by Jared Stroup

Created on: September 12, 2008   Last Updated: September 13, 2008

Obama: The Superficial Culture's Wet Dream

Barack Obama. The name itself has brought with it a number of exclusively positive sentiments; change, hope, unity, and so on. The most recurring element is that of something new, something fresh, something out of the ordinary. His name is more globally recognized than even Michael Phelps; more symbolic than Donald Trump; more meaningful than Michael Jordan, and why wouldn't it be? At no point in American history has an African American singlehandedly brought comparisons to such Civil Rights giants as Martin Luther King, while simultaneously hastening a political movement not seen since the days of the Kennedy's; the entire time bringing forth the possibility of change in every aspect of American politics. Not just any old change; a change for the good. Through all this, he has garnered such a highly publicized reputation so historical, I wouldn't be surprised if people already started referring to him as Mr. President. That's not something to sneeze at; it's not just a genuine phenomenon, it's a mainstream phenomenon, and that brings me to my biggest problem with this whole matter.

In a culture run amok with substance-less drivel passed off as entertainment, the reality show generation has capitalized on the idea of viewer-controlled mindless entertainment. The enormous success of American Idol, YouTube, message boards, Myspace, and so on, has infected the population with the belief that since they can express an opinion at every turn; their opinion must be right. I myself have fallen victim to this belief, (just look at my website or Myspace page to see how supportive I am of ubiquitous expression) but I do this with the awareness of futility. This interactive involvement has inevitably found a representative in the form of Barack Obama, so much so that a startling amount of his supporters don't feel it necessary to back up their support for him with evidential reasoning. They "just like him". He's what they've "been waiting for". It's almost entirely "hunch" based, fulfilled by an eloquent amount of typically positive rhetoric on Obama's part. Optimism is truly hard to come by in the post-9/11, almost post-Bush Administration mentality currently plaguing the nation, but Obama has that in spades, and I'm convinced this is the key to his success; he's the right person at the right time. He knows what needs to be said in order to quell the cynicism, and so, he says what needs to be said. History has shown that oratory

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