Yes We Can

Is Obama's Election a Repudiation? -- Picture courtesy of Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
This is the morning after the 2008 Presidential election and I'm trying to piece together some of the outcome's implications. I think that Obama's election is above all, a repudiation of the W. Bush years. But it's also a reaction to the September 15th stock market crash -- you'll recall that McCain had a small lead over Obama after the GOP convention and right up to that point. Liberal pundits like to draw more from Obama's victory than there might even be -- it isn't the end of conservatism or the end of America's center-right political orientation.

What is conservatism anyway? I have to examine my own psyche to see where this fundamental difference in perspective lies. Much of my own family is conservative -- it would do me well to understand. Conservatives strike me as people who are happy with the world as it is. Life to them is a fragrant dream, occasionally interrupted with the unpleasant noise of disruptive hellions -- be they blacks, gays or Al Quaeda. Conservatives must think that God is basically finished with his handiwork -- only finishing touches needed here and there. Their concerns seem to fall into the materially mundane: Will Jim be admitted to Dartmouth? Does my Christmas centerpiece look good for the gala? Will the Highland Park Scotties win the football game? Their lives appear to unfold like a series of Groundhog Days -- if they just give alms and think "nice thoughts" (in the Hallmark since of that expression) it's a life well-lived. They aren't angry -- they also aren't especially curious or creative. They live in a rarified world which they hope will stay insular and "happy" if by happy you mean insensate.

Liberals don't see the world as a dream so much as a complex narrative -- a narrative nowhere near its resolution. Liberals see the world as one of relativity and connectedness, a world that requires both intelligent caring and sensitivity. It's a swirl of ying, yang and chaos theory -- what happens in Tupelo just might affect you. And the world is far from finished -- there is religious extremism, greed, pollution, racism, homophobia, sexism and a whole slew of world problems and human character defects. The actors in the play are so drastically flawed. Not only is God not finished, he's barely started.

What are your major care-abouts? Please don't say silverware patterns or sporting events. Please don't tell me if it's about finding shoes to match the $500 handbag advertised in Paper City. Speaking for me, I have some economic insecurity and worries about future health care. It worries me that parts of Dallas are more dangerous than Baghdad. I wish we had cures for breast, prostate and colon cancer. To the extent that federal tax dollars might advance these "narratives" I have no real objection to tax money being collected toward those ends. No galas, wine tastings or regattas in this corner to be sure.

A popular expression among the wealthy is noblesse oblige, "I give to charity". That's well and good if your contribution is reliable and consistent. If not, you've put an important enterprise at the mercy of human capriciousness. If in fact it is a service that summons such interest and concern, it should probably be supported by mandatory taxes and not charities.

Getting back to my Obama ruminations, I don't think his election necessarily signals a sea change in American thinking. I do think that young people and racial minorities have felt disenfranchised in previous elections -- they also tend to follow a more liberal philosophy. Maybe, just maybe they will participate more in the future. When everyone participates it's more like a Democracy.

© 2008 blogSpotter