Indignation Nation

I suppose that, to anyone under the age of 25 or so, the pace of current events seems about right – screaming fast forward, when government programs, policies, and even personnel are changed – or outright reversed – on a daily basis. This is, truly, a golden age for those with a short attention span – or none at all. If you get tired of a certain style, or fashion, or trend, or government policy or program, just wait a nanosecond or two, and it will all change – not necessarily for the better, but who cares? The point is change, flux, continuous evolution... chaos. Because what is, or seems to be, “chaos” and disorder to the uninformed citizen (i.e., just about all of us) is perfect law and order to the powers that be, because it renders the citizenry completely helpless and without resistance. So a government program or policy arises one day and disappears the next, only to be replaced by its opposite, thus keeping people perpetually off balance and in the dark... which is, of course, exactly what those in charge want. No one is ever allowed time to reflect... to exercise logic... to apply principles. Those are all old-fashioned, academic exercises that have no relevance to the current crisis. The idea now is: Act! Immediately! And never mind the cost, or the long-term consequences. And the Obama administration is ideally suited to pursue this strategy, since it is made up almost entirely of smart, fast-talking, cynical “idea men” who also have the street smarts to actually implement their ideas. No more measured consideration; the Senate, that slowest-moving of governmental entities (because it was designed that way by the Founding Fathers), has to be kept in full gallop, with cattle prods bring wielded by Obamaite enforcers. The media have to be overwhelmed with “live feeds” at all hours of the day and night. Obama has to appear, and speak, at four or five places at once on the international scene... and his erstwhile supporters on the left have to be placated on a daily basis, since none of the things they expected him to do in exchange for their support has been done... nor will it ever be. And if anyone is so thick-headed to ask, what's the rush? -- the answer is always that, as bad as things are now, they will be even worse if we don't act! Now! With No Time for Debate! Which is, basically, another way of saying that the legislative process is hopelessly out of date, and we would all be better off if the president were officially declared dictator (rather than this having to remain an unofficial, although very obvious, fact). So Obama's attitude is that “He who is not with me is against me” -- very Biblical, I must say. And who is with him? The executive branch, the media, and academia... and most of the people who voted for him (still – I suppose). The opposition? Whoever didn't vote for him... Congress (because even the ones who agree with his agenda are way too slow in helping him to carry it out)... and potentially the judicial branch, because every once in a while they get the crazy idea in their heads they can rule against some governmental program or policy. Imagine! The people vote, we win, and then a bunch of judges think they can stop us. Of all the nerve.

So this is the picture at present – an institutionally slow legislature, an edgy judicial, and a few voices already being raised in skepticism. Why won't people give Obama a chance? I mean, gosh, it's not like we're talking about the Soviet Union, which had more than 70 years to either prove itself or get out of the way. Most governments, at the age of Obama's administration, would still be burying the dead. So what's the problem? The “feeling tone” at the beginning of the administration – and even before it started – was one unrivaled since the New Deal. Hope! Change! Sunlight! Scantily-clad willowy women dancing across the greensward, pursued by randy satyrs and unicorns! And, truth be told, that still is the attitude of the Obama “centrist” -- not the lefties who are already feeling thoroughly had, or the “ABR” (Anybody But a Republican) types... but the Democratic faithful who always pull that one big lever in the voting machine marked “Democrat”, even if it winds up making a one-eyed pit bull with AIDS into a city councilman. No, the problem is that, doggone it, not everyone is with the program, and the sheer, overwhelming charisma of Obama, and his family, and his mother-in-law, are not sufficient to make all of the rough places plain. So the feeling tone that went along with “hope and change” has given way, more and more, to the one that goes along with frustration, indignation, and puzzlement. And this, in turn, is predicated on the core premise of every liberal who ever walked the earth, which is that they are, in fact, the most enlightened, the smartest, the wisest, and the most humane and “feeling” persons who ever lived – which is why all of the reins and power (and money – but that's not important!) of government should be handed over to them by a grateful populace... not only for the duration of their elective term, for in perpetuity. Every liberal dreams of being another FDR – president for life. Because so great is their virtue, and their merit, that it is downright – well, heretical (but only in a strictly secular way, mind!) for anyone to express skepticism, or offer an opposing point of view. And so when they do (and there are always a few “haters” out there)... well, it's just plain upsetting, that's all. And we try to do what we can – you know, with things like the Fairness Doctrine and FCC regulations and “election reform” and what not... but these annoying voices just keep seeping through. And now there's the Internet, which was supposed to be a great, liberalizing influence, because, as we all know, liberals thrive on “education” and “information”... but guess what, the forces of “hate”, and “superstition”, and reaction, have even planted themselves firmly in cyberspace... so what's a good totalitarian, er, I mean collectivist, er, I mean “enlightened leader” to do?

But one must soldier on (you should pardon the expression), and our friends in the media will continue to do what they do best, which is to portray any and all naysayers as “nut cases”... but it's hard to keep a smile on one's face, especially after a hard day's work apologizing for all of America's sins and shortcomings... occasionally the strain shows... one gets snappy and impatient... but hey, that's the price that must be paid for absolute power. And for those who don't like it... well, we have plans for them as well. And that's right up there on the “to do” list, as soon as the current crisis has been fixed.