paper one

William Idrissi

American studies

Essay one

Crowd’s reaction to Obama and his Inaugural speech

Standing in the cold huddled up in the mass of people I could not help but to feel humbled and small compared to the "great unwashed" that gathered on the national mall today. It seemed that everywhere I looked Obama was staring back at me smiling through one of his many merchandized products such as Obama buttons, T shirts, hats, scarf’s bracelets calendars watches and many more which all showed him in a bright almost divine light. My friend commented that he has never seen this before except in developing nations where the people had unrealistic expatiations of the politician who promised a radical change in their life. This made me wonder if Americans were expecting far more from their government then they had in the past which is comparable to the people of the developing nations. I along with many in the crowd felt the same emotions as I believe some child in Iraq felt when Saddam told him that his life was going to radically change for the better this was obviously unrealistic and definitely mythic. It seemed as if the people behave this way before they elect a dictator. This was an eerie feeling as if Obama’s likeness was being idolized. What would the next step be? Will there be a monument for Obama or perhaps a Golden stature of our 44th president and if these statures are erected would they be brought down by future generations similar to the fate of the statures of Saddam? To the people on the national mall Obama was far more than a man, he had superhuman status in the hearts and minds of the masses. As I looked around the crowd I wondered if it was totally mythic, would Obama be able to unite America and American values? As I saw the faces of the people I noticed that it wasn’t a crowd of African Americans, Asians, Caucasians, Hispanics, Jews, Christians or Muslims it was a crowd of them all and the only thing missing was arguments or negativism to be seen. Even though we all were packed extremely tight and very close to each other there was no pushing or heated discussions that you notice at a large concert or party, instead the people huddled closer and commented on how we helped each other warm up from the cold. This might seem small to an observer but if you was a participant then it was monumental to be able to help warm your fellow American while he/she helps to warm you, this was a weird personal unification feeling. The method of solving the problem of the cold was representative of Obama’s ideals because it showed that if Obama supporters see a large problem such as the 10 degree weather then working together would be the easiest way to their solution. This led to the humbling effect that I mentioned earlier as if I was not one but one of many and part of a much larger group of people. But not a feeling that I was stripped of my individualism but more of a feeling that all of our powers where combined. Obama knows this feeling and definitely used it to his advantage by introducing religion in his speech.  Religion played an important role today and in this Judeo-Christian dominated society this was used to connect the audience to Obama. however when Obama spoke the mass of people became very serious and began to whisper things such as "amen" or "that's right" these words and they way they are said is usually reserved for church when people feel the presence of something greater than themselves (God or a symbol of God) so in this case the people unanimously react in the same way to Obama. Based on the reactions of the people I do believe that Obama is addressed with respect that is only deserving of a messiah or prophet. People journeyed from across the nation, and woke up at three and four in the morning, waited out in the cold simply to catch a 20 minute glimpse of him on a jumbotron television. This above celebrity status is by far one of the greatest myths. The constant myth is that Obama plays himself up to the historical figures, weather it is the “endorsement” from Dr. martin Luther King or the constant connections that he makes to Lincoln such as taking the same route to dc as Lincoln did or swearing in on Lincoln’s bible. These are ways to make him an instant historical figure.

            Waiting for Obama to show I noticed something interesting, a complete lack of interest for the status quo. Any person who symbolizes the previous times was instantly met with violent booing from the crowd. The people would not accept anything except for change from their government which I think is a result of the peoples fear from repeating of the same mistakes. I think it’s also due to Obama’s campaign strategy which persuaded people that change is a word that is synonymous with good.  This may or may not be true but either way Obama successfully convinced us that he had change which we can believe in. he has escalated our fear of repeating the mistakes of the past to such a high degree that we will go against our natural instinct which tells us that unknown change is bad, this is the reason why we are inherently afraid of the dark. But in this case where things are bad people are adopting a sinking ship policy which means we should discard everything from before and get on a new ship to safety.

            In conclusion I am very hesitant when it comes to supporting a man to such a degree as Obama is supported. I fear that this may lead to many problems and disappointments. I can only hope that not only will change occur but it will be for the benefit of the people. And will Obama’s celebrity/messiah status fade?  While I do fear a dictatorship I am able to be at ease and content because our governing system that puts restrictions in place to protect us from our own enthusiasm. Will checks and balances limit Obama’s power or will a blue house and senate allow Obama to deliver the change that he promised? These are questions that only time can answer.