Thursday, November 6, 2008

The Monsters Are Toast

We always knew this election was crucial, but nobody could have foreseen the lightning speed with which America would be instantly transformed and redeemed--no longer scorned and despised around the globe but celebrated once again as a source of hope and promise for the world. Nobody could have imagined the sight of so many people staying up all night, dancing in the streets, of giddy tribesmen in Africa shaking gourds at each other, of everyone, everywhere, cheering and weeping uncontrollably.

Even if you voted for John McCain, according to New York Times columnist Gail Collins, you should be happy--in the realization that there are billions of people around the planet who loathed our country last week but are now in awe of it again. We will have a president the world wants to follow. This is huge. The Lincoln Memorial might be getting its gleam back, says Maureen Dowd. "I may have to celebrate by going over there and climbing up into Abe's lap. It's a $50 fine. But it'd be worth it."

After two years of grueling campaigns, race-baiting, underhanded tricks, and an interminable gestation period, the baby was born on Tuesday night--healthy, beautiful, and wearing those special gravity boots that allow you to hang in a doorway upside down. All of which means that everything looks different now--and the monsters are finally toast. (A hat tip for the monster reference to Paul Krugman, who declared in the New York Times that this was the end of an era of being "governed by monsters.") This is no small matter, as one blogger commented, "It's like being dug up after being buried alive for 8 years." And another who said, "we've finally arrived at a moment when America feels like it is supposed to feel."

When things were at their bleakest, after the Republican convention and the acme of Palin's pitt-bull, lipsticked performance on the stage there, I did a three-part divination using the Thesaurus (which I blogged about in my post of September 9th, called "Beating the Blues"). Like most everyone else I know, I was spooked at the time, scared that Obama might never get to sit down on that chair in the White House and look over the desk top after all. Flipping back to reread the third answer I got--to the question of whether Obama could still succeed against this new, nervy, mettlesome barracuda--it seems even more preternatural now to read what the Thesaurus offered me back then in response:

"Transcend, rise above, surmount, tower over, outreach, exceed, carry off the laurels, bear the palm, wear the crown, surpass, reach a new high, go one better, trump, show quality, shine, excel, assert one's superiority, be too much for, steal the show, outshine, eclipse, overshadow, ridicule, outclass, outwit, get the better of, trounce, rise to the occasion, defeat, tip the scale, change the balance, be up on, be one up."

We, the American people, would be hard-pressed to find a more lucid, sensitive, or elegant new president than "the One" who has just been elected. Each of us, of course, will be attracted to different bright parts of him. For me, it is the graciousness with which he deals with the people who have done their best to cut off his balls. There is even talk now of the new administration linking up with and incorporating John McCain. All I know is that if it were me, I would find it hard to be so forgiving. And that is why I am so excited to have Obama for my president. Most probably I'll never get to have beer with him, but this man will definitely be able to teach me a thing or two about spiritual greatness.

5 comments:

katherine devine said...

Dear Suzi,
I have learned a lot from reading your blogs and puzzling over spiritual dilemmas in stream of consciousness salons and gatherings . For all its value, even more of a treasure to me is witnessing your courage in following your own intuitions, sharing your visions, and making it easier for others to hear their own inner voice.
We all contributed in our own way in making this momentous shift, in politics, consciousness and awareness of the joy of working together for the common good. .Some part of me feels it was those many evening over the last two years of looking the darkness straight on that help me work towards this light-hearted day with all my strength ,power and will.Thank you for keeping us focused on the need for change!
Katherine

LAURIE BETH ZUCKERMAN said...

Dear Suzi, what an uplifting post! Glad that the universe gave you and all of us this opportunity to renew our hope. Happy days are here again.

Laurie

Anonymous said...

"Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket." Barak Obama to San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Board, January 2008.

SKYROCKETING Electricity bills. That's one of Obama's arrogant plans.

Just who will be hurt by Obama's "plan"?
The rich? Of course not. The rich won't even have to park their private jets. Al Gore will keep all of his houses well heated and cooled. He may even build a few more for himself.

But, Obama's "plan" will devastate the poor, the elderly and others on fixed incomes! Maybe even one of you.

The "Monsters" will walk into power come January 2009. President elect Obama is a bona fide monster, as we all shall see. He will continue leading intellectual lemmings to gleefully trade freedoms in exchange for a self indulgent satiation of their hatred of President Bush and prideful belief that "they know better than the people what's best for the people."

(Go read F.A. Hayek.)

Thomas Sowell's article "Intellectuals" today is prescient. http://townhall.com/columnists/ThomasSowell/2008/11/11/intellectuals?page=full&comments=true

In case you would like to read Kristol's article, here is it's link. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/opinion/09kristof.html?em

Oh, by the way. If you think "the world will love us now," you should expect curious disappointment. Our enemies will move into our back yards. Our friends will distance themselves from us, making "private deals" with our enemies. Our enemies will no longer fear us, and our friends will no longer be able to trust us to use our power to watch their backs.

Empurpler said...

Suzi - this is completely unrelated but we at Drunken Boat are publishing an issue that in part is dedicated to the pedagogy of the Black Mountain School and wonder if you might be interested in contributing something? You can email me at ShankarR AT ccsu.edu

Hope all swells.

Best,

Ravi

Ed., http://www.drunkenboat.com

Jenne Sluder said...

Dear Suzi,

I have been trying to find a means of contacting you in regards to my studies in Ecopsychology through Naropa University. I am in the process of writing my Master's Paper and have drawn significant inspiration and vision from your book "Conversations Before the End of Time."

I would like to try to interest you in being my expert reader. It would not be time-intensive and it would be of truly great benefit to me as I believe you have the interdisciplinary reach to give appropriate and insightful feedback regarding my topic/approach.

Below I have pasted my abstract. Please contact me if you have interest/availability at jsluder80@hotmail.com. I would be ecstatic to hear from you either way. Our passions and visions share roots as do our bioregions-I am a native of the mountains of western NC...
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Abstract

The path of modernization has had a devastating impact on the human experience of meaningful relationship. A growing collective psychological malaise has become clearly symptomatic of destructive aspects of westernization characterized by a pervasive sense of isolation, fragmentation, despair and cynicism. The malaise points to a desperate longing for reintegration into the participatory nature of existence—a renewal of cultural priorities that foster a sense of belonging, intimacy, and accountability to the life that surrounds and supports the self. This paper identifies the premise of the emerging field of Ecopsychology as a potentially transformative response to the breakdown of healthy community in an industrialized world.
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In gratitude for your work,
Jenne Sluder