This morning I woke up to my cynicism getting a white hot blow to the teeth. Is the darkness of the Bush years finally over? Is this really happening?
Obama won the 2008 elections by a landslide. And I, no doubt, am excited.
But don’t get me wrong. I’m no Obama fan-boy, I don’t hang by every eloquent re-phrase of ‘Yes We Can’ that comes out of his mouth.
Democrats and Republicans, while having their diffrences, are two sides of a very narrow political spectrum. The American ‘Left’ isn’t that radical and progressive at all. Both sides still make a majority of their decisions based on what is best for Corporate interest, not the average man, no matter how ‘average’ a politician may paint him or herself to be.
And, political campaigns are endorsed and funded to a large extent by major corporations. Under-the-table dealings between small circles of insanley rich folks guide decisions that effect an entire nation of working-class people. And, even if a politician, such as Obama, has good intentions and is aiming for change, he is a president, not a king, and does not hold enough power in and of himself to undo nearly a century of public conditioning (thanks, news media) and the nightmare souvineer of the Bush years.
The Bush years happened because we wanted them to. Bush was voted into office twice, and, although he may not have been everybody’s choice, he was the choice of enough of us to get him into office, and keep him there.
But if Obama can’t change things, who can? And why be excited to have him win?
The answer is, you can. We can. And we did.
We got him into office, we voted for what he stood for—Change. Obama winning the election was indicitive of a deep wanting, a deep Will for change within this country. Nothing is more powerful than a Will, for where there is a Will, there is a way.
Depending on a politician is not the means of true change. Do not forget, for it was you who put the politician into office in the first place, it is you who wakes up every morning and chooses to live. You are responsible for your own life, and noone else.
Community organization— people banding together and taking their social and political destiny into their own hands— is the one and only vehicle for true change, and the Obama presidency not only excites people to get involved, but unlike the Republican/Bush admin, creates a safe space for people to act without being labeled terrorists.
Cynicism is a dead end that needs to be avoided at all costs. The illusion of helplessness after all, is thee most powerful lie the capitalistic establishment uses to maintain its standing — either by duping you into feeling as if they’re working in your best interest, or making you bitter and cynical, throwing up your arms and settling with “they’re too powerful, I’m too small and powerless, we’re all going to hell”.
Its not even about “changing the world” in some abstract objective sense. That phrasing even makes it seem more difficult than it really is; we are choosing to change ourselves and our way of living, and all in all that’s all we’ve ever been doing from the start. A ‘better’ world isn’t impossible by any stretch, and the wonders the last presidency has done on our collective psyche, leading to this election, truly bring us one step closer to making it happen.
Obama is only a representative. A representation of the ideas, sentiments, and visions we want ruling our nation over the next 4 years. He has—we have— made many promises. It is up to us to keep our word and make them happen. That means getting up, organizing, and making our world one we truly want to live in.
