A Momentous Occassion
January 20th, 2009 by ComputerBob
Today, the United States of America will make history.
In a way that I’m sure that you’ve already seen and heard described from every conceivable angle.
For months, newscasts, newspapers, magazines, television and radio stations, T-shirts, posters and every sort of collectible memorabilia have shouted that this is a new beginning.
Change that we’ve needed for a long time.
Change we can believe in.
A time of great hope.
But with great hope comes even greater expectations.
I’ve seen the rapturous, adoring crowds.
And the T-shirts.
And the posters.
And the books.
And the coins.
I’ve heard the songs.
And I’ve heard the “unbiased” journalists gush and praise, like teenage girls, when they see their favorite pop-tart du jour.
He’s been described as a media celebrity.
A superstar.
An oratory genius.
A font of wisdom.
A role model.
A hero.
An equalizer.
A unifier.
An emancipator.
A prophet.
A miracle worker.
A king.
A savior.
A god.
But I can’t help but think that
he’s just a man.
A politician.
An unusually charismatic politician.
A shrewd and strategically gifted politician.
Probably the most successfull politician the United States of America has ever seen.
Possibly the most successful politician that the world has ever seen.
But still — a politician.
A politician who quickly rose to power through, financially and politically benefited from, and continues to have many close ties to — the festering swamp of the long-corrupt Chicago political machine — yet who now claims to have been completely unaffected by its stench.
A politician who rose to power through twenty years of listening to sermons and counsel from a racist, hate-mongering pastor who he greatly admired, described as “a family member,” and dedicated his first book to — yet he now claims that he never heard his mentor make any racist or hate-mongering statements.
A politician who has had absolutely no leadership experience — corporate, moral or political — other than leading his own political campaigns — yet campaigned under the banner of being a born leader, and now claims to be qualified to be “the CEO” of the most powerful country in the free world.
A politician whose voting record made him the most partisan member of the entire U.S. Senate, but who campaigned on the promise that he will unite the country through bipartisan efforts.
A politician who claims that he wants to hear and respect all sides of every issue, but whose extremist liberal ideology, black liberation theology, tax-and-spend, big-government agenda, inflexible, arrogant, winner-takes-all attitude, and a long history of silencing his opponents, may make him more suitable to be a socialist dictator than the leader of the free world.
A politician so incredibly and uniquely proficient at self-promotion that he was able to convince a majority of voters to eagerly turn a blind eye to his past and put their faith in his lofty claims and promises.
Cheering for his inspiring words instead of carefully examining his actions.
In other words, believing what he says he’s going to do instead of looking at what he actually does every time he is given the opportunity.
Change we can believe in?
I hope I’m wrong, but I suspect that we’re going to end up with “more of the same” instead.
“Meet the new boss — same as the old boss.”
That’s because, underneath it all, he’s really just a politician.
I believe “the new boss” has mastered the one skill that all politicians appear to strive for: the ability to gain immense personal wealth and immense personal power by pretending to deeply care about people who don’t have any wealth or power.
And we voters just keep falling for it.
Over and over.
I’m certainly not making any accusations or insinuations, but history convinces me to be very, very skeptical of any politician who rises to great power and popularity very quickly by offering hope and change to desperate voters during difficult financial times.
Times exactly like these.
For the sake of the country, I will pray for him.
But the more the crowds cheer for him, the less I sleep at night.
I will never place my faith in a politician.
I don’t trust any of them.
But I trust him even less than the rest of them.
Because he is their hero.
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