Just submitted this to the Kansas City Star as an application to be one of their Midwest Voices contributers:
As we wait impatiently for the start of our 44th President’s term America remains a divided nation. Some of the stark divisions defy logic and arise from beliefs so entrenched that I wonder if any consensus can be formed. Constructive debate occurs in the gray areas, and we seem to be a nation whose views are black and white.
As an example, gun owners continue to engage in an unprecedented, and given the Supreme Court ruling from last June, unwarranted buying spree. Some brief research into their internal debate reveals concern over a coming “gun grab”. The insiders say that such legislation will at a minimum mirror the assault weapon ban of 1993. How such a ban would be framed in light of the recent and unprecedented affirmation of the individual’s right to bear arms does not get discussed, nor apparently considered. Fear rules the day in such debates, and it seems, drives revenue.
This isn’t surprising given that our government spent much of the last seven years stoking our fear. We succumbed to the fear mongers and were manipulated to vote and act in ways that were often against our self-interest. The terrorists were lurking around every corner, gay marriage would tear the moral fabric of our society and our right to privacy provided a safe haven for those that would hurt us. The Bogey Man was under our collective bed and only a vote for the Right would protect us.
Fear’s reprise came in the Presidential Campaign when Governor Palin framed our President-Elect as someone unlike us, a terrorist sympathizer, a man with, God forbid, a Muslim name. And the fear mongering worked to some extent. Here in Missouri during the campaign’s final two weeks the McCain/Palin campaign unleashed a torrent of negative ads on radio and television, reversing Obama’s lead in the polls and ultimately winning the state. Senator McCain may owe his victory here to Joe the Plumber’s warning that Barrack Obama wanted to punish his success. Right.
And yet for many of us hope springs eternal. The President-Elect leads with a thoughtful and inclusive style. He continues to make excellent choices for the members of his team. Those choices even get a modicum of praise from the Right. In fact, by unveiling his choices for the Treasury Secretary and his financial team Mr. Obama reversed the fall of the stock markets and provided relief for retirement accounts across the country. It has been so long since we have seen leadership that many of us forgot what it looked like.
Yes, the world remains a complex and frightening place. Real threats to our nation and our globe exist and must be dealt with. Only by acting with intelligence and reason and remaining adaptable can we effectively manage our problems and defeat our enemies. Despite our tendency to see in black and white, the challenges we face are rendered in thousands of shades of gray. Mr. Obama seems to be a man possessing the exact skill set necessary to manage this future. One can only hope.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008
Adios Bradley
As the presidential campaign drew to a close my anxiety reached absurd levels. Although I recognized the futility of such angst I was powerless to stop it. I couldn't bring myself to write a post here either. It was as if I was certain that voicing my fears would make them real. I might have single handedly caused the much debated Bradley Effect to manifest.
It didn't help that over the last two weeks of the campaign Senator McCain inundated the Missouri airwaves with negative ads. On radio and television Joe the Plumber lamented Barack's plan to "punish his success" while the RNC ran ads warning that anyone making over $42,000 per year would face a sinister Obama tax increase. Worse, the attack WORKED. During the the ten days preceding the election Missouri turned from leaning blue to leaning red. A campaign of lies was reaching sympathetic ears. I was terrified. I wanted Barack to counter punch, to refute the lies to do SOMETHING. What I didn't know was that his campaign remained on track in the other battleground states, that his message had reached sympathetic ears, that he and his team knew he was winning.
And what a victory it was. For the third time this year I found myself standing in my living room listening to Barack speak. His ability to inspire forces me off the couch. Like so many Americans, tears filled my eyes as I watched the images of my fellow citizens celebrating, crying and laughing. Joy mixed with a smidge of disbelief filled our hearts. Somehow it was over, the Bush years really would come to an end.
And what of the Bradey Effect? Let there be no question that racism is alive and well in America, albeit in lesser form. A quick search of Youtube for a McCain or Palin rally will yield video footage of the worst of America, queued up, filled with hatred as they wait to see their candidates. Candidates that, incredibly, CHOSE to stoke the flames of the racist fire during the end game of their campaign. Candidates who, once again, played a game of division, hoping to turn us against each other. Thankfully, a majority of us were awake, were listening, were thinking, and cried out with our candidate: ENOUGH! And so, there was no Bradley Effect to be found; the final 7% margin of victory matched the Realclearpolitics average of the polls. Is it better that the residual racism in our country is now overt rather than covert? I don't know.
I do know that we need Senator McCain to go beyond his gracious concession speech and work to calm the hatred that his capaign provoked, and soon.
As we wait impatiently for new leadership in this country, the world waits with us. The outcry of support from our global brethren was heartwarming. It seems we haven't wasted all of our global political capital after all. Thank God. Tired of Bush bullying, the world waited and hoped for us to regain our sense of self. The world wants us to be who we say we are. They want us to live up to the idea of America, and to enact the many ideals that comprise our identity. Our brothers and sisters cry out for a true leader, just as we do. And God willing, we've got one.
The first days of Barack's stint as President-Elect yielded good signs. While Bush sat on his hands in the oval office Barack assembled a team of the country's best financial minds and began working on strategies to address our financial crisis. He called world leaders and talked to them about that same crisis. It appears he will govern in an inclusive, intelligent fashion. How long has it been since we've seen such a thing?
Of course the far right remains in a constant state of outrage. Rather than looking inward in self assessment they explode with anger. The coming months will provide insight into the direction that the Republican party will follow. I would suggest that they adopt the Libertarian Party, discard their "social conservative" wing and attempt to form a coherent center-based conservative platform. But where's the fun in that?
Finally, it seems the audacity of hope continues to live on post election. A close friend of mine had not been reached by Barack's message and didn't support either candidate for President. As he watched Barack assemble his financial dream team and give his first press conference, my friend grasped the dramatic improvement in leadership that we are seeing - even at this early stage. And hope began to creep in. "If he can be as good as he looks . . ." there was no need to complete the thought. For if President Obama really is that good then we may begin to live up to our own standards.
The audacity of hope indeed.
It didn't help that over the last two weeks of the campaign Senator McCain inundated the Missouri airwaves with negative ads. On radio and television Joe the Plumber lamented Barack's plan to "punish his success" while the RNC ran ads warning that anyone making over $42,000 per year would face a sinister Obama tax increase. Worse, the attack WORKED. During the the ten days preceding the election Missouri turned from leaning blue to leaning red. A campaign of lies was reaching sympathetic ears. I was terrified. I wanted Barack to counter punch, to refute the lies to do SOMETHING. What I didn't know was that his campaign remained on track in the other battleground states, that his message had reached sympathetic ears, that he and his team knew he was winning.
And what a victory it was. For the third time this year I found myself standing in my living room listening to Barack speak. His ability to inspire forces me off the couch. Like so many Americans, tears filled my eyes as I watched the images of my fellow citizens celebrating, crying and laughing. Joy mixed with a smidge of disbelief filled our hearts. Somehow it was over, the Bush years really would come to an end.
And what of the Bradey Effect? Let there be no question that racism is alive and well in America, albeit in lesser form. A quick search of Youtube for a McCain or Palin rally will yield video footage of the worst of America, queued up, filled with hatred as they wait to see their candidates. Candidates that, incredibly, CHOSE to stoke the flames of the racist fire during the end game of their campaign. Candidates who, once again, played a game of division, hoping to turn us against each other. Thankfully, a majority of us were awake, were listening, were thinking, and cried out with our candidate: ENOUGH! And so, there was no Bradley Effect to be found; the final 7% margin of victory matched the Realclearpolitics average of the polls. Is it better that the residual racism in our country is now overt rather than covert? I don't know.
I do know that we need Senator McCain to go beyond his gracious concession speech and work to calm the hatred that his capaign provoked, and soon.
As we wait impatiently for new leadership in this country, the world waits with us. The outcry of support from our global brethren was heartwarming. It seems we haven't wasted all of our global political capital after all. Thank God. Tired of Bush bullying, the world waited and hoped for us to regain our sense of self. The world wants us to be who we say we are. They want us to live up to the idea of America, and to enact the many ideals that comprise our identity. Our brothers and sisters cry out for a true leader, just as we do. And God willing, we've got one.
The first days of Barack's stint as President-Elect yielded good signs. While Bush sat on his hands in the oval office Barack assembled a team of the country's best financial minds and began working on strategies to address our financial crisis. He called world leaders and talked to them about that same crisis. It appears he will govern in an inclusive, intelligent fashion. How long has it been since we've seen such a thing?
Of course the far right remains in a constant state of outrage. Rather than looking inward in self assessment they explode with anger. The coming months will provide insight into the direction that the Republican party will follow. I would suggest that they adopt the Libertarian Party, discard their "social conservative" wing and attempt to form a coherent center-based conservative platform. But where's the fun in that?
Finally, it seems the audacity of hope continues to live on post election. A close friend of mine had not been reached by Barack's message and didn't support either candidate for President. As he watched Barack assemble his financial dream team and give his first press conference, my friend grasped the dramatic improvement in leadership that we are seeing - even at this early stage. And hope began to creep in. "If he can be as good as he looks . . ." there was no need to complete the thought. For if President Obama really is that good then we may begin to live up to our own standards.
The audacity of hope indeed.
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