Sunday, July 26, 2009

Understanding Obama is understanding America

http://www.openleft.com/diary/14354/blended-spacesmaking-sense-of-partial-perceptions-of-obama

You can always see how people are much more liberal on policy than what gets enacted.

One of my bigger realizations in life was the idea that leaders are generally average representatives of their constituents. People excuse corruption, immorality, and stupidity in their leaders because they feel they would do about the same job while in office. There is no point in trying to get someone better if you don't feel that that person exists.

Republicans like Sarah Palin pretty accurately reflect their voters.

Thus the liberal policy beliefs are beliefs in the best possible plan being enacted. However people don't believe that will happen. They believe that an about average policy will be enacted.

My view is that the mob almost always drives the leader. Read shooting an elephant by George Orwell for a summation of that.

Once you reject the idea of a noble oppressed populace repeatedly electing people who lie and oppress them you gain a greater understanding of the world and in this case Obama.

Now that is an argument that basically people elected the leader that they wanted. Any lying,pursuit of individual power,selfishness, etc are about what people expect of their leaders and they would not trust anyone who didn't show these traits.

Now Paul frequently makes the argument that Republicans are crazy. I think though he doesn't really understand why they are crazy.

The answer to that is rather simple. They are crazy because they were abused as children. When a conservative looks out on the world they see potential abusers. When a liberal looks out on the world they see potential helpers. Because they were helped as children.

Now the rather unusual nature of Obama is that he gets that. In his grandmother he both saw the person who raised him and helped him so much and also someone who was afraid of black men. He saw people as both potential abusers and helpers.

Now what does all of this say about Obama? It says that his primary goal has always been about spiritual healing rather than physical healing. He doesn't want to fight the oppressors. He wants to heal them.

If you look at things from a strictly policy perspective you will never understand Obama because his primary goal has never been a policy goal. It has been exactly what he was saying all along. He wants to bring people together.

No comments: