Any day now, I'm expecting Toby Keith and Sarah Palin to drop a single that starts off something like this:
Crowd chanting: Moose Hunting, SUVs...Yes! ...Abortion, Smart People and Fags...No!
Palin/Keith start singing: We don't want no Mooslums painting our White House brown/This is a White country/We'll put him in the ground.
Of course, we can also expect a pre-election televised duet with patriotic crooners, The John's (Ashcroft and McCain) singing the old crowd favorite: "Let Eagles Soar." Here's the original Ashcroft solo performance. It appears to have taken place at a press conference. I'm sure the press officer loved this gig. Link
here.
We just registered to vote through the embassy. In a strange way, the geographical and cultural distance from the States and our dependence on CNN and the internet for US-centric information--versus a more global point of view no BBC, Al Jazeera, and Kenyan papers--has given me a new perspective on our electoral process as well as greater respect and appreciation for the core of the American soul.
This questions posed below in Langston Hughes' poem, What happens to a dream deferred?, seems to capture this moment in America.
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over--
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
Dawn approaches for a New America, one which represents our interests, aspirations, and values. The sun is on the horizon. Unlike the 60s and other social movements in the 20th century, and aside from attending a few war rallies in 2003, most of us haven't even had to fight for it. Maybe that's a good thing. Perhaps, if Obama wins, it shows that democracy can work and the American Dream is still alive.
It's not about politics.
I just won't feel the same way if McCain wins. Mr Maverick in 2000 has become just another Republican. He's sold himself out to lobbyists and right-ring bigots that he used to deplore. He preaches "service" yet criticized Obama for his communitiy organizing work. Anybody who's been out on the streets or in rural hamlets and villages knows that this work is just as challenging and requires just as much commitment as any other public service, including the military. Public service is about giving back and all forms should be applauded, not mocked. McCain has chosen to surround himself with same sort of greedy hog ideologues as our current president. In fact, his own financial advisor, Carly Fiorina, received a $45 million "golden parachute" from Hewlett Packard when she was dismissed in 2005.
