LA Weekly

Are you like me, feeling as anxious as a cat in a pool? Everywhere you look, it seems, the news isn't good. On a personal level, 2007 would have to go down as one of the worst years ever. Friends, family and I, too, dealt with challenges -- health, career, relationships, the gamut -- in 2007 that were daunting, to say the least. Last year, pretty much sucked. So, one tends to look at a new year with optimism. It doesn't seem like it could get much worse, knock on wood.

Yet, here we are at the dawn of 2008, and the news everywhere isn't good, it seems. Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, take your pick, but uncertainty and chaos rule. And on the home front, just about everyone thinks we're poised upon, if not already in, a recession. These are days, as they say. Which probably goes a long way towards explaining the appeal of Barack Obama.

It's easy to talk about hope and change, but talking about hope and change can come across as empty and even cynical if the vessel through which the message is coming feels contrived. And this is where Obama is starting to harness some magic, I believe. For some reason, when he talks about hope and change, it feels inspiring, and not a calculated political ploy. Of course we want change. Of course we want to have hope, but put Obama's words in any of the other candidate's mouths and they'd seem empty, which is why they haven't been able to capitalize on the nation's fear and disappointment in the way that he seems to be doing.

Why it's different with Obama, I'm not sure. Unless, gasp, it's as simple as he really believes what he's saying. And I think he does. But even that isn't quite as simple as that. See, we've become accustomed to our fears and disappointments being met with fear mongering. Even John Edwards, God Bless him because I believe in his zealot's reforming zeal, doesn't seem to be able to get his message across without it sounding like a fire and brimstone preacher admonishing us that we're going to burn in hell if we don't change our ways.

But Obama is different. Yes, he's saying, we need to change our ways, but something about the way he says it is more inspiring than daunting. He seems to be challenging us, in a way that is inclusive, that resonates on a communal level, to be better, to do better, to expect better, to demand better, to work for better. His magic, so far, and I think it's only going to become stronger, is to remind us, that it is up to us to grasp the future, and not to some big daddy (even if that happens to be a woman) who maintains that he or she is the most qualified to keep the wolves at bay.

It's the right message at the right time, after eight years of the most fear-mongering folks in memory running the country by fear, for fear in the service of fear and, well, power and profit. Running it into the ground, because we let them, because we lost our courage. Obama reminds me, and here comes the geek factor, of the speech Viggo Mortensen gives in the final battle in the Lord of the Rings finale (Return of the King, I think it's called). To paraphrase, he says that there will come a time when the courage of men will fail them, and tyranny will rule the day, but that day isn't today.

I believe Obama is trying to tap into our innate courage -- telling us that today isn't the day when it will fail us, despite those who would benefit from it being so. He's putting it on us, and, as a result, just might lead us into battle. And a battle is what's needed here.

Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://mt.laweekly.com/mt-tb.cgi/47236