i saw the link at songbird's, but too early to watch it with sound then. and now i have. and i'm crying -- don't know much what to do with hope in the political arena, having not felt it in so very long. thanks, to you and songbird.
It's hard not to feel cynical about what the reality is going to be after the election. I agree, that speech is remarkable and the video was so hopeful that it was almost painful... I just wonder if it's dangerous to put too much stock into an election and a politician when we are so consistently let down by the people up at the top we put our trust in.
Lately people have been awash in nostalgia for the Reagans (on the GOP side) and the B.Clinton years (on the Dem side) and I can't help but remember that the Reagan years were marked by controversy, national debt and then economic crisis (actually brought on when GHB was prez), and the Clinton years were marked largely by a more "compassionate" version of the policies already put into place by Reagan. Let's not have amnesia about what the political reality was when Clinton was president. For that reason, we definitely cannot elect H.Clinton, but we should also be cautious about Obama because policy-wise he is not that far from the Clintons. Rhetoric-wise he is inspiring, but let's not be duped into thinking that Obama is going to bring about some of the changes that are nearest and dearest to our hearts-- like universal health care, cheaper higher ed., maybe not even the war in iraq...
3 comments:
i saw the link at songbird's, but too early to watch it with sound then. and now i have. and i'm crying -- don't know much what to do with hope in the political arena, having not felt it in so very long. thanks, to you and songbird.
will be at my polling place tuesday.
I've been watching it over and over again all day. (Wondering now how to get it on my iPod.)
It's hard not to feel cynical about what the reality is going to be after the election. I agree, that speech is remarkable and the video was so hopeful that it was almost painful... I just wonder if it's dangerous to put too much stock into an election and a politician when we are so consistently let down by the people up at the top we put our trust in.
Lately people have been awash in nostalgia for the Reagans (on the GOP side) and the B.Clinton years (on the Dem side) and I can't help but remember that the Reagan years were marked by controversy, national debt and then economic crisis (actually brought on when GHB was prez), and the Clinton years were marked largely by a more "compassionate" version of the policies already put into place by Reagan. Let's not have amnesia about what the political reality was when Clinton was president. For that reason, we definitely cannot elect H.Clinton, but we should also be cautious about Obama because policy-wise he is not that far from the Clintons. Rhetoric-wise he is inspiring, but let's not be duped into thinking that Obama is going to bring about some of the changes that are nearest and dearest to our hearts-- like universal health care, cheaper higher ed., maybe not even the war in iraq...
Post a Comment