Omerica
Just waking up. It was an early election night as they go, decided well before midnight, but while you got to turn off the TV, some of us still had newspapers to put out. A lot of late nights lately, but I’ll be getting more sleep now. Yes, I can.
OK, looking around to get the lay of the land. First things first. Out the window I notice the leaves are still all over the yard and the cordwood is still in a pile where Chris the tree guy dumped it. Somebody is going to have to deal with that. I guess I can.
Still haven’t looked at any news or views this morning. Wasn’t very happy with the result last night. Turns out the pollsters finally called one. Yes, they did. There’s a lot not to like about it, but let’s start with the upsides of Obama’s election.
We should now officially be able to dispense with the “racist” America thing. Yes, we can.
Had McCain been elected, we know what the story line would have been. But it has been established that not only can Americans make bad choices without regard for the color of a man’s skin, they are willing to make bad choices because of it, in furtherance of racial advancement. Yes, many did.
I highly doubt, however, the national and international media is done worrying the race bone, or that those who have just seen their dreams made real are quite willing to throw away the card that has served them so well … what was Jesse Jackson crying about, anyway? … not when there is so much important business for the new Democratic president and his Congress to do.
Look for accusations of racism every time someone opposes them, and earnest navel-gazing searches for the wretched lint of racism when their polling numbers inevitably drop. It’s sad, but I highly doubt the election of the first black president has actually put us in the post-racial era. The campaign sure didn’t, with rampant Democratic and media race-baiting every time the GOP attempted to raise a legitimate concern about the preparedness of the candidate, the importance of his associations and the wisdom of his policy proposals. If we are to remain mired in the politics of race, it won’t be because the broad mainstream of America is racist, nor that the loyal Republican opposition is. It will be because there are people who want us to be. Yes, they do. You can’t make a career of advocating race-based policies and constantly crying racism, and suddenly be expected to set it all aside just because the nation has demonstrated itself to have moved on.
As for actual racists … white ones, I mean … the skinheads can be expected to go nuts. Who cares? Skinheads haven’t shown themselves capable of much in the way of high- or even mid-level organization. What do you expect from a bunch of nihilistic tattooed shaved-head Hitler-loving losers? They probably won’t be much to worry about, beyond periodic demonstrations of ugliness and rank stupidity. They and the Ayran Nation types may get a boost in membership, but they tend to be pretty easy to spot. More serious, low-profile white supremacists … yes, there could be problems. But the Secret Service is pretty good at what it does. Decent Americans, which is to say most them, will recoil from vile extremism as they always have.
Enough on that. For now. Believe me, we’ll have plenty of time to angst over America’s racial woes later.
To view this result in its most positive light, I’m glad our nation has demonstrated it is able to look beyond race, though polling returns such the opposite was true in many cases … those people who voted for Obama largely because he’s black. But I’m more concerned about the actual business of the nation than I am with the president’s race, and I’m only sorry the predictions that the first black or female president would be a Republican proved false. Look for 2012 not to be a referendum on the Obama presidency’s actual performance, but on whether America has accepted a black man as president. As long as the news media remains obsessed with it, and the advocates of race-based policies require it, we will remain in enmired in racial politics in America. But I look forward to being proven wrong about that.
Upside to a McCain loss? He would have faced a very hostile Democratic Congress, and an even more embittered and frustrated opposition in society at large. Forget his very legitimate history as a maverick able to reach across the aisle. His ability to accomplish anything would have been severely diminished by these factors, not least because many Republicans who should have known better viewed the 2008 election as a fashion statement. America rejected McCain’s vision of moderate conservatism and bi-partisanship and has voted for “change” as vaguely defined by Obama. At the end of four years, America will still be here. America may be changed, but it will still be the greatest nation on earth, and probably still the most powerful, any setbacks not withstanding. Yes, it will.
But now Obama has to govern. I’ve heard a lot of people say he’ll do that from the middle: The “socialist” thing was a desperate GOP canard, and Obama, cognizant of his desire to be re-elected in 2012, will become the moderate he attempted to portray himself to be in the 2008 campaign. I see no reason to expect that. He has already made it clear that he wants to raise taxes and share the wealth. He wants to introduce government-managed universal healthcare. There will be Supreme Court appointments, and they will be advocates of bench legislation. There are any number of social policy issues that can be dealt with administratively or with the assistance of the Democratic Congress. Entire populations of special interests yearning to be advanced. Gay marriage, federally enforced anti-discrimination policies, new classes of hate crimes, abortion policy, all that. Reasonable people may disagree over a lot of it, but the conversation is effectively over. Look for growth in the hate-crime industry. No, I don’t mean actual crimes of hate, I mean the definition of freedom of speech as one. OK, maybe it already is.
I’m always interested in the “what next?” part of any social agenda. There always is one. One of the social liberation projects I’m looking forward to is the one Obama may not yet be fully aware he’s expected to advance. That would be, at long last, the establishment of transgendered rights. You know, an end to the persecution of people with Y chromosomes who want to use the ladies room regardless of the state of their plumbing. Who want to alter government records to reflect the woman that was still trapped inside when they were born. An end to discrimination against men yearning to wear fishnet stockings to work. Live and let live. What harm could there possibly be in that? So they happen to be elementary school teachers, or, I dunno … The end of don’t-ask-don’t-tell is in the offing. That’s a policy reasonable people can differ on and debate, but again, that conversation is effectively over. What does that have to do with transgendered rights? Somewhere in the ranks of those who serve is a woman in an infantryman’s uniform. Probably a few of them. The United States military has long been a vehicle of social change. It was desegregated long before the nation was, after all. And we are entering a period in which, though we remain engaged in global war, the military will be viewed increasingly as an instrument of policy by other means, only not quite the way von Clausewitz meant. And that’s before we get to the military budget as a pool for underwriting other priorities.
About that war. It’s still on.
Al Qaeda, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Russia, China, etal … you know, the Axis of Evil, its enablers and those who’d like to take us down a notch and move up one themselves … they don’t give a damn that we just took a bold new step in race relations, or that the party that wants us to be better liked in the world just took power. Except to the extent it provides them with opportunities to advance their interests.
Here’s the thing that Americans who wondered why they hate us never got: As long as America is the dominant cultural, economic, military and political power in the world, they always will. They don’t want to like us. They want us to be neutered. Obama’s vision of a Euro-American foreign policy will be a good start.
Having lived out in the world, having seen how the good people of the world like the many things we have brought to history’s table, and having experienced anti-Americanism firsthand, I decided a long time ago I wasn’t, as an American, much interested in whether America is liked or not. I already know that America is loved. American values and influence in the world remain the only viable and desireable option for the economic welfare, political freedom and social advancement of billions of people. If they are to be maintained in a world with many hostile and manipulative actors, then America must be respected. And that means America must be understood to be willing to act with determination in her own defense, in the defense of allies and in defense of our shared interests. That means, in some quarters, America will be hated. And must also be feared.
In the specific case of al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden now has a very pressing interest in demonstrating that Jihad goes on. If anything, the Great Satan is now headed by an apostate Muslim, because if Americans were willing to see past the “Hussein” slur to see Obama for what he is … a dyed-in-the-wool American Christian, if suspiciously subject to black liberation theology … I doubt al Qaeda will be. As friendly as al Qaeda is likely to get with the new administration is an admonishment, as we saw after the 2006 mid-term elections, for the newly elected to get on with their surrender plans. More likely, al Qaeda will be vying with many other players to see who can administer the first Bidenesque foreign policy test.
Obama is in luck. George Bush ended that war in Iraq, and all Obama and the Dem Cong have to do is not screw up the peace. The brilliant counterinsurgency warrior who did America and Obama such a big favor in Iraq has now taken over the war in Afghanistan as well. Obama may have barely, and only grudgingly accepted that Petraeus actually accomplished something, and by actually fighting the war instead of surrendering allowed the realization of Obama’s dream to be able to exit Iraq and fight in Afghanistan. All indications are that the left does not actually want to fight there, either. It is being widely declared a quagmire for which there is no solution, which is the rhetoric that usually precedes calls for abandonment.
But the good news is Petraeus is widely respected, and no one will hold it against Obama if he does what Petraeus wants. OK, maybe Code Pink, the Truthers and some white supremacists. But the one thing I wanted most out of the second Bus administration has been accomplished. Whatever doom and gloom you might read about Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, terms have been set for America to prevail in its war on terrorism, and the new Democratic administration is in the unenviable position of having to not bollix it. My confidence, given past precedent, in their ability to do that is not high. It remains a long war, and it still must be fought.
Iran, North Korea and Syria are separate, though related matters. Again, terms have been set. Europe and the United Nations are increasingly on side. The one thing that has now been removed is exactly the one thing that tenuously kept Saddam Hussein in his box, when the U.N. and Europe proved ineffective and even counterproductive. That’s realistic expectation of consequences. Talking to North Korea, trusting without verifying, did not work for Bill Clinton, who left that among other messes for George Bush to clean up. George Bush, in contrast, has left the mechanisms with regard to each of those problematic regimes for positive developments to continue. That won’t happen when the parties on the other side of the table sense weakness. Weakness includes, but is not limited to the removal of the military option.
OK, I woke up this morning, and it is still America outside. Looks like it, anyway. Those leaves are still all over the lawn and the cordwood still needs to be stacked. The kids got off to school before I got up after my late night at work, and I’ve seen some of the neighborhood moms pass by on their morning constitutionals with dogs on leash.
I’m not interested in spending the next four years in bitterness, the way the opposition spent the last eight, and I trust America will still be here at the end of this term. Congratulations, Obama. It is a great country. It is yours to govern now, all hope and change in your hands. Hope and change are great, but try not to change it too much. Because I can assure you, it doesn’t get much better than this.
Some links in this brave new Omerica:
Hot Air, Congratulations, Obama
Ace, He is Risen
Malkin, And the winner is … Peggy the Moocher! … Also, there will be loin girdage.
Uh oh, Gateway, Stocks slide on Obama’s win, as investment-Americans panic over the new socialism. That’s not the change any of us were hoping for! … Also, NYT lied, people didn’t die. Never stop spinning, Gray Lady.
Surber, Roots … it isn’t just a mini-series from the 1970s.
American Digest, How beautiful we were.
Michael Graham’s Natural Truth, The People Have Spoken. Optimistic guy can’t find a bright side but what’s not to like about a good fight?
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 12:12 pm Comments (19) on Wednesday, November 5, 2008
19 Responses to “Omerica”
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November 5th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Obama is about to discover that all the money in the world can’t buy respect. I am told that in advance of 25%+ DOD cutbacks and benefit reductions, many “lifers” have decided to submit their papers. (The concept of “Commander in Chief Obama” just pushed them over the edge. Grandfathered pensions are also a factor). A less-safe America, smaller, less capable military and he hasn’t even taken the oath yet. Thanks, Barry!
November 5th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
When you write: “Look for accusations of racism every time someone opposes them, and earnest navel-gazing searches for the wretched lint of racism when their polling numbers inevitably drop,” you’re probably right. I’m writing from down here in the buckle of the Bible belt and we hear the same type of thing coming from the other side: any opposition to Bush/Cheney/Rove doctrine is repudiation of Jesus Christ and will earn you a burn in hell. Extremism: left and right. It’s what America’s all about.
November 5th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
I left the Marine Corps, in ‘81, when Carter tried to buy our votes with a 25% pay raise. This was after 4 years of starving DOD in the same manner that al-’Bama has forecast.
The thing that I’m worried about is the Constitution. That ‘living thing’ that Obama’s legal department was trying to dismantle during the election. Habits are hard to break and he’s a habitual litigator as witnessed by all of his political campaigns.
November 5th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
[...] hisotry’s table, and having experienced anti-Americanism firsthand, I decided a long time ago I wasn’t, as an American, much interested in whether America is liked or not. I already know that America is loved. American values and influence in the world remain the only [...]
November 5th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
We may not be quite beyond racial politics yet, but there is one upside: the next black American to run for POTUS won’t be the “first”, and if Obama truly screws up, the next black American to run for POTUS will have to run on his or her actual merits (which, as we can see, Obama didn’t have to do).
November 5th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Great points, and I agree 100% about not being bitter. That’s been the lefties’ shtick for over a decade, and it’s an ugly thing.
Besides, as I said before the election: If Obama (and a Democratic Congress) is the price we have to pay for Bush 2004 and winning the war in Iraq, then I’ll take that deal gladly.
And while I’m sure you’re right that we won’t see the race grievance industry shutting down any time soon, it’s days are limited. I don’t think it will survive a generation of kids of all races and colors growing up knowing, without a doubt, that there is no limit to the heights they can aspire to, regardless of what other people may try to tell them.
November 5th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Hilarious, MikeH, that you suggest that OBAMA will dismantle the constitution after what Bush/Cheney/Rove have done to it. Thanks for the laugh. I needed that.
November 5th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
You’ll burn in hell for that, chiggerticky!!!!!
:)
November 5th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
As far as I can tell, the Constitution is unchanged. Please, chiggerticky, tell us what exactly Bush/Cheney/Rove have done to it, and provide documentation, please (links to screechy lefty blogs don’t count).
November 5th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
chiggerticky doesn’t have to say anything that has any relationship with reality. All he has to do is feel and it becomes true.
Let’s see how that works, the prisoners at Guantanamo are being incarcerated by Bush. Bush sucks the big one, therefore our rights have been taken away because they can’t exercise habeas corpus!
Another thing, everyone knows that corporations are bad and Bush sucks the big one, therefore when listening to al-Qaeda in other countries when the calls are routed through the US means WIRETAPS! Oh good lord (I didn’t really mean that) the end of freedom is upon us. Right chigger?
November 5th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Oh BTW chiggers, I’ll make it easy for you to decipher. ‘/sar.‘ There that’s better now isn’t it? Pseudobulbar affect is a rough condition to have isn’t it, I mean with all of that uncontrolled laughter, right?
November 5th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
The Party of Abraham Lincoln will be back strong and soon pushing even harder than we did these past eight years for freedom for the world’s oppressed, for a culture of life throughout the land and for prosperity for our true friends and allies. Have no doubt.
November 6th, 2008 at 12:52 am
I’ve quoted you, with comments, and linked to you here: http://consul-at-arms.blogspot.com/2008/11/re-omerica.html
November 6th, 2008 at 1:14 am
[...] Jules Crittenden – Omerica [...]
November 6th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
This is a test.
November 6th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
This is a test: Russia.
November 6th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
It aint ‘Russia”. Dang it. Tried commenting in this thread and for some reason it was tagged as spam. Thought that was because I’d included the word, ‘Russia” in the essay. I hate being confused.
November 6th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Your childlike faith is touching.
“George Bush ended that war in Iraq, and all Obama and the Dem Cong have to do is not screw up the peace.”
Which means better than even money they will.
And “Dem Cong”? Are you intentionally trying to recall “Viet Cong”, or was it accidental? In either case, that’s the first thing I though of. I like it!
November 11th, 2008 at 10:04 am
[...] Jules has similar thoughts, though with a different focus and a humorous twist. Category: Obama | Comment (RSS) | Trackback [...]