A_Wanderer
ONE love, blood, life
Of course you'd say that.
can we go so far as to congratulate the French as well?
Go Obama!
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Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
A_Wanderer
ONE love, blood, life
Sorry but I don't go that way.
HyperU2
War Child
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
Yeah, I seriously doubt you'll really hear anything about that...
AliEnvy
Refugee
A Lexicon of Disappointment
by Naomi Klein
All is not well in Obamafanland. It's not clear exactly what accounts for the change of mood. Maybe it was the rancid smell emanating from Treasury's latest bank bailout. Or the news that the president's chief economic adviser, Larry Summers, earned millions from the very Wall Street banks and hedge funds he is protecting from reregulation now. Or perhaps it began earlier, with Obama's silence during Israel's Gaza attack.
Whatever the last straw, a growing number of Obama enthusiasts are starting to entertain the possibility that their man is not, in fact, going to save the world if we all just hope really hard.
This is a good thing. If the superfan culture that brought Obama to power is going to transform itself into an independent political movement, one fierce enough to produce programs capable of meeting the current crises, we are all going to have to stop hoping and start demanding.
The first stage, however, is to understand fully the awkward in-between space in which many US progressive movements find themselves. To do that, we need a new language, one specific to the Obama moment. Here is a start.
Hopeover. Like a hangover, a hopeover comes from having overindulged in something that felt good at the time but wasn't really all that healthy, leading to feelings of remorse, even shame. It's the political equivalent of the crash after a sugar high. Sample sentence: "When I listened to Obama's economic speech my heart soared. But then, when I tried to tell a friend about his plans for the millions of layoffs and foreclosures, I found myself saying nothing at all. I've got a serious hopeover."
Hoper coaster. Like a roller coaster, the hoper coaster describes the intense emotional peaks and valleys of the Obama era, the veering between joy at having a president who supports safe-sex education and despondency that single-payer healthcare is off the table at the very moment when it could actually become a reality. Sample sentence: "I was so psyched when Obama said he is closing Guantánamo. But now they are fighting like mad to make sure the prisoners in Bagram have no legal rights at all. Stop this hoper coaster--I want to get off!"
Hopesick. Like the homesick, hopesick individuals are intensely nostalgic. They miss the rush of optimism from the campaign trail and are forever trying to recapture that warm, hopey feeling--usually by exaggerating the significance of relatively minor acts of Obama decency. Sample sentences: "I was feeling really hopesick about the escalation in Afghanistan, but then I watched a YouTube video of Michelle in her organic garden and it felt like inauguration day all over again. A few hours later, when I heard that the Obama administration was boycotting a major UN racism conference, the hopesickness came back hard. So I watched slideshows of Michelle wearing clothes made by ethnically diverse independent fashion designers, and that sort of helped."
Hope fiend. With hope receding, the hope fiend, like the dope fiend, goes into serious withdrawal, willing to do anything to chase the buzz. (Closely related to hopesickness but more severe, usually affecting middle-aged males.) Sample sentence: "Joe told me he actually believes Obama deliberately brought in Summers so that he would blow the bailout, and then Obama would have the excuse he needs to do what he really wants: nationalize the banks and turn them into credit unions. What a hope fiend!"
Hopebreak. Like the heartbroken lover, the hopebroken Obama-ite is not mad but terribly sad. She projected messianic powers onto Obama and is now inconsolable in her disappointment. Sample sentence: "I really believed Obama would finally force us to confront the legacy of slavery in this country and start a serious national conversation about race. But now he never seems to mention race, and he's using twisted legal arguments to keep us from even confronting the crimes of the Bush years. Every time I hear him say 'move forward,' I'm hopebroken all over again."
Hopelash. Like a backlash, hopelash is a 180-degree reversal of everything Obama-related. Sufferers were once Obama's most passionate evangelists. Now they are his angriest critics. Sample sentence: "At least with Bush everyone knew he was an asshole. Now we've got the same wars, the same lawless prisons, the same Washington corruption, but everyone is cheering like Stepford wives. It's time for a full-on hopelash."
In trying to name these various hope-related ailments, I found myself wondering what the late Studs Terkel would have said about our collective hopeover. He surely would have urged us not to give in to despair. I reached for one of his last books, Hope Dies Last. I didn't have to read long. The book opens with the words: "Hope has never trickled down. It has always sprung up."
And that pretty much says it all. Hope was a fine slogan when rooting for a long-shot presidential candidate. But as a posture toward the president of the most powerful nation on earth, it is dangerously deferential. The task as we move forward (as Obama likes to say) is not to abandon hope but to find more appropriate homes for it--in the factories, neighborhoods and schools where tactics like sit-ins, squats and occupations are seeing a resurgence.
Political scientist Sam Gindin wrote recently that the labor movement can do more than protect the status quo. It can demand, for instance, that shuttered auto plants be converted into green-future factories, capable of producing mass-transit vehicles and technology for a renewable energy system. "Being realistic means taking hope out of speeches," he wrote, "and putting it in the hands of workers."
Which brings me to the final entry in the lexicon.
Hoperoots. Sample sentence: "It's time to stop waiting for hope to be handed down, and start pushing it up, from the hoperoots".
by Naomi Klein
All is not well in Obamafanland. It's not clear exactly what accounts for the change of mood. Maybe it was the rancid smell emanating from Treasury's latest bank bailout. Or the news that the president's chief economic adviser, Larry Summers, earned millions from the very Wall Street banks and hedge funds he is protecting from reregulation now. Or perhaps it began earlier, with Obama's silence during Israel's Gaza attack.
Whatever the last straw, a growing number of Obama enthusiasts are starting to entertain the possibility that their man is not, in fact, going to save the world if we all just hope really hard.
This is a good thing. If the superfan culture that brought Obama to power is going to transform itself into an independent political movement, one fierce enough to produce programs capable of meeting the current crises, we are all going to have to stop hoping and start demanding.
The first stage, however, is to understand fully the awkward in-between space in which many US progressive movements find themselves. To do that, we need a new language, one specific to the Obama moment. Here is a start.
Hopeover. Like a hangover, a hopeover comes from having overindulged in something that felt good at the time but wasn't really all that healthy, leading to feelings of remorse, even shame. It's the political equivalent of the crash after a sugar high. Sample sentence: "When I listened to Obama's economic speech my heart soared. But then, when I tried to tell a friend about his plans for the millions of layoffs and foreclosures, I found myself saying nothing at all. I've got a serious hopeover."
Hoper coaster. Like a roller coaster, the hoper coaster describes the intense emotional peaks and valleys of the Obama era, the veering between joy at having a president who supports safe-sex education and despondency that single-payer healthcare is off the table at the very moment when it could actually become a reality. Sample sentence: "I was so psyched when Obama said he is closing Guantánamo. But now they are fighting like mad to make sure the prisoners in Bagram have no legal rights at all. Stop this hoper coaster--I want to get off!"
Hopesick. Like the homesick, hopesick individuals are intensely nostalgic. They miss the rush of optimism from the campaign trail and are forever trying to recapture that warm, hopey feeling--usually by exaggerating the significance of relatively minor acts of Obama decency. Sample sentences: "I was feeling really hopesick about the escalation in Afghanistan, but then I watched a YouTube video of Michelle in her organic garden and it felt like inauguration day all over again. A few hours later, when I heard that the Obama administration was boycotting a major UN racism conference, the hopesickness came back hard. So I watched slideshows of Michelle wearing clothes made by ethnically diverse independent fashion designers, and that sort of helped."
Hope fiend. With hope receding, the hope fiend, like the dope fiend, goes into serious withdrawal, willing to do anything to chase the buzz. (Closely related to hopesickness but more severe, usually affecting middle-aged males.) Sample sentence: "Joe told me he actually believes Obama deliberately brought in Summers so that he would blow the bailout, and then Obama would have the excuse he needs to do what he really wants: nationalize the banks and turn them into credit unions. What a hope fiend!"
Hopebreak. Like the heartbroken lover, the hopebroken Obama-ite is not mad but terribly sad. She projected messianic powers onto Obama and is now inconsolable in her disappointment. Sample sentence: "I really believed Obama would finally force us to confront the legacy of slavery in this country and start a serious national conversation about race. But now he never seems to mention race, and he's using twisted legal arguments to keep us from even confronting the crimes of the Bush years. Every time I hear him say 'move forward,' I'm hopebroken all over again."
Hopelash. Like a backlash, hopelash is a 180-degree reversal of everything Obama-related. Sufferers were once Obama's most passionate evangelists. Now they are his angriest critics. Sample sentence: "At least with Bush everyone knew he was an asshole. Now we've got the same wars, the same lawless prisons, the same Washington corruption, but everyone is cheering like Stepford wives. It's time for a full-on hopelash."
In trying to name these various hope-related ailments, I found myself wondering what the late Studs Terkel would have said about our collective hopeover. He surely would have urged us not to give in to despair. I reached for one of his last books, Hope Dies Last. I didn't have to read long. The book opens with the words: "Hope has never trickled down. It has always sprung up."
And that pretty much says it all. Hope was a fine slogan when rooting for a long-shot presidential candidate. But as a posture toward the president of the most powerful nation on earth, it is dangerously deferential. The task as we move forward (as Obama likes to say) is not to abandon hope but to find more appropriate homes for it--in the factories, neighborhoods and schools where tactics like sit-ins, squats and occupations are seeing a resurgence.
Political scientist Sam Gindin wrote recently that the labor movement can do more than protect the status quo. It can demand, for instance, that shuttered auto plants be converted into green-future factories, capable of producing mass-transit vehicles and technology for a renewable energy system. "Being realistic means taking hope out of speeches," he wrote, "and putting it in the hands of workers."
Which brings me to the final entry in the lexicon.
Hoperoots. Sample sentence: "It's time to stop waiting for hope to be handed down, and start pushing it up, from the hoperoots".
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
This is where the article fails:
How many voters honestly thought Obama could save the world? Very few...
How many voters honestly think the one they vote for can actually change the world? Honest voters just hope their canidate can help...
The savior/messiah BS is something that Rush, Hannity, Fox, McCain and all the others on the right sold to some of you. There may be a few that fell for it, but honest well informed voters knew better.
Those reveling in this type of article speak more of yourself rather than those that voted for Obama.
I know Klein is very left, but I find her take to be very short sighted...
How many voters honestly thought Obama could save the world? Very few...
How many voters honestly think the one they vote for can actually change the world? Honest voters just hope their canidate can help...
The savior/messiah BS is something that Rush, Hannity, Fox, McCain and all the others on the right sold to some of you. There may be a few that fell for it, but honest well informed voters knew better.
Those reveling in this type of article speak more of yourself rather than those that voted for Obama.
I know Klein is very left, but I find her take to be very short sighted...
Zoocoustic
War Child
"Go Obama!"
Seriously?
What has this guy done since taking office?
Everything has only been worse since he became President.
Seriously?
What has this guy done since taking office?
Everything has only been worse since he became President.
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
Seriously?
Can you list specifics of what has gotten worse that can be attributed to him?
Successful hostage recovery, successful foreign relations trips, finally addressing torture, and trying to deal with an inherited shitstorm of an economy...
I would love to see your specifics. I'm sure they will be fact filled and delivered quickly. Being that you are a "diehard conservative"(your words), you think O'Reiley is actually fair and balanced, and you were already predicting the country was going to go to shit if Obama was elected, I am dying to hear your unbiased take on things.
Tiger Edge
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
AliEnvy
Refugee
BVS, touchy touchy. You seem to have taken the article WAY too seriously and missed the main point about real change coming from the ground up, NOT from corporate-sponsored government.
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
Not being touchy, just a little tired of all these articles that have the same premise(serious or not), because sooner or later we're going to make Hannity sound like he knows what he's talking about if we make it look like we really were looking for a messiah.
AliEnvy
Refugee
Why are you tired of it? No sense in being in denial, clearly many of the sheep were expecting to be saved, and still are. You don't have to allow yourself to be counted among them just because you voted for him. I would think honest, well informed voters acknowledge as much and don't get sucked into the "told you so" BS of media caricatures like Hannity.
Defending Obama or his administration in a save-face fashion on criticism from far right talking heads is self-defeating, supports the notion that the myth needs debunking and distracts from productive dialogue on how to solve the complex problems we all face. I'm not saying you're doing that, just reacting to your last comment about it.
Defending Obama or his administration in a save-face fashion on criticism from far right talking heads is self-defeating, supports the notion that the myth needs debunking and distracts from productive dialogue on how to solve the complex problems we all face. I'm not saying you're doing that, just reacting to your last comment about it.
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
Why am I tired of it? Because the more it's talked about in this light, the more people actually believe it...
See? You clearly fell for it. The percentage of those that actually thought they would be "saved" personally is very very small.
It just sets up the ultimate straw man, because if Obama proves to be a successful President this term there will still be those that will say, "but he didn't save you...". So perpetuating this make believe notion just takes us further away from any real discussion or criticism of this administration.
AliEnvy
Refugee
What did I fall for exactly? That there are many people who sincerely believed with starstruck devotion that Obama was going to quickly undo all the major wrongs of Bush...as promised? That many people sit idly by and hope (pray) that the government keeps them out of harm's way (and spares them the messy details)? That there are many people who still blame Bush for current policy decisions that are unpopular because there's "no choice"...
What does being "saved" personally even mean in this political discussion? If that means the jobs and cash flow for corporate giant CEOs or Bush administration criminals, then yes, very very small percentage saved indeed.
LarryMullen's POPAngel
Blue Crack Distributor
HyperU2
War Child
Irvine511
Blue Crack Supplier
yolland
Forum Moderator
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Klein is writing from the perspective of a professional activist, not wanting to lose the potential she and other activists saw during the campaign for "tactics like sit-ins, squats and occupations...seeing a resurgence." I think the "growing number of Obama enthusiasts are starting to entertain the possibility..." part is probably less an observation of what she actually perceives to be true on a mass level, than an attempt to plant an idea in her audience's minds which might then be redirected towards the "resurgence" of grassroots activism she and other activists were hoping for all along (after all, no one could say 'Everything's going great!' in an economic climate like this, so maybe that could be parlayed into a renewed sense of urgency).
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
Exactly, you fell for THIS lie.
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
Oh noes!!!
Maybe we would get much further if we ignored and pissed off the bad people.
AliEnvy
Refugee
In my opinion, thinking that's a lie is denial.
I don't watch the crazy pundits so I can't really comment on the extent of the exaggeration of their pointing and laughing. But I also know that thoughtful, well informed voters don't buy into that crazy shit anyway so its no worth worrying about reasonable people being brainwashed by overexposure.
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
In my opinion, thinking that's a lie is denial.
Well if you find a large example of people that "sincerely believe with starstruck devotion that Obama was going to quickly undo all the major wrongs of Bush", then I'll concede.
But I doubt you'll find this example. For most know it takes time, most know it won't even happen during his term(s), most just see him as a step in the right direction and not THE answer.
financeguy
ONE love, blood, life
Well, this would make an interesting thread for discussion in itself!
From my perspecive, contrary to popular belief, traditional libertarian conservatives, or 'paleocons', as they are sometimes known (whatever that means) are not big fans at all of corporatism or even corporate-sponsored government. I honestly see corporatism and socialism as two sides of the same coin.
AliEnvy
Refugee
Maybe I should brush up on my political science but it does seem to me that all those terms seem to have rather flexible application and multi-definitions these days.
Cactus Annie
Refugee
Go where?
deep
Blue Crack Addict
Bablefish - Spanish to English so he can read the book Chavez gave him.
The 100 days report will be in soon.
What grade will he get?
Cactus Annie
Refugee
You make your president go through reports? It's just like being at school. What will his parents say if the grade is poor?
Vincent Vega
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
deep
Blue Crack Addict
Sure it works!
Bablefish is what the Bush people used to verify the WMDs.
Bablefish is what the Bush people used to verify the WMDs.
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