by Roger Prather

Created on: December 07, 2008   Last Updated: January 09, 2009

Was it just me or did Barack Obama's election-night victory speech have too much of a Catholic Mass feeling? Thousands of people huddled together to see "The One." A weeping Oprah crying on the shoulder of a fellow believer. The chants of "Yes We Can" after Obama shouts the possibilities that we'll all realize together.

Obama: "I am with you."

Congregation: "And we are also with you."

And now a reading from the gospel of America's savior. Give me a break.

In case it isn't obvious, I did not vote for Barack Obama. But don't get me wrong, I do have high hopes for his presidency. I hope he can successfully end the war in Iraq. I hope he can draw conservatives and liberals together in a common-sense approach to the financial crisis. And, I hope that he can help the United States regain its perch atop the moral highground of international opinion. But let's get one thing straight, Obama isn't going to be "the one" to do it. The American people and their elected officials will be the ones to do it. It will be Obama's cultish personality that drives change, though.

Cult: an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, esp. as manifested by a body of admirers.

Veneration: Profound respect and esteem mingled with fear and affection, as for a holy being or place; the disposition to revere.

Obama's followers can truly be described as a cult that venerates its leader. On the one hand, such a thing disgusts my libertarian leanings (has anyone read 1984?). On the other hand, Obama has accomplished what the American electorate apparently couldn't or wouldn't accomplish on its own: action. American democracy relies on the influence and action of voters for its survival. The day voters refuse to act, which they've slowly been doing over time, is the day democracy dies in America. Obama succeeded in mobilizing millions of voters to a cause. His cause was change: change in American government, change in American foreign policy, change in American outlook, change for the better. But the fact is we didn't need Obama, or anyone else, to accomplish change. We had the power all along.

This makes me think of a religious parallel between Obama and Christianity. According to Christian theology, Jesus is God incarnate who came to earth to die so that everyone's sins can be forgiven. What many people don't realize is that same forgiveness was available before Jesus ever came. The religion of Israel was created so people could have their sins forgiven and get saved - hence, the Day

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