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YES WE CAN have a cultural renaissance!
These are heady days. There is sense of excitement and purpose that you can feel all around us. America is soaring with pride. The impending presidency of Barack Obama has created a surge of positive energy that is spreading across our land and all around the globe.
Many die hard McCain supporters have been swept up in this feeling of anticipation and hope. Granted, we are facing many daunting problems. Even so, there is a defiant optimism that is an essential motivating force which we must harness to extract ourselves from this muck and mire.
Millions of Americans have embraced the feeling that YES WE CAN. As this new administration digs in and starts to address the issues that require immediate action; health care, the economy, energy, and war; they will need to be creative and smart.
Barack Obama’s incoming administration is an inspiration to many. Americans are ready for things to get better. Our creative juices should begin to flow with renewed vitality.
I’m excited about the possibility that we are on the verge of a great American cultural renaissance. I’m expecting some amazing books to flow from American minds.
Painting. Sculpture. Invention. Dance. Music. Poetry. Photography. Textiles. Pottery. You name it - our arts and culture could experience an inspiration that would lead to the creation of many beautiful things.
I can’t wait. I feel like writing a book….
Vick Mickunas
Permalink | Comments (17) | Post your comment | Categories: booms and busts
Comments
By irishguy
November 14, 2008 11:56 AM | Link to this
Vick, You’re welcome. No reason we can’t disagree like gentlemen. Don’t won’t to stoop to the level of the far righties and lefties who get dirty and personal.By vick
November 13, 2008 10:45 AM | Link to this
Thanks, Irish Guy. That means a lot to me. I really appreciate it.By iris
November 12, 2008 1:42 PM | Link to this
Vick, I’m afriad we’ll never agree, but I admire how you can “turn a phrase”By vick
November 12, 2008 1:01 PM | Link to this
Ah yes, Irish Guy, I recall that Secretary of State Colin Powell was assigned the dubious task of serving those buckets of steaming WMD KoolAid to the American Public. That stuff smelled fishy then but the rush to invade Iraq was so inexorable that it was like Powell had dumped high grade Iraqi petrol on a smoldering Ground Zero.By irishguy
November 12, 2008 12:08 PM | Link to this
Well congratulations Vick on not drinking the “WMD Koolaid” which not only was “consumed” by our Intelligance community (mostly in place before W, BTW) but also the Brits, Egyptions, French, Russians, etc. etc. At least you didn’t resort to the childish “Bush lied, people died” chant. In FACT Saddam did use WMD’s (gas) to kill innocent Kurds, so we had every reason to assume he had ample stockpiles. Mr Bush acted on inaccurate intelligence but he did not lie.By Mary
November 10, 2008 8:39 PM | Link to this
Vick, I agree the press is not monolithic and that some spoke up. However, as an industry which has been repeatedly merged and compressed into fewer and fewer conglomerates, they failed the American people.By vick
November 10, 2008 1:12 PM | Link to this
Mary, “the press” is not some monolithic entity. While I agree that there were certainly many media cheerleaders who encouraged the invasion of Iraq, including so-called “liberal media” like National Public Radio and the New York Times I think that if you took a thorough look back at the press from that period you would find that there was significant opposition to that invasion within “the press” as well. I can only speak for myself. Prior to the invasion of Iraq I had at least a dozen guests on my radio program who expressed their opposition to that invasion. These authors were members of “the media” so I have to say that your blanket condemnation of “the media” as being either completely for or totally against something whether it was an invasion or a political campaign is a generalization that is not borne out by the facts.By Mary
November 10, 2008 12:53 PM | Link to this
Vick, let’s not forget how the press also let the American people down in the buildup to the Iraq war. They essentially rolled over and played dead to the Bush administration, then jumped on the Obama bandwagon without maintaining decorum and objectivity, or asking probing questions for the American people. That is two major failures of the press in the last eight years. A lot of the press seems to be a giddy, brainless bunch. Their level of professionalism has really taken a dive in American politics, and I have been watching for years.By vick
November 8, 2008 5:04 PM | Link to this
Well Irish Guy, I still remember the WMD KoolAid but I never drank it. Fear brand KoolAid seems to still be readily available but I think they quietly pulled that bogus WMD brand off the shelf quite some time ago…By irishguy
November 7, 2008 3:51 PM | Link to this
Vick, I think you’d better cut back on the kool-aid. I wish our new president well and hope for the best, but I’m NOT optimistic. I don’t think a big goverment, tax and spend liberal is what our country needs now. Especially with out opposition in the house and senate to counter balance those tendencies. However, it would appear I’m in the minority.By Mike
November 7, 2008 3:29 PM | Link to this
Jeff, I certainly cannot disagree that there is probably a certain segment of the voting public who have likely made Obama into an almost reverentially iconic figure in their own minds. And, while he is an exceptional politician with a very keen sensibility he is still, in the end, just a man. And those who have raised him up on their own self-constructed pedestals of infallibility will only find their fall much harder when they are inevitably disappointed by him in some way. I respect your thoughtfulness and the sincerity of your judgments in how you ultimately decided to cast your vote. I know that we both share the hope that, no matter how we voted individually, everyone can work together toward finding a way to get our country back on track and solve some of the monumental problems facing us. In the end, we are all in the same boat with equal responsibility to find solutions for what we face. I appreciate your cogent thoughts and feedback.By Jeff
November 7, 2008 1:48 PM | Link to this
Mike, I am willing to concede that the spin over Obama’s alleged cult-like popularity, may be slightly overblown. I’d argue, however, that this element does exist to an extent, and I hope with the rest of the nation, that he is indeed a man of substance instead of the poseur that his opponents claimed him to be. Ironically, I paid very little attention to the spin when I decided to vote against him. I voted, as I hope most Americans would, by examining each candidate’s voting records and proposed policies, and choosing the one whose values I agreed with most. Perhaps its unfair in this age of heavily spun images and words, that we create expectations that do not account for a candidate’s humanity. Disillusionment comes with the territory. Though I’m disappointed with the result, I’m grateful to have yet again taken part in this process. Even more so, I’m thankful for the opportunity to engage in constructive dialogue in spite of ideological disagreements. Much appreciated.By Mike
November 7, 2008 10:51 AM | Link to this
I appreciate the give and take between Jeff and Mark. And I have to second Mark’s comments. While I didn’t vote for Bush, I went into the early days of the Bush Administration giving them the benefit of the doubt and hoping that the reality would end up matching Bush’s rhetoric. To say I was disappointed with the outcome we were given would not do justice to the depths of my disillusionment. I understand Jeff’s trepidation but I would hope you would give the same consideration to Obama that I did with George Bush. In spite of the spin about “deification” and “cult of Obama” that has been espoused by his detractors, there is significant substance to Obama. His intellectual curiosity and openness to discussion of contrary viewpoints is well documented. He is a man who doesn’t rule or make decisions “from his gut”. And to me, having a thoughtful, deliberative and rational individual steering the ship of state is a welcome and positive change from what we have endured for the last eight years. So, as Mark says, don’t be hijacked by the spin. Let Obama formulate and implement his governing philosophy. And judge him by the results. Hopefully, we will be able to get past the point we now find ourselves where anyone who disagrees with what the President does is reflexively tagged as suffering from “Derangement Syndrome”. Let us judge him by the results he achieves. That is all we can ask.By Jeff
November 6, 2008 1:52 PM | Link to this
I appreciate your feedback, Mark, and I hope that you are proven right with your assertion over Obama’s level of respect towards those voters who opposed him. It remains to be seen, and I’m willing to give him the benefit of that doubt. He’s earned it, after all. I also agree, that the Republican’s have torn free from their conservative moorings- hence this inevitable loss. Hopefully they can find their way back to them by 2010 & 2012.By beastmomma
November 6, 2008 1:32 PM | Link to this
I hope that you do write a book Vick. That would be wonderful.By Mark from St Paul
November 6, 2008 12:35 PM | Link to this
Expect the next few years to be painful for you Jeff. Until you learn to pay attention to the man and not the spin, you’re not going to catch on to the fact that this isn’t a cult of personality, it’s a top to bottom rejection of Bushian politics. Eight years ago I felt as you do. Believe me when I say that Obama respects YOU much more than George Bush ever respected me or my fellow liberal Americans. I was raised conservative and frankly, I do not recognize what passes for conservative in the Republican party anymore.By Jeff
November 6, 2008 11:07 AM | Link to this
This McCain supporter remains deeply disappointed over the results. I wish Mr. Obama congratulations and success with his administration, but forgive me if I fail to be swept up in the anticipation and hope you describe. His rise and triumph is truly remarkable and historic but to those of us who doubt and even fear the implications of many of his policies, this is a difficult pill to swallow. If anything, this election proved that the cult of personality is alive and well. Let’s hope its newest deity can deliver the substance as well as it has done with the style.