We watched this video in the debates class today. I think it is amazing and though you all should add comments on it. Is this the kind of thing that has been done before? Is there an analogy? Is it really not that big of a deal, just a cool video? Or does it represent something more fundamental that may be unique to the Obama campaign? Give me your thoughts.
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Update: +13 Million have watched the video so far
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/02/16/bmobama116.xml
This is an especially interesting speech, in that, wasn't this the speech in which he "borrowed" some of the key phrases from his friend in Mass.??? What do we think of politicians who we find so inspiring and who end up borrowing words to create the inspiration? The video, in and of itself, is still AMAZING, but I wonder how people will react when they latch on to the media buzz surrounding some of the words...[OR, if THIS speech wasn't the one that used borrowed words, feel free to comment on the idea itself--I'm losing it...]
I don't see the big deal here. While the exact words may not have been his, I certainly think the overall message is. Somewhat related to this point, but not really, is the growing sense of unease with Obama that lots of liberals seem to be expressing (this coming from friends and liberal blogs and websites that I frequent). They continue to worry about his lack of substance. Not in terms of electability, but in terms of impact on citizenry (which is a much more important conversation). I honestly think that there is something to this argument. I don't necessarily agree with everything Obama stands for. I will certainly acknowledge that I like Hilary's stance of certain issues more than Obamas. That being said, it seems that Obama's greater gift is getting people interested in politics again; getting them to believe that change is possible. To a large extent, I think this political reinvigoration is more important that nuances in political policy. But my concern is that this heightened sense of involvement will not be sustained. It seems that people forget that democracy doesn't just happen every 2-4 years. While hope is a great asset, knowledge and conviction are much more important. The system doesn't not change because you hope that it will. The system will change if you arm yourself with knowledge and work towards your goals. Bill Moyer's had a great conversation related to this the other night...really revolving the lack of reason and global knowledge in America. I guess my point is that hopefully Obama can inspire more than hope, hopefully he can inspire a true conviction to take responsibility for yourself and your government.
Here is the link to the Bill Moyer's conversation-it's only about 15 minutes long and I really do think it is worth watching.
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/02152008/profile.html
This is the second time I have watched the video. I must say it has direct and primary appeal to younger voters than I... I hardly know anyone participating in it, and really find it appealing more for its production value than for those who participated. With that said, I do wonder if our societal tendencies toward sports has a correlation here. As you know, few are loyal fans anymore... we lose one week and call for the coach's head. So the question that I raise is whether the invigoration of the youth vote will have any longterm sustainability. If Obama has to actually participate in the game of politics -- negotiating, bartering, cooperating, conciliation -- will folks accept that as strong leadership? Or, will they want "the big win" all the time? Is the support so fragile and only surface deep -- in other words, that their desire for change really has not been thought through any deeper than "I want change" -- that they will abandon ship because they really don't know what to look for, what to expect with this change? Are we educating young people about politics or just about how to get something different without really knowing what to want?
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