Hope, fear, change, hate, redemption, self-loathing and other vote-getters

“All forms of dedication, devotion, and self surrender are in essence a desperate clinging to something which might give worth and meaning to our futile, spoiled lives”.
—Eric Hoffer, TheTrue Believer

Politicians almost universally find themselves in the role of trying to form or ride on the wave of mass movements. This is necessary because fervent political support is key to their success, and in order to generate this support they must form a message or an idea that people can cling to. More importantly, this message must promise to fulfill some need for change—better for the politician and movement that this change be in an imagined reality than in the subject’s reality. This is true, because if the promised change can actually be fulfilled the mass movement ends. It is better to make wild, abstract and idealistic promises than suggestions about how real living conditions might be improved.

Initially this really turned me off from Obama, since he and Hilrod both harped on the “Change” bandwagon. Ya’ll get this? They tested buzzwords in focus groups and found people responded positively when the word change was used. Then they used “change” as much as possible, building massive support while more qualified candidates fell to the wayside. Only Edwards, whose one-note song, “oppression of the working-class” was equally disappointing, had significant support within the Democratic party. But, now Obama stands-out in sharp contrast to McCain and Hilrod as the one guy with a nuanced an objective understanding of the issues facing our nation. Regardless of how much he chants “change” and “hope,” he addresses each new attack on him as well as the real issues of the day with a depth of thought that suggests he thinks Americans are more than a bunch of idiots.

The other two candidates provide no objective solutions to any problems—only short-sighted, vote-getting, non-starter policy ideas, and more importantly prey on fear, derision, distraction and anything that will fool someone who wants to be fooled.

I think the following quote says a lot about the anti-elitist phenomenon that is responsible for our current douche-bag president and that Hilrod has recently decided to use against Obama. By inverse, it suggests Obama’s confidence indicates he is not particularly vulnerable to the draw of mass movements. How refreshing it is that he has chosen thus far to not prey on the fears and self-doubts of voters.

“The less justified a man is in claiming excellence for his own self, the more ready he is to claim all excellence for his nation, his religion, his race or his holy cause.”
—Eric Hoffer, TheTrue Believer