Dear Mr. President,
I understand why people are upset over recent revelations about Lou Dobbs' shameless hypocrisy. I think that the real shame of the matter is not that undocumented workers were hired by Dobbs' contractors, but that this man who claims to represent the everyday populism of the working class owns horses and an estate large enough to require that many workers for upkeep. The right is notoriously good at pretending to be representative of so-called average America, while hailing from backgrounds of unfathomable wealth and privilege. And while Democrats are often equally wealthy, it seems like they're also more likely to be criticized as "elitist" while they work for policies that are more beneficial to the poor and middle class. I suppose both sides are hypocritical to varying degrees. A system like ours that requires a certain amount of wealth (and, let's face it, a certain shamelessness about asking for money from the rich) while the public increasingly requires our officials to be of the people they represent is basically a recipe for lies and hypocrisy.
Electing those with similar experiences and life history to our own may feel good, but it doesn't guarantee true representation of our interests. The fact that really any poor people vote Republican proves that we often don't vote in our own best interests, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be responsible for governing ourselves. It's our right to vote for candidates we like instead of candidates who will promote policies that are the most beneficial to us; it makes our whole screwed up system kind of beautiful, actually. The problem Democrats have is that, for too long, they have allowed the right to set the terms of the discussion- to make it about faux populism and personality, to force themselves to drink whiskey shots and talk about guns in Pennsylvania (I'm lookin' at you, Hillary) or stage back-yard photo ops to counter the damning perception that a candidate might like arugula. The conversation needs to be changed. Instead of focusing on how of the people they are, Democrats should be doing a better job showing how for the people they are. I'm a liberal because I believe in liberal ideas and I think liberal policies are the best for our society- not because liberals look, act, or live like the same way I do. Instead of wasting time trying to convince me how similar we are, personally, I'd rather hear what a politician honestly believes and what they honestly plan to do in office. Actual straight talk- not the affected, folksy patronizing McCain variety- requires a frankness that has nothing to do with using too many big words or how much a person's haircut costs.
A politician who speaks honestly and bravely will do more good and, I would imagine, ultimately feel better about their campaign, win or lose on election day. I suspect that it will also, ultimately, make them more likable. I still believe that this is the fundamental change that people hoped for when they voted for you in 2008, regardless of their personal ideology. All politicians, all political pundits, even those of us tiny people out here in the blogosphere who just comment on things in quiet anonymity, all of us are Lou Dobbs. We're hypocrites who can never hope to live up to the grandiose ambitions of our best selves. Accepting our own hypocrisy and refusing to run from it or hide behind a more forgivingly crafted identity is the only way we can move forward, the only way we can elect representatives who will actually work in the best interest of all Americans.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
PS this is the second time I've defended Lou Dobbs and I really don't feel great about that.
Showing posts with label popularity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label popularity. Show all posts
Friday, October 8, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Day 217- Talking the talk
Dear Mr. President,
Glenn Beck thinks you're like Lucifer. I really hope some one in the press office shows you the clip, because you had to spend your birthday away from your family and so I think you're entitled to some diversion. Also, you've given us another Supreme Court Justice, so you've earned a good laugh at the expense of your most absurd critics. And, while his years of public service make him deserving of more respect than a man like Mr. Beck, Newt Gingrich is adding his voice to the chorus of hysteria. If he and Sarah Palin both challenge you in 2012 it might be the funniest Republican primary in history.
I'm not sure how you're supposed to fight back against people like this. You can't stoop to their level; calling Glenn Beck the Devil is giving him way too much credit. Ignoring it might be the high road, but I wonder how effective it will be, considering the size of FOX's audience and the number of people who take Beck seriously. Does considering him a threat elevate him too much? Certainly the media narrative (for which he may not be wholly responsible for, but certainly plays his role,) has contributed to sentiments of many that your administration has not accomplished anything, or, worse, that you've taken our country down the road of socialism.
I suppose the high road is really the only one available. It may not make the administration popular, and saying absurd, inflammatory things will always get Glenn Beck ratings, (and, sadly, more than a few Republican votes,) but it would be hard to be proud of the things you accomplish if you had to act like these men in order to accomplish them. So congratulations on the Supreme Court Justice, and congratulations for keeping your cool. Most of all, congratulations for keeping these sad, clownish little men so very angry at you. I'm very proud to have a President like you.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
Glenn Beck thinks you're like Lucifer. I really hope some one in the press office shows you the clip, because you had to spend your birthday away from your family and so I think you're entitled to some diversion. Also, you've given us another Supreme Court Justice, so you've earned a good laugh at the expense of your most absurd critics. And, while his years of public service make him deserving of more respect than a man like Mr. Beck, Newt Gingrich is adding his voice to the chorus of hysteria. If he and Sarah Palin both challenge you in 2012 it might be the funniest Republican primary in history.
I'm not sure how you're supposed to fight back against people like this. You can't stoop to their level; calling Glenn Beck the Devil is giving him way too much credit. Ignoring it might be the high road, but I wonder how effective it will be, considering the size of FOX's audience and the number of people who take Beck seriously. Does considering him a threat elevate him too much? Certainly the media narrative (for which he may not be wholly responsible for, but certainly plays his role,) has contributed to sentiments of many that your administration has not accomplished anything, or, worse, that you've taken our country down the road of socialism.
I suppose the high road is really the only one available. It may not make the administration popular, and saying absurd, inflammatory things will always get Glenn Beck ratings, (and, sadly, more than a few Republican votes,) but it would be hard to be proud of the things you accomplish if you had to act like these men in order to accomplish them. So congratulations on the Supreme Court Justice, and congratulations for keeping your cool. Most of all, congratulations for keeping these sad, clownish little men so very angry at you. I'm very proud to have a President like you.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Day 149- No drama
Dear Mr. President,
"President Spock," "No Drama Obama," the list of ways the media has found to call you calm, as either an insult or a compliment, seems to get more creative all the timeMaureen Dowd writes today about the paternal aspect of the presidency, something she feels you are failing at. A President, apparently, must demonstrate the emotional state of the nation to show that he understands how people feel. I don't often find myself in such strong disagreement with Ms. Dowd. I don't need you to show me your emotional response to the oil spill in order to feel better about my own; I believe that you have emotions, just like me, and that, just like me, you decide who sees how you feel and who sees how you think. I don't believe that the citizens of this country are entitled to see every aspect of your personality; we ought to hold you accountable for how well you do your job, not how well you demonstrate that you feel the "right" way about every issue. I don't need to see you react the same way I do.
I think this urge we have, to feel that we know our leaders on a personal level, manifested in votes based on who we'd rather have a beer with, or in a need to see ourselves and our lifestyles reflected in those of our elected officials, is not always the surest compass to find the best qualified leaders. I'm an emotional person. I feel things violently, obsessively, consumingly. I do not appreciate this about myself, and think that, especially in matters of leadership and crisis management, it can be considered more a weakness than a strength. I look for a leader who can calmly, thoughtfully, rationally make decisions based on information and guided by a sense of what the best choices will be. I didn't vote for you because I thought you'd cry at things that make me cry or scream at things that make me want to scream; I voted for you because I hoped that you would, in the face of these things, have more productive solutions than my tears.
This is not to imply, as Ms. Dowd does, that you lack emotional depth. I think that your emotional reactions are kept private, as most of us prefer ours to be. I am often moved by displays of emotion by politicians; that does not mean I have to see such displays to know they exist. Asking for such demonstrations from our elected officials is only asking to be lied to. Our need to feel better, to be comforted by the parroting of our responses by others, does not help us overcome the challenges of our times. As much as I might like to know you as a person, to feel that we are friends and that you are just like me, it would do me no practical good. I don't believe that any one who hears the news from the gulf, or who has seen the terrible images, especially some one who must take responsibility for fixing it, can be unaffected. But your feelings are your own, Mr. President, and, while I clearly do not speak for Ms. Dowd and may not speak for the majority of American voters, I, personally, do not need you to share them in order to satisfy my own desire to see my own personality reflected in my President's.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
"President Spock," "No Drama Obama," the list of ways the media has found to call you calm, as either an insult or a compliment, seems to get more creative all the timeMaureen Dowd writes today about the paternal aspect of the presidency, something she feels you are failing at. A President, apparently, must demonstrate the emotional state of the nation to show that he understands how people feel. I don't often find myself in such strong disagreement with Ms. Dowd. I don't need you to show me your emotional response to the oil spill in order to feel better about my own; I believe that you have emotions, just like me, and that, just like me, you decide who sees how you feel and who sees how you think. I don't believe that the citizens of this country are entitled to see every aspect of your personality; we ought to hold you accountable for how well you do your job, not how well you demonstrate that you feel the "right" way about every issue. I don't need to see you react the same way I do.
I think this urge we have, to feel that we know our leaders on a personal level, manifested in votes based on who we'd rather have a beer with, or in a need to see ourselves and our lifestyles reflected in those of our elected officials, is not always the surest compass to find the best qualified leaders. I'm an emotional person. I feel things violently, obsessively, consumingly. I do not appreciate this about myself, and think that, especially in matters of leadership and crisis management, it can be considered more a weakness than a strength. I look for a leader who can calmly, thoughtfully, rationally make decisions based on information and guided by a sense of what the best choices will be. I didn't vote for you because I thought you'd cry at things that make me cry or scream at things that make me want to scream; I voted for you because I hoped that you would, in the face of these things, have more productive solutions than my tears.
This is not to imply, as Ms. Dowd does, that you lack emotional depth. I think that your emotional reactions are kept private, as most of us prefer ours to be. I am often moved by displays of emotion by politicians; that does not mean I have to see such displays to know they exist. Asking for such demonstrations from our elected officials is only asking to be lied to. Our need to feel better, to be comforted by the parroting of our responses by others, does not help us overcome the challenges of our times. As much as I might like to know you as a person, to feel that we are friends and that you are just like me, it would do me no practical good. I don't believe that any one who hears the news from the gulf, or who has seen the terrible images, especially some one who must take responsibility for fixing it, can be unaffected. But your feelings are your own, Mr. President, and, while I clearly do not speak for Ms. Dowd and may not speak for the majority of American voters, I, personally, do not need you to share them in order to satisfy my own desire to see my own personality reflected in my President's.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
Friday, March 19, 2010
Day 78
Dear Mr. President,
In today's New York Times, you're called "Barack the Unbreakable." I was so relieved to see this opinion piece, a writer willing to defy the standard narrative to point out the inconvenient reality- your poll numbers might be down, but they could be a lot worse. You're still perceived as more genuine than pretty much any other politician, and that's not without good reason. The American people understand that you're fighting so hard for health care because you believe it is the right thing to do. I think, when it passes, many of the unconvinced will be persuaded that this was the right issue to fight for.
As the votes in the house turn, as representatives begin to vote their conscience and not their self-interest, it's becoming clear that your confidence is the driving force behind the health care reform. Once it is passed, and the world does not end, we do not succumb to Stalinism and suffering, once the American people see that they've been lied to by conservatives seeking to protect powerful insurance interests, I hope that your poll numbers do go up. That being said, even if they bottom out, even if we lose the midterms and the white house in 2012, I will still be proud to have voted for you, Mr. President. Thank you for all you have done to prove that the presidency is about so much more than one's popularity.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
In today's New York Times, you're called "Barack the Unbreakable." I was so relieved to see this opinion piece, a writer willing to defy the standard narrative to point out the inconvenient reality- your poll numbers might be down, but they could be a lot worse. You're still perceived as more genuine than pretty much any other politician, and that's not without good reason. The American people understand that you're fighting so hard for health care because you believe it is the right thing to do. I think, when it passes, many of the unconvinced will be persuaded that this was the right issue to fight for.
As the votes in the house turn, as representatives begin to vote their conscience and not their self-interest, it's becoming clear that your confidence is the driving force behind the health care reform. Once it is passed, and the world does not end, we do not succumb to Stalinism and suffering, once the American people see that they've been lied to by conservatives seeking to protect powerful insurance interests, I hope that your poll numbers do go up. That being said, even if they bottom out, even if we lose the midterms and the white house in 2012, I will still be proud to have voted for you, Mr. President. Thank you for all you have done to prove that the presidency is about so much more than one's popularity.
Respectfully yours,
Kelsey
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