Politics Again

On the other hand, it's better to live in the reality instead of the myth, or maybe somehow enlarge our experience to make the reality encompass the myth. I mean, the myth of RFK is one thing, and I do carry that with me, but at the same time, if you read history, Bobby Kennedy was also a ruthless little prick too. Although he was a ruthless, little, liberal prick, and we probably need more like him.

There are politicians who did, and do, the hard slogging. Those are the people I respect. I'm idealistic, but pragmatic too. For every noble lost cause, give me the small wins, the hard-won compromises. These are what make Democracy work. People like Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Russ Feingold, Teddy Kennedy, Joe Biden, Hilary Clinton. I don't like everything they do. They are part of an elite, but at the same time, they are in the trenches, working in a very divided environment, in a very divided country.

All is not OK in the good, old USA. The American Empire is another dying myth.

I think Barack Obama represents both the myth and the reality. When I hear him speak, I hear the best of what I imagine we could be as a country, a people. The dream dies hard. I can invest him with all my idealistic fervor, but at the same time, I think he's a slogger too. He'll roll up his sleeves and try to make things work better. At least I think so. Maybe I'm reading a lot into the guy, probably am, but hey that's how I'm wired.

The other side loves to push the fear. To pretend we are that old American Empire. If only they could put those gay-loving, tree-hugging, want to fix everything Liberals in a cold cell somewhere. The fear dies hard too. Maybe dies last.

Martin Luther King was gunned down in Memphis, but Nelson Mandela emerged from a jail cell to the run a country. Democracy is an amazing thing too sometimes. And sometimes the good guys win. As Ray Davies put it, "every dog has his day," and maybe sometimes if we're lucky we can kind of string a bunch of those days together...

UPDATE: This one is for The Lovely Carla and Clairvoyant Kris. Yes, one more time for the Underdog. I'm working on blowing this picture, I promise...