The Mendacity of Cynicism

A recent NY Times poll found that 79 percent of Americans are optimistic about the next four years under Obama and this feeling cut across party lines. As remarkable as this fact is, the thing that has me dumbfounded is the enthusiasm and vigor of the wet blanket crowd. They aren't content to just not be caught up in a wave of optimism, they insist on constantly telling the rest of us how silly, brain-washed, and foolish we are. "He's not a messiah!" "Nothing's gonna change!" "He's just a slick politician and all you women think he's good looking!" And these quotes are from Democrats.

Whenever you try to calmly explain that you fully understand that 1) Obama is just a flesh and blood human being like the rest of us 2) our catastrophic economic problems will take years to turn around 3) the idea that we are in a "post-racial" society is a dangerous fallacy, and 4) many many people paved the way for this historic inauguration to even be possible, the self-appointed Wet Blanket smirks as if you're reading from a Scientology script about how to deal with "unbelievers."

Right up until boarding my plane to D.C. on Thursday, I felt I had to append any declaration of my plan to come to D.C. for the inaugural with, "No, I don't have tickets to anything, yes I know it's supposed to be freezing and might rain, no I don't think I'll even get close to the swearing in, I'm just going to be part of history." I could have checked that explanation with my baggage; however, because onboard the plane it seemed that everyone from the flight crew to my fellow Washington-bound passengers "got it." I encountered the same thing I did at Obama's nomination acceptance speech in Denver, a sense of connectedness. People of disparate ages, races, and economic classes (as much as you can tell that superficially) who otherwise never would interact were smiling, nodding, giving thumbs up, and striking up conversations at the sight of Obama paraphernalia. In the conversations that I had or overheard, very few of us had tickets to anything; we just wanted to be there.

Black folks from Denver met one another and exchanged numbers at the baggage carousel at BWI Airport in Baltimore. [As an aside, I must say that black people from Denver always meet other blacks from Denver in places like Washington and Atlanta and wonder how they never met back home. A friend of told me how surreal it is to be walking down Peachtree Street in A-Town and spot someone with a black and grey Montbello H.S. sweatshirt on.]

Right now in Washington, it's all about the inauguration. Even if you wanted to ignore the whole spectacle, the fact that you can't find a parking space at the grocery store, you can't drive your usual route, or you have to show ID to get to and from your within-the-security-zone apartment will firce you out of your reverie. If that doesn't do it, running into Bruce Willis, Denzel, George Lucas, or Mary J. Blige looking as excited as any family from the heartland will draw you in. D.C. residents are more subdued and most I know plan to watch the activities from home, but no matter how many motorcades, parades, or major events they've seen in this city, they've NEVER seen anything like what is happening this week.

Because of the south to north migration patterns after reconstruction, the concentration of HBCUs, the early efforts to integrate the federal workforce, and other factors, most African Americans either have a relative or a close friend who lives in the D.C. metro area. Even if a local wasn't into the hoopla before, their houseguests have upped the ante. It took all kinds of people to bring about the resounding victory on November 4th. People feel invested in this president and by extension we are more invested in one another. If that's drinking the Kool-Aid then give me another cup...and could you make that a commemorative Obama cup please?

Keith Olbermann

Occasionally, in times of great crisis and confusion, individual people step up, speak out, and make a difference. Keith Olbermann has done that through this war. While Olbermann has certainly been a popular and entertaining commentator for some time, through the three plus years of this war he has gained a fervor and a polish that would make MLK proud. He doesn't even seem to need breath as he gives this incredible commentary. I welcome your thoughts on it.