Barack Obama and the primordial themes of the American experience
I'm no English major, but I know poetry when I hear it. And the first two sentences of Obama's victory speech in Iowa last night had a cadence that, when Obama delivered them, took my breath away.
"They said this day would never come. They said our sights were set too high."
For once, a victorious politician does not overestimate his success: like Obama says, this really is "a defining moment in our nation's history."
How significant is Obama's victory? David Brooks, of all people, said it best this morning:
You’d have to have a heart of stone not to feel moved by this...This is a huge moment. It’s one of those times when a movement that seemed ethereal and idealistic became a reality and took on political substance...Whatever their political affiliations, Americans are going to feel good about the Obama victory, which is a story of youth, possibility and unity through diversity — the primordial themes of the American experience.
Unity through diversity. As you can tell from this blog's very title, this is a theme that has always resonated within me. And when Obama first talked about how his own family background informed his world view, I knew he was someone I could support. I really don't think that it's too much to say that Obama's very DNA makes him a walking positive ad for the American Dream. Marshall McLuhan used to say that the medium is the message. With Obama, the messenger is the message.
And what is his message?
He talks about erasing old categories like red and blue (and implicitly, black and white) and replacing them with new categories, of which the most important are new and old. He seems at first more preoccupied with changing thinking than changing legislation.Race is the shifting tectonic plate on which American politics -- and American history -- is built. That said, Obama's candidacy offers hope that we might be moving toward a brighter future, one with more hopeful possibilities.
From the Department of Blind Squirrels Finding Nuts on Occasion:
Chris Matthews actually said something insightful about how this played out and it reflecting our history. To paraphrase, since it took 50 years for women to get the vote after black men were officially enfranchised (save the Jim Crow laws), America shows that it still has a preference for black men before women.
Okay, maybe not that insightful. More hackish really. And then he proved the point on just how out of touch his Village is when he asked his panel of experts, including Rachel Maddow, if they'd ever seen a Chuck Norris movie. None of them had, including Tweedy.
Assholes.
You know when he made the history observation, I turned to Miss Julie and said, "Occasionally Chris Matthews hits one out of the park." She suggested that the point was debatable but nonetheless I give credit where credit is due.
Matthews is like that big beefy first baseman who hits just enough 500 foot home runs to offset his batting average of .246 (striking out as often as he gets a base hit).
As for Chuck Norris, I know I must have seen something he did.
[checking IMDB.com]
Delta Force and Missing in Action.
Random observation: his teeth are preposterously white.
P.S. Go easy on Rachel Maddow -- I like her! Who else is going to balance off Pat Buchanan?
It isn't the 50s anymore. Our kids and their kids just don't buy into the same sexist crap our parents were raised on.
If you're going to bother with Norris movies - great in-his-day-full-contact fighter, not-so-great actor/exhibition martial artist, this would probably be the best use of your time. At least it features a great exhibition martial artist and an interesting juxtaposition of styles and abilities.