When I think of America I think of hope. I think of a place where the people are successful, and in most ways better than the rest of the world. I am programmed that way. It started in preschool when they told me we were better and I could be everything and anything I wanted to be. The problem deepened when I entered sports and my modicum of talent meant opportunities to go further, to escape and bring what I had gained back to the place where I lived. People pinned their hopes on me. They thought I could represent them, even save their perceptions of themselves with my own success. When I started to deconstruct a lot of these memories they aligned with what I was seeing from the political response to Barack Obama. Wrapped in my own failures are the answers to why Barack Obama will never be as good as the hype.
We Americans want to be saved. We invest in Lottery tickets and penny stocks. We gamble voraciously, participate in sweepstakes, and apply for more game shows than seems possible. We want that quick fix. We want to put out minimal effort and get maximum return. Of course we do. This is the business model of corporate America. Corps minimize risk and maximize returns, which is why the insurance corps don’t want to insure people who have been or already are sick. It is a bad bet. It will cost them money and effort. Why not take the easy route?
For most Americans, 2008 presented an easy route, or so it seemed. We elected Obama with the promise of hope and change. If you follow the present election it seems like we expected all of that change and all of our hopes to be fulfilled in 4 years. We expected to elect Obama and instantly see America back on top. In other words, we were waiting for Superman to come along and save the day. Only, Superman does not exist. Real change, real reform from centuries of practice takes longer than 4 years. Because of our get it now mentality, we are unwilling to wait for change. The smartest politicians take advantage of that and they remain in office because they can produce immediate and visible results, even if the results are flash without any substance.
As a kid, people treated me lie I would be Superman. They felt my good fortune would come back upon them instantly. It takes time to give back to the community. It takes time to invoke change. The problem is that people can no longer wait for change. They want it now. They want Superman. Well, he isn’t coming,