Obama by Martin Friel.
Hes simply a man.
Watching the TV I just saw someone say they believe he will
change the world. An African man expects him to simultaneously eradicate
poverty and introduce democracy to an entire continent. He will solve the
financial crisis and help individuals keep their homes. He will also bring
peace to the Middle East. The environment? Hell probably knock off saving
the planet before the end of the week.
Dont get me wrong. I like Obama a lot. Hes
intelligent, a great public speaker, appears to possess compassion and
pragmatism in equal measure but most of all he inspires people.
Look at the crowds that choked Washington for his inauguration.
A smile on every face. Hope that you could almost taste. People really seem to
believe that he has been sent to save not just America, but the world. Have we
really become so detached from our own realities and so bereft of belief in
ourselves and the collective human spirit that we have to turn to a mere human
to save us? Why cant we save ourselves? What can he possibly do that we
cant? Why do we not want to take responsibility for ourselves? Its
like we have become infants, incapable of looking after ourselves and fighting
our own battles. Obama has been installed as a superhero of the age. There is
nothing this man cant do.
But amongst all the hyperbole and hysteria, we seem to have
forgotten one very important thing. More important than the fact that he is a
mere human like the rest of us, is the fact that he is a politician. Remember
them? This is a class of human that over countless centuries, dating back to
the Romans and before, have proven time and again to be entirely self-serving
and self-preserving. The only time they will think of another is when they are
forced to for political expediency. Almost to an individual, they are
duplicitous and everything they do is for them and them alone. Their only love
is the love of power and they will put on any face in order to achieve that
power.
I have lost count the number of times I have heard politicians
promise and assure the numbed masses that they, and they alone, represent true
change. Even McCain tried it a perfect example of how freely and loosely
the promise is used.
I swear I remember a time when Tony Blair genuinely seemed to
offer change and with that change, hope that a new society would manifest
itself.
Obama is a politician. You can see it in the stage-managed
public appearances. You can see it in the fixed smile that snaps into place
when a photo opportunity beckons. You can hear it in the trite quotes tailored
to suit the audience. You can also see and hear it in those unguarded moments
that every politician dreads when they are recorded saying or doing something
theyd rather the public didnt know about.
Now it could be argued that Obama has adopted these tactics in
order to clear the seemingly insurmountable hurdles that barred his way to the
White House. Maybe now that he has landed and is safely ensconced, he will show
the real face of Obama. Personally, Im still disappointed that he
didnt take the oath with a gloved fist in the air and head bowed in a
Black Panther salute but thats just an aesthetic preference.
We are looking to this man to rescue us from the towering
mountain of shit that looms over us all. But I plead with you to remember two
things. Hell, give him every chance in the world to get it right but this man
is just that. A man no more. But perhaps more worryingly, he is a
politician. Ive got a horrible feeling that many a dream is going to be
shattered in the coming years and all that hope will swiftly turn to anger,
disappointment and disillusion. Who knows but I personally am preparing for a
crushing disappointment.
© Winamop. Jan 2009
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