Pressure and Politics (but not political pressure)

Hey--

I realized today, just now, that having a blog puts a lot of pressure on me. I know I have so many interested readers and I really don't want to let them down. But right now I don't feel like I have a lot to say. I just can't handle it. So I'm deleting the blog, because it's just too daunting and I want my life to be easy.



Just kidding.



I don't really have a lot to say today, but I LOVE having the blog because I can say what I want to say and people can respond, but it's less immediate than facebook and less specific than email and less expensive than a newspaper column. So I don't have a lot to say, but I was thinking about politics earlier, so I might as well talk about that. Funny that I initially said I would avoid politics, but that seems to be a point of discussion for me. But we can blame the circumstances, seeing as the election was yesterday. Anyway, here are some tidbits.

--Political Informedness. This election, I chose to stay really uninformed about the election. Yes, it was a choice. I didn't have a huge amount of time when everything came under the spotlight last year and I felt no obligation to set time aside to become politically informed because I am a wee sixteen year-old and I can't vote. So I formed vague opinions based on the little research I did for myself and the opinions of people that I trust (from both sides) and I decided that I favored neither Obama nor McCain. I watched neither candidate speak formally, save for brief excerpts, and I quickly came to the conclusion that Obama would win and I got over it. I still think Mitt should have won. As I've said before I really hate politics. I hate the dishonesty of every politician. I hate the animosity between parties. I hate the enmity that so often rears its ugly head between close friends who can't see beyond their political differences. I hate the mob mentality of uninformed voters who violently support one side or another (in fact, I hate the mob mentality involved in the Obama campaign, because so many had no idea what they were voting for, they only know who they were voting for, especially among eighteen to thirty year-olds, but I'm glad that someone got them to care about something and I'm glad that they voted and I'm not upset that Obama was elected so it's all good), which is why I went from supporting Mitt, to supporting neither, to being against both. I never chose a side because I honestly didn't like either based on the little that I knew and also because I didn't know enough to feel good about choosing a side. And because it was fun to say that if I were voting, I would have written in Mitt. But, I was watching Obama's acceptance speech today (I haven't finished watching it, but I have watched most of it) and as the camera zoomed in on the faces of the audience who were beyond elated and very emotional, I felt a distinct disconnect with them, not because we differed in opinion, but because they cared and I didn't. Those of you who know me best know that I hate barriers. I hate feeling like something is preventing me from connecting with another human being. So I decided something. Well, I reaffirmed and added to a previous decision. I had already decided to become politically informed for the next election because I will vote in the next election (though government is not my favorite class, it has taught me two things: one of them is that an uninformed voter is an idiot--I don't intend to be an idiot), but beyond that I decided today to start today. Whatever happens in the next four years (and honestly, I haven't a clue--the only things I'm sure of are "Change" and a favorable rating for the new president as he begins his tenure), I pledge to myself and to any who want to hold me accountable that I will know more about what is going on in my country. I won't be perfectly and thoroughly informed to begin with, but when I have the time, I will take the time to read an article or watch the news. It's kind of funny--up until now I've cared deeply about the world around me, but not as much about the country around me. Furthermore, I decided to care. I'm not saying that my contempt for American politics has miraculously vanished, and I'm promising that I won't become emotionally attached to any candidate, and I certainly won't make politics an integral part of my life or personality, but I will care. Right now I'm not sure entirely what that will mean or means right now. But I know it means something. (By the way, the reason why I wouldn't care, and why what "care" means in this case is unclear, is because I'm not convinced that politics or government can affect my life or change it in any other way besides taxes and I'm not sure that politics or government can really make a positive difference in the world--I'd like to hope so, but I don't know if I can convince myself to think so, I'm too politically cynical and disillusioned. (-: )

--Barack Obama. Before anything else, I want to say that it brings great joy to my heart to know that someone other than an old, rich, white man was elected president. I would have been even happier if a Black woman had been elected (not if it were Oprah, though). It's a hard reality for me to grasp or even imagine, but I do know that it is a reality that severe racism exists in our country. This makes me really sad. As unsophisticated as that sentence was, I can't put it any other way. No matter what his policies are, it's fantastic that Obama is president simply because he broke a barrier by becoming the first non-white president. Anyway, I learned a lot about Obama today, just by watching him speak. I had seen him speak before, but only in short excerpts and sound bites. Here are my thoughts on his acceptance speech. It was remarkably written and it contained many good things. Just when I felt a little excluded, he reached out and addressed the delicately-referred-to listeners whose support he hasn't yet earned. Though I think he could have been a little more inclusive earlier in his speech, when he was specifically inclusive, it was just wonderful. Second, his family is beautiful and I respect him so much for being so honest and open about his deep feelings for his family. In fact, that was my favorite part of the speech because that was the point when I really felt genuine emotion through the computer screen. Third, he's not the remarkable orator that everyone built him up to be. He is a very gifted speaker, it is true, especially compared to Bush and other politicians whom I have seen speak. But he doesn't make my list of brilliant public speakers. He has this strange sort of vocalism before many of his words and he sometimes stresses the wrong word and he has a couple other mannerisms that I find a little distracting. More importantly, I don't feel engaged or emotionally involved when he speaks, and that's not because I disagree with him (what was there to disagree with in his acceptance speech, anyway), it's because I don't feel any emotion or genuineness or plain honesty when he speaks (and by honesty, I mean honesty in an acting sense, not in an I-think-he's-lying-to-me sense). Though I know he really believes in his words, I don't feel like his delivery is completely rooted in his heart. That being said, I think he is a very likeable speaker (I totally understand why he woke up the youth of the nation) and a very talented speaker, especially compared to other politicians I've heard. I just don't think he's as good as many of my good friends have set him up to be. But that's okay, a president doesn't have to be a brilliant performer, but Obama certainly is a good one. Fourth, he seems a little bit cocky, not a ton, but a bit, mostly at the beginning of his speech. Of course, he had every right to be proud of himself, I mean, he'll be the most powerful man in the world come January, but he seemed the slightest bit full of himself, which irks me. But I've also heard that McCain was much more arrogant and that was one of his big problems. I'll assess that later when I search for McCain's speeches on Youtube. Fifth, he was very grateful in his speech, and that was nice to see.

--An anomaly. The other important thing that I learned in my government class is that a good citizen should distrust his government. It's clear that people trust Obama. It's also clear that America needs hope right now. How do you find the balance between an optimism and affection for a president and a healthy distrust for those in power? How do you do it? The distrust part isn't hard for me, but the hope part is for me. I'm pretty optimistic about most things in life, but I'm fairly cynical about the course of the country. I honestly think that things will just get worse, not necessarily because of Obama, but just because. Anyway, I'd like to hope (especially because so many other people are hopeful) but I also think that the Obama craze and all the happiness about his success in the election should be tempered with a healthy distrust for the government. That's what the founding fathers intended, and if we can trust anyone, we can trust them

Okay, I realize this post was way long. I'll work on writing shorter posts. Here's a video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JQ69a88CmE

I love this song and this is my favorite version on Youtube. I wish I had this guys technique.

--Christian Jacob Frandsen