Political Machinations for a New Generation

Oh the foes will rise
With the sleep still in their eyes
And they'll jerk from their beds and think they're dreamin'.
But they'll pinch themselves and squeal
And know that it's for real,
The hour when the ship comes in.

Over the past year I have watched as friends all around me have become energized and excited about the political process in ways that they never have before. Most of my friends have been politically aware for as long as I have known them, but I have not seen them invested in the way they were during this political season. On campus at Ole Miss, the students in the theatre department were constantly wearing Obama stickers; the faculty were bringing political speeches into the classroom for performance evaluation (and I imagine that the response was stronger for Obama for more reasons than the fact that he is a much stronger speaker than McCain); and some faculty are beginning to try to format the upcoming season as a reaction to Obama’s election. At the end of rehearsals, when the cast and crew’s cars were the only ones left in the parking lot, it was a sea of Obama bumper stickers. Facebook profile pictures became Obama pins. The media was constantly profiling the youth’s engagement in the political process and their excitement about the Obama candidacy. I work in a liberal environment inside a liberal environment. The support of the Obama ticket was not a surprise. However the level of excitement, the commitment and the passion for his candidacy was.

I consider myself an analytical person. I can understand why Democrats will support their candidate. I can understand why Republicans will support theirs. This political season was different. And, while I did not feel strongly about either candidate, I was uneasy with the excitement manifested through the campaign. I had a difficult time believing in “change.” I did not trust McCain. People who I respect (and that is not easily gained) felt very differently. They were stridently behind Obama’s candidacy. I still do not fully understand why so many people were so invested in the campaign, but I believe that I finally understand why it concerns me so.

I recently finished Wicked Messenger: Bob Dylan and the 1960’s by Mike Marqusee. In the book Marqusee examines Dylan’s role in the political movements that sprung up, or were strengthened in the 1960’s. He looks at how Dylan’s songs influenced the counterculture and how it offered strength to revolutionist groups throughout the decade. Dylan largely separated himself from these organizations as his music began being co-opted by these “movements.” Marqusee argues that Dylan was uncomfortable being associated with any one group and believed that once the ideas were used by these organizations they lost their meaning. His songs and ideas were not about commercializing the freedom that he sang about, they were, instead, about personal gains. It is a dichotomy that Dylan seems to continue to struggle with to this day based on his writings in Chronicles: Volume One. It has to be difficult to sing for freedom, but once the message has been latched onto by the masses (probably the only way that lasting change will be affected), you find it loses its authenticity and therefore its strength. The passion of the middle class, white, elite youth of the time undermined the resonance of the songs. They were as much the Mr. Jones’s that he sings about as were their parents. History has largely proved this out as the radicals are now the mainstream. The freedom that they had fought for was their own, not the disenfranchised. They wanted freedom from guilt. Guilt for being privileged. Admittedly, some of these analyses (especially the revolutionary’s motivations) are my thoughts, not Marqusee’s.

While reading this book I realized the difference between the activists in the 1960’s and the activists involved so heavily in this past election. They are largely the same age, economic and racial class. However, what separates the youth (and I include people in their 30’s as youth since I am now in that age range) then from today is that then they were protesting for an overhaul of government. They wanted a break from how things are done. They wanted a new world order. They fashioned themselves off of similar political movements seen in France, Italy, Japan, England, Chile and Germany at the time. They were not content to support the Democratic candidate who promised change or the Republican candidate who promised to lead them through the war. They wanted the government overthrown. When they demonstrated at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in 1968 it was in part because the anti-war candidate, Eugene McCarthy, was not going to win the nomination. The larger part was a condemnation of the fallacy of a government that is run by these people at all. The protestors had not put their faith in Robert Kennedy. The mainstream “liberals,” much derided in the counterculture press of the day, supported Kennedy. The radicals did not. The repudiation of the process was because these people were not represented anywhere in the government. Their passion was for a new government that was of the people, not of the privileged few. This can be traced back musically to Woody Guthrie (and beyond), a Leftist and Marxist who had a great influence on Dylan and many others.

This year, that same passion appears to have been present. The conditions are similar. The country has been engaged in a long fought war with no end in sight and no definitive way to “win” the battle. The approval ratings for the President are at an all time low and the majority wants someone who will pull us out of Iraq. While in 1968 the majority was not yet ready to pull out of Vietnam, the vocal youth was long ready to be gone. This year, these factors played into the passion that we witnessed during the election cycle. However, instead of being passionate about radically overhauling the government, the people were passionate about a candidate who is very much a part of the system. This is where my concerns come in. There is nothing about Barack Obama, or any major party candidate for that matter, that suggests to me that “Change” is in their best interest, much less that of their party. Aside from personal motivations, I do not know that a politician from within the system can effect change in this way. They have too many people demanding too much of them. Too many forces pulling them in too many different directions. This is not meant to condemn Obama. I do not envy anyone in the White House at the moment. I fear that regardless of who won the election, their term would be wrought with challenges unlike any we have seen in my lifetime.

Ultimately, I wanted that passion, energy and excitement to rally behind major governmental reform. Long lasting reform. I was uncomfortable in this election cycle not because I did not feel strongly about the candidates (which I did not), but rather because so many did and I felt that it could have been directed at something more meaningful. If a third party were introduced to the public and supported with the fervor that Obama’s candidacy was, we could fundamentally change the politics of the country. Since I have been able to vote, there has not been a major party candidate who has represented me. I need a third option. We could have had that this year. Instead, I see a culture, my culture, that threw their overwhelming support behind the system that they want to radically change. I cannot understand this. Is it the complacency that I see in myself manifested on an incredible scale? Is it simply easier to unflaggingly support a major party candidate because that groundwork has been laid? Have we given up our rights to be represented and instead settle for the better of two establishmentarian candidates? Or, do these people who I have such great respect for actually believe that Obama is bigger than the machine that he has been a part of?

Throughout the election cycle I felt great unease with the energy I felt from those around me. Ultimately, I believe that Obama was the better choice of the two. But, wouldn’t it have been even more exciting to put that energy toward something outside of the system, someone who would be change, not just promise to enact it? Wouldn’t it have been amazing to change our system so that in subsequent years we are not faced with the lesser of two evils, instead being presented with multiple viable options? The passion that I have witnessed this year could have been directed in a way that could have rid America of its unintended two party system.

In the 1960’s the youth movement strove for something completely different. They wanted a new leadership. They wanted equanimity amongst people; they wanted diplomacy; they wanted healthcare and food and the essentials that America stands for for every individual. They protested and marched and fought (right here on the campus of Ole Miss) for equal rights in voting, in schooling, in marriage for everyone. They recognized that these goals could not be reached within the existing system. They wanted a new system for a new generation. One that represented their goals. I witnessed similar calls for action this year. A great deal has changed in forty years. Obama would not have been elected in 1968 for many of the reasons that Dylan sang about. However, do we really believe that the machinations of politics has changed that radically?

I am excited by the passion displayed this year. I am dismayed that it was directed within the system. I finally understand the feelings I was experiencing, and continue to experience (how can anyone live up to the idealistic image being painted of Obama). I worry that whatever positive steps he takes, they will be undermined as being insufficient. I am concerned that any incoming President would be faced with a no-win situation. Please do not read this as a question of Obama himself. I am cynical of all politicians within the current two party system. Instead I am questioning whether the energy and enthusiasm was properly placed. Not because of the candidate, but because of the system.

Many of you who will read this are those that I respect and are fervent supporters of Obama. Please help me understand from your perspective.

Then they'll raise their hands,
Sayin' we'll meet all your demands,
But we'll shout from the bow your days are numbered.
And like Pharaoh's tribe,
They'll be drownded in the tide,
And like Goliath, they'll be conquered.

“When the Ship Comes In” Bob Dylan – 1963