One of my fondest memories of the past year was the wonderful night when Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States. I happened to find myself in a hotbed of political fervor, commonly referred to as Boston, MA. Not only that, but I happened to be immersed in a 'communal artistic haven' within the hotbed of political fervor
. Some may call it Emerson College.
So as you could guess, on the eve of our nation's most significant political renaissance of the 21st century, the majority of my peers were awaiting with anxiously liberal breath on the night of November 2nd. Be it snuggled up watching CNN in the comfort of a common room, or blogging on a Blackberry, the majority of college-aged semi-interested students gave a shit.
Yet, if I fast forwarded to tonight, February 24th, 2009, the common room crowd an
d Blackberry blog topics would be very different. Toda
y was not the date of an election, or an inauguration, but the current President's first address to Congress, his game plan of sorts, or agenda for the next 4 years. Essentially our President is discussing th
e same things he did during his campaign. Turning ideas into promises and realities. So why was is this once-heavily involved cross-section of society now apathetic towards the rock star political doppelganger? Why aren't college kids waiting with baited breath to hear the
words of the current president that they worked so hard to elect?
I'm very hesitant to say this but maybe my long-kept secret theory may be true. Maybe the Obama-fad has finally passed; boiling down the political band-wagon
fans from the socially aware youth of our current nation.
Where are all of the Obama t-shirt clad activists who were once so involved in the current state of our contemporary world? Perhaps I'm being too harsh and assuming that, just because students aren't gathered and celebrating means they are not t
uned in, or aware of the goings-on of their new administration.
By writing this, I am not implying that I am higher intellect or interes
t than anyone else, I haven't even stated that I watched Obama's address. I am simply making an observation.
SO, what do you think of this observation?
Is it accurate, is the Obama craze slowly dying down now that the job is done, and he's becoming less of a phenomenon and more of a diplomat? OR is the recent political inclination of the nation's youth still just as strong, just more sustained and normal? Or am I simply being a politically pretentious jerk? Your thoughts....
2 comments:
I don't think its apathy so much as the feeling that all that work was to set up the Obama administration and now at the moment there is very little for us to actually do in it. I think if Obama were to come out tomorrow and say "I need you all to do x, y, and z" you would have (almost) the same fervor you saw during the campaign put towards those objectives. Campaigns have a far more tangible goal than administrations. In a campaign you just need your guy to win, and its easier to rally around that cause. In an administration, the goal is this abstract concept of prosperity, which is easy to agree on in principle but much harder to actually put people in motion towards unless there are specific tasks that can be accomplished. It's early days yet.
Cool blog btw.
MIcaeli,
What you have written here speaks to the proper uses of a blog. You have reflected and represented the views of your peers and the world around you rather than just yourself. What some seem to forget is that Obama's message is not one of ownership but of leadership. He has made no claims to change anything, but has promised that he can guide and lead the changes that we the citizens and especially we the youth of the country wish to see and will make happen. The night of his victory is one that will we will remember forever. Running with a euphoric sense of our own government through the streets of Boston was a moment in time that showed us what possibilities there are in this country, not just the possibility that a black man could win, but the possibility that our generation could rally around, support, and decide something of far greater importance than the Video Music Awards. Pieces like this can help us and our children remember what is possible and what we did together, let's hope we haven't forgotten it so soon.
<3
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