The Fighting 44s

A most auspicious number for an auspicious day.

I have to admit, two summers ago I would have bet a lot of money against seeing this day: I thought back then that the Clinton machine, decades in the making, was certain to defeat Obama, and that we would be seeing two old, white baby boomers duking it out yet again. Instead, we have something strange and hopeful: a younger, intelligent, charismatic, worldly, socially-aware Black man so close to being the leader of the most powerful nation the world has ever seen.

I’m reminded of 2004, when we first started this site, and when one of my favorite old members, “Pimp Kim Chee,” a Korean from Chicago (and one of the funniest and smartest writers this site has ever seen), wrote “Obama for president” after watching him speak at the Democratic National Convention. And somehow, it’s a few votes away from coming true.

There are a great many factors which contributed to this: a demographic shift which introduced millions of new young voters, more sophisticated use of the internet, one disastrous war and one unraveling occupation, a financial crisis, the country’s racial history, and of course, Obama’s own personal merits and charisma.

I am hopeful. At the same time, I wonder, as I have for years, how much power the executive branch, indeed, the government as a whole, really has. What is going on behind the scenes? Who, if anyone, is pulling the strings? In a recent interview with Der Spiegel, Noam Chomsky stated, as many others have, that America is really just a corporate state run by one party: the business party, and he sees all of this as mere theater. I am not as cynical as he, but I very much understand his point. The creators of The Wire, the most brilliant television show ever produced, make much the same point: individuals are ultimately beholden to, and crushed by, institutions. This outlook maintains that the system is broken in some fundamental ways, and that it is very unlikely, if not impossible, to change.

My own position is not so extreme, because in the long-term, real change and socio-political progress has been made. We’re not a tribe, a feudal state, or a kingdom; a woman can run a multinational company, and a Black man with a Muslim name can become president. That’s significant. I also look at the Bush administration, and I think to myself, if incompetence and cynical manipulation can have this much of an effect, then why not intelligence and moral integrity? Wouldn’t it cut both ways?

But if Barack wins tonight, he will, as many have pointed out, have his work cut out for him. He has become a receptacle for the hopes and dreams of millions across the nation, and around the world.

My 20s began with the impeachment of Clinton over a blowjob, and continued with Bush, terror, torture, war, and manipulation. I’m 29 now, and I hope, in my 30s, to understand what change really means.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 at 8:22 pm and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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