I'm not going to vote for Ron Paul, but I give him credit. His campaign is based upon intelligent dialogue and ideas. Sure, some of his ideas are nutty and some of his supporters are strange. However, I can respect his underlying philosophy of libertarianism.
I always feel embaressed to be a Democrat when I see Hollywood celebrities pitching candidates to me as if I were twelve. I realize that celebrity endorsements can really move tooth paste off the shelf and I suppose that makes sense. Actors need to have pearly whites (unless it's a Monty Python flick). Yet, I'd rather not recieve advice about a commander in chief from someone paid to look pretty. My only consolation is that we don't have a track record of electing actors. Arnold isn't even a good actor. It makes me wonder if Keana Reeves will become governor of Tennessee some day.
I like Obama. I voted for him, because of his stance on immigration, the War in Iraq and repealing NCLB. It wasn't because of a trendy pop music video aimed at my demographic group. If you are inspired by three simple words then perhaps you are too easily inspired.
Friday, February 15, 2008
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The views of this blog are those of the author only . . . and a few people crazy enough to agree with him. They do not in any way represent those of the Cartwright School District or its staff. If you find something offensive, please e-mail me at socialvoice@gmail.com and we'll engage in a respectful dialogue.
5 comments:
I am voting for Barack because of the hotness of Scarlet Johansen. Sold.
There was an interesting article in our newspaper a few weeks ago. They took a poll in Oregon and found that when it came down to the foundation of their decision most people are going to vote based only on personality and not on content. I also find it interesting to see what information the candidates will or will not disclouse on their websites. It's not until recently that that the frontrunners are actaully saying anything substantial because now the end is in sight and people are pressing them hard to speak. Personally, I am more neutral, maybe ambivalent, about the candidates. However, with Obama I tend to put him in the spineless category because overall he says very little about what he actually believes. Instead he seems to rely more heavily on the impressionable masses by churning out catching videos and rallies. I don't know. The sun is shining today and supposedly I am getting a large check in the mail from the government. I guess I can sit back and be content.
I believe that it was MLK Jr. who inspired a movement with just 4 words. Now those words were surrounded by many other. The three words that Obama spoke were also surrounded by many more. It's not that I'm comparing Obama to MLK, but to automatically assume that people don't understand the everything that surrounds those three words is insulting. Not to mention, the music video and song were created by Will.I.Am, not Barack Obama. In fact, "Yes We Can" was only mutter a few times in the speeches that were given. But I also believe that art can be moving. And in artistic pieces like songs a little bit of abstraction is needed, not only because it sounds better, but because it just wouldn't be practical to sing a speech in it's entirety.
oh...and Scarlet Johansen does rank pretty high on the hotness scale.
Good point Andrew. My only concern is this: art can and should be moving. Art in politics is dangerous, though. It quickly becomes propaganda. It's hard, because art is so connected to social movements. Cesar Chavez and he UFWA used art. But using art for political purposes rather than focussing on pressing issues is dangerous.
I've listened to each of Obama's speeches after the major elections. My concern is that it has increased in sentimentalism and in trite phrases rather than speaking of specific solutions. When he first began campaigning, he would go in-depth into what he wanted to do with the country. Now it seems that he is pandering to media of amusement.
I still like the guy and I'll still vote for him in November.
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