Better, Stronger, Quieter
Last night, KC invited me to karaoke. A friend of his was celebrating her release from braces – brace release. There must be a more inventive name for such an occasion. Unbraced face day?
It was a nice change to karaoke with a new group of people. I heard some new songs I hadn’t heard in karaoke before. Anytime horizons get expanded past sublime and angels by aerosmith, legend has it that an ostrich ovum is fertilized. That was weird. I think that connection had something to do with all the Chronicles of Narnia promotions I’m seeing and hearing lately.
What does GW Bush think of his son?
I’m continually astonished by George Bush’s ass-facedness. Spinning words to link “those that would negotiate with terrorists and radicals” with nazi appeasers and obama is freakin’ embarrassing to the US.
Have some class and act like a president. You’re there to celebrate Israel’s 60th year of Independence, you ass-face.
We know how hard you’re trying to spin and protect your legacy, you coward, but why a domestic political jab in a presidential address in another country.
That speech must have been looked over 20 times. And then to deny that your comment was not a reference to Obama is simply precious.
So who are “those” that you were talking about? If you’re going to be an alpha cowboy jock, at least, admit it. Look obama in the eye and tell him that you think being a jock is a better way to approach foreign policy.
Ok, breathe.
I recognize that I’m feeling a bit manic today. I’ve reached an age in which I’m able to recognize patterns of social behavior. And I’ve met enough people and been in enough situations where I have an opinion about what types of people I find to be effective individuals.
Just look back at schoolyard dynamics. Bush is the bully, the tough talker who would hurt you if he felt you were looking at him askew. People follow because it’s safer to be on the side that doles out pain. It’s about power and hierarchy.
And then there’s the other type of leader, the cool kid who had his head on straight, and got everyone going in the right direction. People followed because it was about consensus, having room to breathe, and only displaying strength when it was necessary. It's never about displaying power and braying about it all the time with this type of person.
I want our country to be the latter and we've been the former for the past eight years.
So . . . Obama, in response to Bush’s assface, will probably make a great speech that will offer a nuanced look at the concept of appeasement that can’t be packaged in 10 second sound bites. His speech will usher in a good debate on the issue and educate people on how appeasement is such a loaded term.
People are starting to profess fear and worry to me about Obama’s chances against McCain. McCain is a bully too. I recognize it in him. But everybody of voting age has played in a schoolyard and people who thought we needed a bully will innately understand that they cool kid will be more effective and make us safer.
2 comments:
your school yard analogy is a one-gendered argument - though i suppose is appropriate given we've never had a female president. How about some commentary on female social behavior in grade school? And hetero-social relations as the hegemonic normative? Bonus points if you if you can tie in Blair and Jenny somehow.
not a one-gendered argument. To bully in terms of physical pain can easily be adapted to include the kind of behavior that mean popular girls are so good at – pointed criticisms and analysis; the ability to prey on a person’s insecurities. In other words, the ability to make people feel small thus preserving schoolyard hegemony.
What’s really interesting is the latest coming out on hormone studies, particularly serotonin and dopamine, and the different levels of these in the sexes providing a braking system on female emotions and impulsive behavior but less so on males. Thus, males biologically may be more impulsive, prone to risk taking, and violence. Bush traits.
So in a roundabout way obama, moreso than Clinton, may provide the “female” traits that US domestic and foreign policy needs.
Jenny and Blair play the same ol’ tired gossip game. Only characters such as Veronica Mars and Snoop from the Wire offer true change.
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