every other aspect of our lives, but out of love, we are critical with a hope of improvement. Out of love, we can take a look at where we are and work together to be in a better place tomorrow than we were today.
My question to you, is are you hoping Obama fails short, just to satisfy a personal belief? I would have loved for Bush to be the most successful president we have ever had. I would have loved it if at the end of his term we had no poverty, no gaps in education under No Child Left Behind, if we had no war... His success would have been a success for us all. I hope the same for Obama.
To me, the reason we seem to not make the progress that all of our intelligent politicians might have been prepared to make is because of the divisions within our systems. We prefer judging to progress.
And as for your fan, who complimented you on not Bush bashing and how refreshing it was to see positive comments (which I agree that bashing is bad, but questioning is good), I wonder if she is disapointed now, or if it was simply refreshing to find someone who shares a target for the bashing. Any bashing is a barrier to progress. So, maybe as you are pointing the finger at Obama's "failures" over the next four years, maybe your time would be better spent questioning, analyzing, problem solving... if answers to problems is what the goal is here.
Sunny, I always look forward to your comments. I don't feel like I am bashing Obama at all. I personally feel like the bashing comes in many forms, in particular forms like "F Bush" or "Na Na Na Na..Hey Hey Hey Good Bye" to his face at the inauguration by hundreds of a-holes, or other forms of personal cruelty that were aimed at making him look like he was unable to form complete sentences or do anything right. Saturday Night Live did that for 8 years and so much with Sarah Palin that the masses started believing those two were just plain stupid, just based off of that show! Anyhow I have no intentions of making Obama out to be stupid, ignorant or otherwise. I would like to point out during his administration the policies I don't agree with, and observations I make of his fans or the democratic party, etc. I hope to make my posts more or less observations and yes personal judgements but not demeaning attacks on Obama himself as a man, or as a human being.
ReplyDeleteTo address your points, I don't have a problem with hope but it would be nice to know what one is hoping for and what the policies one is supporting. I don't have a problem with change if you know what you are wanting change from and change to and all I am saying is most people can't articulate what they are. I feel like my observation has been what Bill O'Riley's segment was about, the change was about a racial change, a generational change and a partisian change. And I can't tell what is more important to people: the racial factor or the partisian factor. At first it seemed the partisian factor but then when he became the president elect it seemed that nothing else mattered but the historical factor.
I am aware of the executive orders he has been putting in place thus far and have been staying informed of what he has been doing and am not really addressing that in this post. And to the point about welfare, I do have strong feelings about it and maybe should write a whole post about it. In a nutshell, I mainly think the system is broken and should be reformed. I do believe some people need help and should receive it. But there are too many people on it and the way it is set up it is too difficult to get off of it. It encourages people to stay on it without really saying it. Anyhow that's my position without going into a full blown post. And regarding single parenthood, I think it's unavoidable sometimes when parents split up and what choice do you then have. I don't think you should stay in a bad relationship for the sake of the kids that's for sure. But I am definitely against people crapping out kids who are unable to care for them and are barely able to scrape by as it is, and just have kids because they want to have kids. That goes for single parents as well as two parents that are together raising a family. If you can't afford kids don't have them. So it's really about money. If you are a single parent, have "the villiage" support system, I have to say I guess that's great for you as long as that kid has discipline and structure and order and care and love then whatever, go for it. And if you have "an accident", as someone who can't afford the kids, how about cutting out the cable TV, the cell phones and other luxuries and try to live within your means a little better. I hear example after example of people who don't try harder in this area.
Regarding the paragraph you wrote on love, I think we only really love when we truely know someone. I remember when I was a teenager and a young adult in college and would tell my boyfriends "I love you" only to break up with them after dating for 2 months. I look back and realized I was foolish to even think I was in love or that I even knew the guy. I think it takes a lot to REALLY know someone. So to my point, do we know Obama, do we know what we are hoping for, what we what change to/from? Can we articulate what his policies are (without googling the executive orders have been since 1/20/09) just from paying attention? Do we feel we really know him? OR do we feel we love him based on excitement, celebrity worship b/c we are caught up on this band wagon? Sunny you may know but what about the 18 year old who has voted for the first time or the 25 year old who looks at a picture of Nancy Pelosi and says I have no idea who that is or has never heard of Roe vs Wade. And who is crying on the election day because we have made history. Look I don't want Obama to fail. But I just am not agreeing with much he has done so far and enjoy writing about it. I'm glad you enjoy reading it and hope you continue to post your comments, I enjoy reading them and want to get to the others soon! :)
Might I suggest that in addition to watching Bill O'Reilly, watch "Meet the Press" or "This Week with Stephonopoulos" or "60 Minutes". Several sources would give more information to make a judgement.
ReplyDeleteIf you really wanted to know about Obama's policies he has written a few books- read them. The book "Change We Can Believe In" spells out all of Obama's policy stands. The first change his campaign made was not to vilify the other candidate. McCain also choose to concentrate on the issues and not the personal attacks. Both ran far more civil campaigns than have had previously. That was one change Obama has talked about for some time. The media wanted to focus on "mud slinging", because sensation gets viewers- thoughtful discourse only gets the most avid political junkie.
It seems that your judgement about Obama has been made based on the ideas that the electorate cannot articulate his policies. The electorate, including those who choose "W" included a wide spectrum and many of those could not articulate "W"'s policies either.
I'm also curious to know, if you have any idea when welfare was last reformed and what reforms were made?
This has become an interesting dialog!
ReplyDeleteI do think that most people don't "know" their elected officials as well as they (we, I put myself in that category) and we rely too heavily on media to inform us - a dangerous thing because we are then not only getting facts, but also the biases of the people/institutions. But isn't that the beauty of democracy, that we believe that the people - educated or not - have a voice? This is also why we align ourselves with a party, to be able to "know" what someone stands for simply by their party affiliation. It is also why I don't declare an allegiance to any party. And as for the 18 year old, voting without information... well, I'm just glad that they care enough to vote.
There are a lot of flaws in government (as there are in all institutions), but it's what we have, and it could be a lot worse. The answer is in looking for answers, in being equally critical of all decisions made that effect masses, in questioning, in searching for truth. The reason this sounds so easy and ends up so messy is that sometimes the truth is not what we started out believing - and we have been taught to admit to being "wrong" is a bad thing. But the truth is that it is only through finding the errors in our thinking that we get closer to the truth. No wonder progress and change is so hard!
As for the "having kids" issue... there are a lot of issues here that government can't, won't and shouldn't solve. Questions arise like, is parenting a right or a privilege? Is there an amount of money you should have to make to have one child, two...? What about personality, that is just as important? As much as we would love to judge those who make decisions that aren't what we like, or aren't what we consider best for the kids, it isn't up to us to decide that. There is no formula for good parenting, and when we try to limit or control parenting we are entering a VERY dangerous place - exterminations of a group. There is no easy answer, but education seems to be a good place to start.
I am glad that you have opened up this forum for discussion and am excited by the dialog and the opportunities these conversations will give us to grow. Blog on sista!!!