I WAS going to talk a little about web 2.0 and the new definition of culture and direction of ethnography. Maybe another day, it's politics time.
"Are you gonna VOTE, dawg? Regardless of peoples intentions to vote there is a bit of a feeling of relief, how ever unjustified it is right now, it exists. The push to vote, it seems has never been higher, but our drive to vote seems generally the same. everybody has the t-shirt but then they don't know when the last day to register to vote is. They don't know where the polling place is. They didn't know you can't wear that obama t-shirt of obama earrings into the polling place. This election is feels as if our vote is discounted, they know they have the brown vote in their pockets and a lot of talking heads tried to question his candidacy along the lines of jesse and a pimp named sharpton. Obviously that didn't work because he outshined both of them and stood on a non racial and non civil rights platform. genius. But americans refused to accept the vision and genius of obama because of his blackness, his parents, his pastor, his name blah blah blah.
What america has refused to acknowledge, is that america could create an true american, worthy of being president, that wasn't white (or male). In Obama's case, its that he's not american enough, the mainstream begin to question their own american identity. What does it mean to be american now? because it sure ain't what we thought it was, they are busy saying to themselves. I was busy being what i thought was american (feel free to substitute; middle class, successful, ignorant, healthy, intelligent, sexy) This position makes the words coming out of his mouth offensive to those who refuse to accept his validity as an american worthy of the position of president.
C'mon he's a product of america. Ignorant america is so distrustful of people who have international experience. What is that about?It seems like you cannot come to the presidency with previous international experience. That just taboo, unless you were shooting at them. But we will elect a failed texas oil driller? Twice?!? He robably thinks gay people are all french, or something. The man is not worldly or earthy hes just dirty, at best.
I think right now this is the biggest crusade for middle class white guys who went to college with black guys that weren't just on the football or track team. Black people seem encouraged but once again i think we are more enchanted with the marketing than the actual substance having obama for president. I think the word change appeals to a lot of people. And i think change, on a consumer level (because technically we are the bosses and customers of the government) needs to sky rocket. Actual government programs or economic enabling to the point of rejuvenating and expanding our middle class seems depressingly absent. China is going to kick our asses for the next 25 years the way they are creating middle class jobs in services and manufacturing, and india is going to be a super power shortly due to their ability to stay ahead of the industrialization curve. Manchild america is not looking poised to beat out or take advantage of those two monumental social and economic shifts.
It almost seems as if america doesn't truly and actually believe in leadership any more. Everything we do smells like a marketing ploy or a popularity contest. How are you going to run for president in the homeland of boy bands, the apprentice, american idol, football; all of this feeds into our ideas of competition and the fittest and finest. It's all acting and in the case of football it's a Stud farm or a lottery. American politics has destroyed the spoken word, and americans are taking it handily. The revolution in politics needs to be on the inside, are there people dedicated enough to use the same kind of social pressure and tactics to positively influence, anything?
I would prefer if the president had a true intellectual grasp of the current plight of the middle class rather than just being able to relate or chat with the middle class. If Stephen Hawking were an american politician, he could be a senator but not the president. He wouldn't win a popularity contest, how could we possibly choose him to be the avatar of the homeland of Pamela Anderson and Tom Cruise? Ok maybe that a little glam to the extreme, but really, our desire for a "folksy" president belies our mediocre aspirations as a country. We are telling on ourselves. We'd rather be cool than smart; americans really want to identify with the c student because it makes them feel good about themselves whether their scores lie slightly above or below that fat slice of the bell curve they can identify with the slacker. This is what americans want because they are not asking for anything different and if the yare why is it so taboo to speak plainly and upfront about whats going on in the media. Lots of handshaking and headnodding but the economic bailout
We are alienating ourselves. After 9/11 there was all that unity talk (and shit) and a bunch of people fell for it. But honestly america is culturally paranoid . why do we want average people to run our government? Can we make our standard of excellence a measure in which our own self protection and dignity is built in? Apparently americans have no sense of identity even though it seems like our sense of identity is called on constantly for us to identify and align ourselves with. Saying the pledge of allegience every morning does not make us more patriotic, or less likely to steal, kill or cheat our "fellow" american which are probably the 3 most popular pastimes over the past 8 years.
As americans we need to develop a healthy cultural identity, something to create and focus a collective vision. Right now the cult of individualism has been continually building and tearing down the tower of babel ( pronounced, the american dream). There is no they, we are alienating ourselves, it's built into the american culutre and mindset to strive for the highest individual glory, which is not glorious at all when civials are carpet bombed and your retirement fund is only worth 75% what it was yesterday. Now we can't on charles barkley or financial CEOs to be our kids' role models.