So, Rednecks Really Are For Obama
We have made some lighthearted attempts at representing the issues of this campaign in terms of Midwestern values and “redneck” attitudes. These are complex and intensely emotional issues, and everyone is affected by this campaign. We are very sensitive to that, and we try to engage our readers in a healthy debate, whether that be through humor, satire, wit, or analysis. We cannot beat, however, the true words from the folks who make this campaign come alive. I want to share a video, thanks to the folks at rednecks4obama.com, that I think represents some of the sentiment that comes out of the Midwestern voter. Granted, not all Midwestern voters feel the same, but I think that this is a powerful testament to the authenticity of the rural voter and their relationship with Barack Obama:
One of my main hopes for this campaign is that it might be conducted with civility. Vote for who you like, campaign for who you like. and like who you like, but don’t engage in the hostility that is brewing in the dark corners of this debate. Leave it alone, and give us your opinion based on how you feel or how you interpret the issues.
Kudos to these guys for providing an authentic perspective in the growing distortion of public politics.
And power to the Rednecks 4 Obama.
Yeeehaauw.
Comment by Capt America on 28 September 2008:
Idealist: one guided by ideals ; especially : one that places ideals before practical considerations. Idealism , to me, is a driving force in the world, without it there would be just thoughts, but no change. We all would like to think we are visionaries but the reality is most of us are just thinkers. Idealists may come across to us as the guiding light, which is all fine and dandy, but the problem lies in who are the movers and shakers, the proactive?
Senator Obama is a highly idealistic person. Which I have stated is not at all a detrimental thing in the right hands. His main focus for his campaign is change. We all want change from the current administration, even right-wingers like myself. He was virtually an unknown until now. He is very charismatic, charming and has become the voice for those of us who feel we have no voice. He comes across as a political heretic. I would like to believe what he says but I fear the unknown. To me Obama is an unknown. We all hope for the idealistic President that will make his visions a reality. We seek another Woodrow Wilson.
Woodrow Wilson may not have been the perfect President to everyone. He was considered one of the most idealistic Presidents ever. But he was proactive. I think he figured out time travel, came to the 21st century and read Steven Coveys book, ‘ The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.’ (This is great book by the way, but we will leave that for another time.) I see both candidates in Wilson. I see the ideology in Obama and the doer in McCain.
McCain is a booster. (Not boaster, booster.) He is headstrong. This, like idealistic, can be both good and bad. The McCain campaign likes to use the term “maverick” which in the beginning was a good description but now it is an overindulged punch line. A headstrong person typically goes against the grain, but will also follow his convictions right or wrong. This is scary for a lot of folks, because Bush has the same mindset. But sometimes we need the decision right or wrong. The war in Iraq was a case of “good initiative, bad judgment.”
The war in Iraq has lost it’s luster as an effort to help rebuild alliances in the Middle East. The government has driven the American people to a conspiracy theorist mind frame with the destruction of our economy. It is also my opinion that America is just sick to death of being the trying to be the stabilizing force in the world while all other nations reap the benefits. We are now living our own version of Gus Van Sant’s “Good Will Hunting”
Comment by Capt America on 28 September 2008:
I forgot my reference list.
Idealist definition:
Inc. Merriam-Webster (2002) Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (11th ed.)
Proactive ref:
Covey, Stephen (1990) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (1st ed.) Rockefeller Center New York, NY
Van Sant, Gus (director) Good Will Hunting
Comment by Ohg Rea Tone on 28 September 2008:
The Nelson Art Gallery in Kansas City has an inscription chiseled in stone across the top of the front facade. “Reality is where we exist, The Ideal is where we live.”
Plato said the ideal is reality – His notion was everything exists, whether we humans have thought of it or not. An example: the chair you are sitting on – the idea of the chair is in the idea – it existed before man figured it out.