Hope is a strange thing
November 6, 2008
Caught dreams are curious things; exhausting and ragged from the chase. I am heartened by Obama’s ascendance to the Presidency: not for his race or affiliation, but the intelligence and character he brings to the role. He has a chance to be extraordinary; I have never felt that about a leader in my lifetime. And yet there is a Christmas afternoon hangover, an idyllic crash that has overcome me. I’ve watched his rise so closely, and followed the election so avidly, I feel the weight of advocacy pressing down: I’ve staked my faith in human nature on a politician becoming a truly transformative figure. That is generally a bad bet.
Still, martyrs remorse aside, it was a pretty amazing night; the implausible film trope of a Black President suddenly taking form; giddily partial CNN anchors flogging the importance of the moment until it bled. Even the Republican wonks managed a smug patriotism that somehow seemed warranted. The victory was so one-sided, so immediate; the coverage was more coronation than journalistic accounting. I honestly expected John King to take a victory lap around the studio, slapping the downcast faces of republican stage hands as he passed.
They kept gleefully cutting to the joyless gathering at McCain campaign headquarters, the crowd shuffling around like abortion clinic Christmas party guests, waiting for results to come in so they could cry and go home. As theatre of human cruelty goes it was right up there.
And then, midway through the night, the front man of the Black Eyed Peas appeared via hologram …to explain his role in the election…and I felt very old, and very high. At first I thought the ghost of Old Dirty Bastard had risen from the grave to take vengeance, but apparently CNN decided that the most seminal moment of our generation required a holographic projection, of Will.I.Am… to appropriately frame it.
In the space of a few months we have moved from a world where the Skull and Bones crew hold monolithic sway, to one where the coherent photons of C list celebrities endorse black Presidents.
Hope is a strange thing.
November 6, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Very touching…
I am definitely in a small Obama hangover, as the reality of the world situation sets in, and I try to grasp the sheer weight of millions of millions (billions, even) dreams and hopes of people around the world on one person.
But still, seeing Jesse Jackson quietly cry on camera was intense and filled me with wonderment at what he must be feeling.
And then watching CNN, I laughed at how festive the anchors were, and how they could barely visibly contain the desire to rip their suits off, do a whole lot of ecstacy and form a video dance party to Obama’s speech. Hilarious!
November 6, 2008 at 5:59 pm
I also think Obama is the first leader (let alone president of the United States) I’ve ever seen that I feel I personally relate to in both mind and spirit. I can visualize myself in his shoes to some degree and so I feel the enormity of his responsibility.