I'll start this blog in a very similar fashion as my previous two. In my opinion a great comedian doesn't just make you laugh but also makes you think. A lot of people can make us laugh, all of us in our adult life have fallen victim to laughing at a fart joke, but how many people have we listened to that have genuinely made us laugh and contemplate life at the same time. "It's all bullshit and it's bad for you," it’s amazing how those few simple words can pertain to and make us rethink so many things.
This Picture is not from my travels in Asia although there is an Asian person in it. I took this picture a couple of weeks after returning home from Thailand. A friend had wanted a second tattoo and asked me to come along so I did. The words she chose to get etched into her forearm were "this to shall pass," a famous quote from the bible involving King Solomon. I won’t go into her personal reasons for getting the tattoo but historically the saying was meant to remind those who are down on their luck that things will turn around soon and get better, but was also meant to keep those too confident and comfortable humble, to remind them things will not be this way forever. With the presidency about to change, I thought this was a fitting quote and therefore a fitting picture to use to center my ideas around.
When George Bush "won" the presidency in the 2000 election anyone with half a brain knew we were in for some sort of national downturn. In exactly what way and how bad I don't think anyone was really sure, but you don't necessarily believe things are going to get better after a president-elect steals the election. So 7 years and a whole lot of ignorance later everyone was reminding themselves, "this too shall pass," after they watched him collapse both our biggest building and the worlds biggest economy down into the ground. Then along came a campaign, a campaign that was run by the word change, and millions of people looked down on the etchings on their forearms and jumped onto the change bandwagon.
Fast-forward to election night 2008, a bigger party night this year then new years and Halloween combined. People wore Obama's face plastered across their chest and went out to their favorite bar or club to watch state after state turn blue on flat screen plasma televisions. People inebriated past the point of reason screamed in the streets "We won," and "change!" And as I took the whole thing in I couldn’t help but think, I feel as if we have all kind of missed the point here. Where had we as a people gone wrong, to allow our support of change into something else, a trend, a fad, something that was cool and hip, and something that we would blindly follow and believe in no matter what, because it had taken on these properties.
If we learned anything from the Bush presidency I hope we learned, "It's all bullshit and it's bad for you." Unfortunately we have been filling ourselves with it since we knew Obama was going to run away with the presidency. Obama is Jesus and will feed and clothe every homeless in America, "its all bullshit and its bad for you." Obama will find every person in America a job when he becomes president, "its all bullshit and its bad for you." Tomorrow when Obama becomes president America will stop shooting innocent Iraqi's, "Its all bullshit and its bad for you." Will things get better, definitely. Does Obama have a lot of good ideas and plans to make this a better country, I for one think so. Is Obama a miracle worker? NO!
The bad times will pass and so will the good ones, but things like this don't happen overnight. When Solomon looked at his ring with the inscription "this too shall pass," he was saddened not because he thought he would lose all his wealth and prosperity the next day but he came to understand that it couldn’t last forever. Things will get better, it's the way the universe works, but it will take time and nothing can make things perfect. In a perfect world we wouldn't have people looking to exploit this presidency by making a quick dollar off a tee shirt or a button, and election night wouldn’t have consisted of going out to get drunk and have a one night stand. So when you’re worried about being able to make your rent next month and someone comes along to reassure you by saying, "don't worry Obama will find you a job," just remember "its all bullshit and its bad for you."
Interesting theme to this post. MY only comment is you didnt go into enough detail about how stupid 60% of Obama supporters are acting and its all to his detriment. They have said, not just lofty goals for his presidency, but simply unattainable ones. Thats why im sure within 6 months people are going to be unhappy with him and not because hes doing anything wrong. But simply because people have really bought into the whole bullshit, thats hes going to be come president, and the world will just magically become a better place. JFK said, "Do not pray for easier times, but pray to be a stronger man." Thats what we need to be thinking about. Not how Obama will make my life easier, but how this presidency will allow me to make myself better and my life better. Obama can set the tone for how things should change, but it remains up to us to make that change happen. I hope to God people dont think America is going to take a 180 in 6 months under Obama. I hope people dont think well be out of Iraq in 4 years. I hope people dont think socialized healthcare means they are all going to get everything they want and need out of life and not have to worry, because thats not how this world works. And the stronger this perception is in peoples minds before this historic day, the harder Obama fight will be. In summary. Stop being so damn ignorant, get up, get out, and go make some change yourself, instead of waiting for the second coming.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing. Tommy wears fake glasses.
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