Who I am For
Dear friends, fans and other blog followers,
This was originally sent out as an email. It got such a positive response, and people started forwarding it around and even posting it on their own sites, so I decided to publish it here.
I wanted to share my thoughts with you on the upcoming election. A number of you have asked me about this election and who I am supporting, so I thought I would briefly tell you who and why. Please understand that I respect whatever choice you make. I think it is still a democracy of sorts, and we are still friends if your choice and mine differ. Hopefully, friends can agree to disagree, but I also hope you will consider my thoughts. If you think they are helpful, I am glad. If not, that's o.k. too. We can still be friends. Feel free to forward to people you think might be interested (though I doubt that Fox News types and other intellectually challenged humans will be too receptive.)
Now that John Edwards has dropped out of the race it is crystal clear that either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton will face John McCain in November. If you have followed my blog, you know that I have been a Barack Obama supporter since I heard him at a rally in March 2007. I could write you a long dissertation on why, but essentially it boils down to a recurring theme in my life this past year or so: Choosing hope over fear.
So many of us are afraid to take a chance at what we really want in life, so we choose the "safe" choice over the hopeful one, deferring our desires and dreams, often for the one lifetime we have on this earth. Whether in our relationships, or our jobs or even in our politics, we are so fearful of the new that we choose the old and familiar, even though we know we are dissatisfied with it. As Einstein is famously said to have observed, "the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." And yet we do practise that insanity in matters of love, career, patterns of thought and politics. This applies when it comes to the Obama/Clinton decision.
Barack Obama and Billary Clinton (let's face it, they are running as a twofer) do not differ substantively on matters of policy, and there is no doubt that each of them would be a significant policy improvement on the Bush-Cheney disaster, on every measure.
I support Barack for a few simple reasons. First and foremost, his approach to politics is unifying, healing, inspiring, inclusive and empowering. You can see that he has a visceral distaste for the attacks and dishonest hits that have become the soundtrack of the Clinton/Bush era. Ironically, since Billary is the female candidate, it is Barack who has the more stereotypically softer and more "female" approach as a leader, looking for the common ground that unifies us, rather than sharpening the edges of division. It is an approach that draws people in, rather than forcing them to take sides.
The reality, as Michael Moore observed, is that most Americans are situationally liberal, but many recoil from that label. From the environment to civil rights to civil liberties to health care to minimum wage to the right to unionize (just a few) most Americans take a progressive view. However, being a liberal has become so demonized, thanks to the echo chamber of the Orwellian Fox News, right wing think tanks (80% of "experts on mainstream media are from them) and right wing hate radio that folks have been conditioned to shy from that self-description. It is Barack's gift to recognize that and speak a language of inclusion that gives those people permission to be a part of a larger purpose. It is no accident that he referenced Reagan. While he was clear that he strongly disagreed with Reagan's policies, he recognized the Gipper's ability to draw a large working majority of Americans to his side through his inclusive and optimistic and hopeful manner. This included many Democrats. Obama has the potential to draw many independents and disaffected Republicans to the causes we all want- to create a working majority for progessive change.
Barack is the most gifted public speaker since MLK and the two slain Kennedy brothers. Possessed of a brilliant intellect married to a powerful humanity, capable of flights of soaring inspiration and self-deprecating humor, he seems...well, authentic. He is believable as a genuine and unprogrammed person. I know that he is a politician, and as he himself has candidly said, all politicians' hands are dirty, but I still see a real human being in there. The ability to inspire, to set a tone and direction for the country, has been the hallmark of every president who has affected people and effected change. From Lincoln to Teddy Roosevelt (two other politicians with very thin resumes), from FDR to JFK to (sadly) Reagan, the politicians who have genuinely changed America's direction, for better or worse, have had the capacity to lift up and inspire with words.
To me, Barack represents the best of what we can be as a country. A biracial child of a Kansas mother and Kenyan father who had spent more time abroad by the time he was 6 than W Bush had by the time he was selected president, is remarkable enough. That the child of a single mother went on to be the first African-American to head the Harvard Law review is remarkable enough. That he walked away from a lucrative future as a lawyer to organize the poorest of the poor on Chicago's south side is remarkable enough. That he became the senator from Illinois by winning 60% of the white vote is remarkable enough. That he opposed the war in Iraq at a time when that was a politically unwise maneuver is remarkable enough. But what is most remarkable is the very encompassing and inclusive nature of his uplifting message, his repeated notion that we are not a collection of Blue states and red States, but we are the United States. It is a beautiful and healing vision after 20 years of the Bush/Clinton wars.
Lastly, this country is held in the lowest regard internationally of any time in its history, thanks to the reductive and dangerous unilateralism of Bush/Cheney. I cannot imagine a more stark and vivid contrast to the fear-mongering hate and fear spread by W and company, to put forth the inspiring, youthful, hopeful, inclusive, biracial Obama as the face of the U.S. The day he is inaugurated will do more to repair America's image in the world than anything else we, as a people could do.
Now a word or two on Billary.
The entire premise of the Clinton campaign seems to have boiled down to experience, that she is a safe choice, a known quantity. This notion of choosing the illusion of safety and predictability is one we grasp at in every area of our lives. It is deftly punctured by the wise Buddhist Pema Chodron, who notes "We can try to control the uncontrollable by looking for security and predictability, always hoping to be comfortable and safe. But the truth is we can never avoid uncertainty. It is part of the adventure."
Since close to 50% of the country says they will not vote for Billary under any circumstance, and she does not connect with many people on a personal level as an authentic and warm person, she is clearly not the most electable candidate. Her whole mantra has been that she is an experienced and tested hand. She will, by implicit and often explicit comparison, tell us that it will be, in many ways, a third term of husband Bill. Let's leave aside that 28 of her 35 years of political experience were in the unelected and unappointed position of being Bill Clinton's wife, including her botched mishandling of health care reform.
The reality is that all of Billary's "experience" bona fides vanish into the ether when she is running against 71 year-old Republican maverick war hero John McCain. He is a man with enormous appeal to independents and is as much a favorite of the media as Billary is a favorite devil. Her assertion to be "tough" enough to be commander in chief also looks ludicrous next to the war-hero warhawk. Republicans can always outmilitary Democrats - think of Dukakis in the tank and Kerry being swiftboated by a draft dodger. It is not fair, but if purple-hearted John Kerry couldn't win against AWOL W Bush, what chance does Billary have against McCain on issues of national security?
Make no mistake. If Billary is the nominee, I will vote for her. However, also make no mistake that you might want to start practising saying President McCain, because he will draw the vote of many independents and draw disaffected Republicans back into the fold. Even if she does eke out a 51% win, the right will dust off the old O'Reilly and Limbaugh-driven Clinton-hating playbook and we will watch that movie we could barely stomach the first time around. Even on policy, I am not a fan of the Clintons. Yes, they are a damn sight better than Bush-Cheney, but Cup of Noodles is also preferable to rocks. Doesn't make it something I enjoy eating. Bill Clinton's cynical realpolitik of triangulation, from health care to don't ask don't tell to nafta to welfare reform lost the Democrats the house in 1994, and there is nothing sadder than a cynical former idealist, which is what Bill Clinton is.
However, like I said, I am not supporting Barack because of my distaste for the Faustian bargains that define the Clintons. No, I am supporting him because, while I do not deify this man, and recognize he has made his deals and compromises, I believe him. It is a powerful and exhilarating thing to be able to support a candidate from a place of hope and optimism, a belief that his election will be a transformational moment unmatched in American politics. At a time when my father is succumbing to Alzheimer's, my marriage to the woman I was with for 25 years has ended, and she, the mother of my son, has been diagnosed with a horrible fatal disease, it would be understandable if I viewed things as pretty hopeless. However, when we have lost the courage to choose our hopes over our fears, whether in the personal or the political world, we have lost everything. We have lost ourselves. As Carlos Quijano said, sins against hope are the only sins beyond forgiveness and redemption. Voting for Barack Obama is an expression of my determination to choose hope over fear, in life, love and yes, even politics.
Thanks for listening and however you are going to vote, please do...
Oh, here's a clip of a Barack speech that may help you understand:
This was originally sent out as an email. It got such a positive response, and people started forwarding it around and even posting it on their own sites, so I decided to publish it here.
I wanted to share my thoughts with you on the upcoming election. A number of you have asked me about this election and who I am supporting, so I thought I would briefly tell you who and why. Please understand that I respect whatever choice you make. I think it is still a democracy of sorts, and we are still friends if your choice and mine differ. Hopefully, friends can agree to disagree, but I also hope you will consider my thoughts. If you think they are helpful, I am glad. If not, that's o.k. too. We can still be friends. Feel free to forward to people you think might be interested (though I doubt that Fox News types and other intellectually challenged humans will be too receptive.)
Now that John Edwards has dropped out of the race it is crystal clear that either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton will face John McCain in November. If you have followed my blog, you know that I have been a Barack Obama supporter since I heard him at a rally in March 2007. I could write you a long dissertation on why, but essentially it boils down to a recurring theme in my life this past year or so: Choosing hope over fear.
So many of us are afraid to take a chance at what we really want in life, so we choose the "safe" choice over the hopeful one, deferring our desires and dreams, often for the one lifetime we have on this earth. Whether in our relationships, or our jobs or even in our politics, we are so fearful of the new that we choose the old and familiar, even though we know we are dissatisfied with it. As Einstein is famously said to have observed, "the definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." And yet we do practise that insanity in matters of love, career, patterns of thought and politics. This applies when it comes to the Obama/Clinton decision.
Barack Obama and Billary Clinton (let's face it, they are running as a twofer) do not differ substantively on matters of policy, and there is no doubt that each of them would be a significant policy improvement on the Bush-Cheney disaster, on every measure.
I support Barack for a few simple reasons. First and foremost, his approach to politics is unifying, healing, inspiring, inclusive and empowering. You can see that he has a visceral distaste for the attacks and dishonest hits that have become the soundtrack of the Clinton/Bush era. Ironically, since Billary is the female candidate, it is Barack who has the more stereotypically softer and more "female" approach as a leader, looking for the common ground that unifies us, rather than sharpening the edges of division. It is an approach that draws people in, rather than forcing them to take sides.
The reality, as Michael Moore observed, is that most Americans are situationally liberal, but many recoil from that label. From the environment to civil rights to civil liberties to health care to minimum wage to the right to unionize (just a few) most Americans take a progressive view. However, being a liberal has become so demonized, thanks to the echo chamber of the Orwellian Fox News, right wing think tanks (80% of "experts on mainstream media are from them) and right wing hate radio that folks have been conditioned to shy from that self-description. It is Barack's gift to recognize that and speak a language of inclusion that gives those people permission to be a part of a larger purpose. It is no accident that he referenced Reagan. While he was clear that he strongly disagreed with Reagan's policies, he recognized the Gipper's ability to draw a large working majority of Americans to his side through his inclusive and optimistic and hopeful manner. This included many Democrats. Obama has the potential to draw many independents and disaffected Republicans to the causes we all want- to create a working majority for progessive change.
Barack is the most gifted public speaker since MLK and the two slain Kennedy brothers. Possessed of a brilliant intellect married to a powerful humanity, capable of flights of soaring inspiration and self-deprecating humor, he seems...well, authentic. He is believable as a genuine and unprogrammed person. I know that he is a politician, and as he himself has candidly said, all politicians' hands are dirty, but I still see a real human being in there. The ability to inspire, to set a tone and direction for the country, has been the hallmark of every president who has affected people and effected change. From Lincoln to Teddy Roosevelt (two other politicians with very thin resumes), from FDR to JFK to (sadly) Reagan, the politicians who have genuinely changed America's direction, for better or worse, have had the capacity to lift up and inspire with words.
To me, Barack represents the best of what we can be as a country. A biracial child of a Kansas mother and Kenyan father who had spent more time abroad by the time he was 6 than W Bush had by the time he was selected president, is remarkable enough. That the child of a single mother went on to be the first African-American to head the Harvard Law review is remarkable enough. That he walked away from a lucrative future as a lawyer to organize the poorest of the poor on Chicago's south side is remarkable enough. That he became the senator from Illinois by winning 60% of the white vote is remarkable enough. That he opposed the war in Iraq at a time when that was a politically unwise maneuver is remarkable enough. But what is most remarkable is the very encompassing and inclusive nature of his uplifting message, his repeated notion that we are not a collection of Blue states and red States, but we are the United States. It is a beautiful and healing vision after 20 years of the Bush/Clinton wars.
Lastly, this country is held in the lowest regard internationally of any time in its history, thanks to the reductive and dangerous unilateralism of Bush/Cheney. I cannot imagine a more stark and vivid contrast to the fear-mongering hate and fear spread by W and company, to put forth the inspiring, youthful, hopeful, inclusive, biracial Obama as the face of the U.S. The day he is inaugurated will do more to repair America's image in the world than anything else we, as a people could do.
Now a word or two on Billary.
The entire premise of the Clinton campaign seems to have boiled down to experience, that she is a safe choice, a known quantity. This notion of choosing the illusion of safety and predictability is one we grasp at in every area of our lives. It is deftly punctured by the wise Buddhist Pema Chodron, who notes "We can try to control the uncontrollable by looking for security and predictability, always hoping to be comfortable and safe. But the truth is we can never avoid uncertainty. It is part of the adventure."
Since close to 50% of the country says they will not vote for Billary under any circumstance, and she does not connect with many people on a personal level as an authentic and warm person, she is clearly not the most electable candidate. Her whole mantra has been that she is an experienced and tested hand. She will, by implicit and often explicit comparison, tell us that it will be, in many ways, a third term of husband Bill. Let's leave aside that 28 of her 35 years of political experience were in the unelected and unappointed position of being Bill Clinton's wife, including her botched mishandling of health care reform.
The reality is that all of Billary's "experience" bona fides vanish into the ether when she is running against 71 year-old Republican maverick war hero John McCain. He is a man with enormous appeal to independents and is as much a favorite of the media as Billary is a favorite devil. Her assertion to be "tough" enough to be commander in chief also looks ludicrous next to the war-hero warhawk. Republicans can always outmilitary Democrats - think of Dukakis in the tank and Kerry being swiftboated by a draft dodger. It is not fair, but if purple-hearted John Kerry couldn't win against AWOL W Bush, what chance does Billary have against McCain on issues of national security?
Make no mistake. If Billary is the nominee, I will vote for her. However, also make no mistake that you might want to start practising saying President McCain, because he will draw the vote of many independents and draw disaffected Republicans back into the fold. Even if she does eke out a 51% win, the right will dust off the old O'Reilly and Limbaugh-driven Clinton-hating playbook and we will watch that movie we could barely stomach the first time around. Even on policy, I am not a fan of the Clintons. Yes, they are a damn sight better than Bush-Cheney, but Cup of Noodles is also preferable to rocks. Doesn't make it something I enjoy eating. Bill Clinton's cynical realpolitik of triangulation, from health care to don't ask don't tell to nafta to welfare reform lost the Democrats the house in 1994, and there is nothing sadder than a cynical former idealist, which is what Bill Clinton is.
However, like I said, I am not supporting Barack because of my distaste for the Faustian bargains that define the Clintons. No, I am supporting him because, while I do not deify this man, and recognize he has made his deals and compromises, I believe him. It is a powerful and exhilarating thing to be able to support a candidate from a place of hope and optimism, a belief that his election will be a transformational moment unmatched in American politics. At a time when my father is succumbing to Alzheimer's, my marriage to the woman I was with for 25 years has ended, and she, the mother of my son, has been diagnosed with a horrible fatal disease, it would be understandable if I viewed things as pretty hopeless. However, when we have lost the courage to choose our hopes over our fears, whether in the personal or the political world, we have lost everything. We have lost ourselves. As Carlos Quijano said, sins against hope are the only sins beyond forgiveness and redemption. Voting for Barack Obama is an expression of my determination to choose hope over fear, in life, love and yes, even politics.
Thanks for listening and however you are going to vote, please do...
Oh, here's a clip of a Barack speech that may help you understand:
posted by Michael Zilber at 8:21 PM
<< Home