An audacity of Hope on our part ?

I was asked by friends if I am celebrating Obamania. The answer is No, but to be clear, there is certainly cause for celebration as the G W Bush era draws to a close. You could have put Dennis Kucinich and Joe the plumber as Prez and VP and that still would be a reason for a party. There are also other reasons to celebrate - it is a historic occasion. A somewhat-black American from Illinois will be sworn in as President right around the time of MLK's birthday. He will use the same Bible used by Lincoln. All this is bound to turn DC into some sort of a giant Woodstock for the politically liberal mass - a Dead concert minus the weed. Aretha will be on stage.

The question is - what will Barak do. What can he do, the challenge before him is stupendous and a Democratic majority in House and Senate is not likely to support his mandate blindly, if at all. They are, after all, politicians and in it for the power and the glory (not to mention tons of pork). We may be charmed by Obama but to look to him as the new Messiah is like hoping that Jerry Garcia could convince record labels and Ticketmaster to make music free. That is, in my mind, an audacity of hope.

The truth is that we all need to examine our lives and decide what we want for ourselves and our fellow-men. If we truly want the right thing, then let us all continue the grass root effort that Barak used to win the election and channel it towards movements that show public endorsement of actual projects which will strengthen education, energy conservation, efficiency, etc. Let the polls pressurize the pols to support Obama and here's hoping that his team comes through with their message of change.

If we don't care (I am describing myself here), let's just stick with the tax breaks, get some extra cash and watch the AIG execs tan themselves at Club Med.