Watching the Reagan clip at the Berlin Wall reminded me how Democrats said he had really lost it — that he was being idealistic and romantic, and there was no chance in hell of that wall coming down. It was just words, and that’s all Reagan was: a clever act. It also reminded me how Republicans felt about those words, about the way Reagan inspired us. Finally, this reminded me that there was a lot more to the Reagan presidency than people on either side care to admit.
The cynic will say that Obama is more of the same, only from the other side. The ironist will say the same thing, with a smile.
I don’t see the birth of a new religion in the fervor that many have for Barack Obama. I see people who are tired of the old battles. I see the deaths of two old religions, with their supporters clinging to their mantras and dogma to the bitter end. I see it all over the Internet and on TV, in the comments from the left and the right.
Some see Obama’s recent move to the center as a political move, business as usual for a presidential candidate who has secured his party’s nomination, a bit of a sell out. Some see it worse, as a betrayal. I see it different. Obama is living up to his promise of post-partisan politics. My proof is the visceral reaction by some on the left, who are growing deeply concerned that their guy isn’t what they thought he was. This is a risky move, as it may lose some of the support that was guaranteed to come through for Obama in November. But it hints at better things for everyone. And it’s not as if he hasn’t been saying all along this is who he was. Obama was such a new factor that many people apparently are willing to overlay their own dreams and wishes on what he says. Maybe that’s all I’m doing, too. But I saw something different in Obama, that he had the potential to bring different sides to the table. Left and right. Now, after this week, it seems possible that he could be the American President the world needs, too. Nobody is perfect; Reagan wasn’t. Let’s leave perfection to the fanatics and the French.
And besides, if the Democrats are going to win big in the House and Senate and take the White House, we’re better off with a President who annoys the left at least a little bit. The left can be as fanatic as the right when it comes to certain things. When politics gets fanatic, it starts looking a lot like religion.
3 Comments
Jumpin,
Thank you for your point of view. I have also checked out your bubbles, and like them alot!
As for burgers, yea I kinda like them too….but for a thousand dollars a pound? blimey mate, they had better be good ones-!!
Maybe we all do think inside the box and perhaps that truly is our problem…hopefully you can keep us all in check.
If Mr DJ allows, I’m sending you out some peace and love with a group, we both can appreciated.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBUr1pSWTVI&feature=related
Nice name Archangelo!!
Peace out.
RayGun had almost nothing to do with the immolation of the USSR or the tearing down of the Berlin Wall; it was quite internally driven. One could argue that our overt and covert support in dollars and arms to the future Taliban and the future El Queda hastened the self-immolation of the USSR; Afghanistan was the straw that broke the camels back, but if you want to accept that theory you are left to ponder if the price was worth the costs.
The destabilization of the USSR has loosed countless nuclear materials to a world now dominated by non-state players and our funding and support for OBL and his ilk during the RayGun years has most certainly lead to the worst case of blowback we have ever experienced, yes I mean 911 and the destruction of the underlying principals that our country was founded on. Arguably that is the real legacy of the RayGun years. Would we have been better off to covertly support the USSR? What would the world be like today if the USSR was still intact and they, not we, were trapped in the Middle East? its worth serious pondering. The military-industrial complex most always have an enemy; it appears to me that the one they manufactured in the Soviet Union was much more healthy for us than the currently manufactured enemy.
At any rate the blowback factor should (but won’t) lead people to stop laughing at the idea of a Department of Peace. The SecDef and his military has, for the lst 60 years at least) been at best a complete waste of life and purse (southeast Asia) and more often an actual negative for our prosperity and security; certainly it has never been a success. When, if ever, will we face this fact, war does not work!
On another topic you raise; Obama at best is a mirror but people seem to think he is a magic mirror in which they can gaze upon their better self. John Lennon knew what that trap was all about.
Additionally you say that Democrats said “he was being idealistic and romantic, and there was no chance in hell of that wall coming down…. Can you substantiate that recollection?
As far as bringing different sides to the table; that could be good if you know how to manipulate those sides to get what you want, Obama and politicians in general these days take the opposite tack, they simply “want” what they think they can use to get both sides to the table. It has been and will remain a recipe for the status quo, one that you know (PEAK PEAK PEAK) must be shattered……..FOGETTABOUTIT!
HEY JUVE!
thanks for the vid, gotta love the beautiful german expressionism on such glorious display from Lang’s Metropolis, even if one doesn’t particularly care to ponder Lang’s vision (accurate largely I believe) of workers and owners, capitalism and technology, and dystopia. Its unusual to find such a depree of political/philosophical content bathed in such stunning beauty.
Every seen the Giorgio Moroder version of the film(cut to rock music)? I have a good friend who always wanted to turn that into a staged musical; would be a lovely project.
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