Zizzle-Zot, etc.: Op-Ed

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Op-Ed

Check out this Op-Ed from the NY Times. Good stuff.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/opinion/25hart.html?th&emc=th

3 comments:

Anonymous said...: Yes, I'm breaking my silence. I had to, I need some answers!!!!!

PLEASE, SOMEONE... fill me in on how Obama is supposed to be Americas savior. I still have seen nothing that will leave me to believe in the slightest that he will be any different than anyone else. Why and how are so many jumping on the band wagon?!?

Yes, he is great at giving speaches, he's been doing it for over a year now. He is very likeable, he usually knows what to say and when to say it. Has his talk sold everyone? What tangible things has he done in the past to warrant Americas trust at the most powerful position in the world?

When I look into his history I see spending and far leftist agenda voting? Please correct me if I'm wrong. How is this going to as the article said (and I'm paraphrasing) change the cycle of going further into deficit like past presidents and/or be any different than his predecessors?

I'm honestly searching for some help here. I guess all that can be paraphrased into one two part question, What has he done to back up all his speeches and what from his speeches convinces you that he will do what he says?; June 25, 2008 at 1:46 PM
Anonymous said...: Someone? Anyone?; June 27, 2008 at 9:12 AM
Christopher Kevin Casselman said...: My mind is far away from politics right now, but I have a rather disconnected thought to give right now.

First of all Barack is Jesus. And McCain is Lucifer. Right? Well that's the picture I am getting these days. What I see most ubiquitous in America these days is an ethos of dichotomizing. I remember a year ago when McCain was the moderate Republican that many democrats were supportive of. Now, he is put head-to-head with Obama, and all of the sudden McCain is the devil and Barack is the savior. To me, it shows the folly in placing hope in politics and political figures.

Personally, I will place my vote with Obama not because I think he has the answers. We've discussed here as Zotians that his voting record overwhelmingly lines up with Hillary's record (besides the war).

I will vote for him simply because I think the Republicans are doing a horrible job. They are not being true conservatives. They've let personal endeavors seep into their politics. I think, if the Republicans were being fiscally conservative, and maintaining the smallest form of government, they might have a credible voice. What they are doing is simply not working, not fiscally conservative, and therein, not Republican.

So my thought is (as elementary as it may be): Let's try somethin' else. Maybe we should give those dems a shot at it. I want a pragmatic polity. Republican polity is simply not playing out successfully in practice. I don't think Barack is going to save us or get it perfect, but I do think a change (sorry for this now cliche jargon) is necessary. It's absurd to think things are working, so lets come at this task from a different perspective.

So I agree with you P-Corcs. Toting Barack as the "American Savior" seems to be foolish. To me, he's a Democrat, but let's give him a shot. The Republicans aren't successful.

I think his speeches are different from other politicians' because he doesn't tell you what "he's going to do." He uses a different method of exhortation. He describes what "WE" are going to do. This gets people involved. I think he's using a similar method to JFK (Ask not what your country can do for you...) It's his idealism that captures people. People want a fresh perspective since they are so disillusioned with the left/right politics. I think this is why he beat Hill. She represents left, divisive American politics. People are sick of it.

Regarding his past record:
People want the idealism of Obama. That's why, in my opinion, his past record doesn't matter as much to people. The ethos of the American public is different from the ethos of the American political game. Barack wins with American public rather than the American political game.

The American political game digs up the past and either uses it for or against a candidate. The American public seems to be disinterested in the candidates' pasts. I think this is why Obama's past seems to be a less significant factor than it would be in past elections.

Think about the fact that Hill championed her so-called experience as the main criterion for why she's a better candidate than Obama. But as we've seen, America doesn't care! I think this is going to show in the upcoming election. McCain has tons of experience, but America won't care (in my estimate).

You asked, "What has he done to back up all his speeches..."

I conclude, He hasn't done much! And no one cares! (he has done good things, but I don't think this is why people like or dislike him) People want a savior. It's human nature... People have created an image of Obama as their savior. McCain has become Obama's antithesis. (And vice versa for the other side) Americans dichotomise...What else is new.

Thougths? Agree? Disagree?; July 1, 2008 at 12:44 PM

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Good Quotes

“I submit to you that if a man hasn’t discovered something he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.” - Martin Luther King Jr.
"When you feel in your gut what you are and then dynamically pursue it - don't back down and don't give up - then you're going to mystify a lot of folks." - Bob Dylan
"I need no warrant for being, and no word of sanction upon my being. I am the warrant and the sanction." - Ayn Rand
"It's amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper." - Jerry Seinfeld
"If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would not let a single meal pass without sharing it in some way." - Buddha
"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained." - Mark Twain
"Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you've got to say, and say it hot." - D.H. Lawrence
"Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes)" - Walt Whitman
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin
"All of us learn to write in the second grade. Most of us go on to greater things" - Bobby Knight
"What we become depends on what we read after all of the professors have finished with us. The greatest university of all is a collection of books." - Thomas Carlyle
"The trouble with jogging is that the ice falls out of your glass." - Martin Mull
"Only the shallow know themselves." - Oscar Wilde
"Eat a live toad first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day" - Unknown

Flicks You Should See (And Maybe Haven't)

--Invisble Children: A powerful documentary about the children of Uganda who face the constant threat of being abducted and turned into child soldiers by the Lord's Resistance Army.
De Fem Benspaend (Five Obstructions): Legendary filmmaker Lars von Trier challenges legendary filmmaker Jorgen Leth to remake his seminal short film "The Perfect Man" five times, each time placing an obstacle to test Leth's limits. Fascinating film for anyone interested in the filmmaking process.
Todo Sobre Mi Madre (All About my Mother): A single mother in Madrid watches her son die on his 17th birthday, causing her to seek out the boys father (who doesn't know he has a child.) Not what you might expect.
--Mitt Liv Som Hund (My Life as a Dog): Story about a young boy coming to terms with the fact that his mom is dying. If you don't find this movie touching, you probably have no soul.
--Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Trois Couleurs:" Kieslowski uses blue, white and red to meditate on the themes of grief (and ensuing catharsis), resurrection, and life and death (respectively). The cinematography is sick and the stories are universal.
--City of God: A look at youths facing poverty, violence, and death in Rio de Janeiro. Incredible story, great narration and groundbreaking style.