I, like many of you, have been thinking a lot about the upcoming U.S. Presidential election. Unlike many, I still remain independent and undecided. Through my experience, attempting to sift through the current barrage of fluff and political sound bites, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend. In this thread I’d like to examine what I see as the phenomenon of “The War on Hope”.

I’m sure that some will be tempted to turn this into a left/right debate; however, I really don’t want this to be a pro-Obama/anti-McCain thread. Please leave partisan bickering at the door. To me the candidates themselves are irrelevant when it comes to the issue at hand. As far as I’m concerned, any candidate could have taken the “hope initiative”, and all parties are quite capable of mudslinging.

Quite awhile back I had the pleasure of viewing a BBC documentary entitled The Power of Nightmares. It was an excellent three part series (you can find it on Google Video), and the intro commentary had a message that really struck a chord with me. I’d like to quote that intro now.

In the past, politicians promised to create a better world. They had different ways of achieving this, but their power and authority came from the optimistic visions they offered their people. Those dreams failed, and today people have lost faith in ideologies.

Increasingly, politicians are seen simply as managers of public life, but now they have discovered a new role that restores their power and authority. Instead of delivering dreams, politicians now promise to protect us from nightmares. They say that they will rescue us from dreadful dangers that we cannot see and do not understand...

The series goes on to attempt an objective view of the “War on Terror” from its early roots to present day; however, I feel the intro captures the essence of what I see as a “War on Hope”. One of the latest warning signs I see is the current use of the title “Messiah” as a political slur. Again, this isn’t a left/right issue; I’ve seen its use from both the left (Hillary supporters), and the right (McCain supporters).

Personally, I don’t view “Messiah” as an attack against Obama, per se, but more as an attack against hope; one who had the audacity to attempt to disarm the inherent “power of nightmares” status quo. I honestly believe that anyone, from any party, with enough steam behind them, would have been labeled “seeing themselves as such” for attempting to bring back visions of hope into mainstream national politics.

Are we, as a nation, so jaded that the notion of hope has merely become a punch line? Is fear the only way to effectively lead a nation in today’s world? Does anyone else see a “War on Hope” occurring?


[edit on 8/21/08 by redmage]

Redmage;

I agree with you completely. I too, still have no idea who I will vote for. I respect some of both candidates positions. I only wish that we could get back to the idealism and optimism that made us a great nation.

I know that I have not had anything to feel good about in a while
(prior GB),so it is not all his fault. Hearing all the rhetoric going on now only reinforces this stomach churning lack of faith in our system.

My question is, are "we the people" just as guilty or more so for not elevating the discourse of our politics or the course of our nation.

Originally posted by capgrup
Redmage;

My question is, are "we the people" just as guilty or more so for not elevating the discourse of our politics or the course of our nation.

We the people are guilty if we complain about our nation's leaders yet do nothing to bring about change.

Electing one man as president isn't going to make any change whatsoever whether it be McCain or Obama. We all know that the real power lies in Congress and with our states' leaders. With a 9% Congressional approval rating, I would say Americans have only themselves to blame if in 2010 they re-elect Congressional incumbents currently seated and then continue to bitch and moan.

More to the point - get involved in state elections. Find out who's running for state representative. Find out who's running for governor and learn the issues. Heck, take this all the way down to your local city council and school board - it all starts there.

[edit on 21-8-2008 by sos37]