I have become convinced in the last several weeks, following the emergence of Barack Obama as the probably Democratic Presidential nominee, that the Daily Kos store should be stocking vast quantities of litmus paper . . . because it seems so many Kossacks are proposing this or that absolute test for the candidate.
We have moved from being a critical lot to being a testy lot.
We seem to want everything to go our way.
We seem to have adopted the mantra "He's either with me, or he is against us."
Why?
And what will that get us?
I think the "why" is simple to deduce - we are scared to hell with the prospect of changing from being people of critique into people of governance. Van Jones is right, as sunflight has pointed out, when he suggests that we may have blown it when we became successful and now will have to show we know how to build and create more than just criticize. People are scared they may not be up to the change, which will mean among other things being the object more than the source of criticism.
The "why" also has to do with energy. Just look at all the posts which raise this or that pet issue in relation to Obama, and then look at all the comments. Every diarist is getting tremendous energy out of taking his/her critical stance.
But, if we let these trends continue -- a fear of assuming the majority position in governance and enjoyment of the energy we can receive by targetting Obama on our pet interpretation -- what we will get in the long run is more of the same old, Republican, Rovian governance.
Keep feeding energy-sucking egos and responding to existential fears about the adequacy of the liberal wing to actually govern, and we will get nothing, zip, zilch, nada -- just a big empty feeling in the end.
So, here is what I suggest:
- let's stop energizing the negatives. Just stop commenting on all of the attack rhetoric (often couched around serious-enough issues but driven by a seeming desire to turn hope into despair) and only comment on diaries which are visionary or positive in nature, helping to build on the pluses rather than drop our energy and words into the bottomless chasm of negativism.
- let's start posting more diaries which are positive. Show that we are capable of expanding on a theme of change and hope in ways which speak to vision and values. Move the frame to what is possible. If you believe the future can be better than the past, now is the time to say so and say why.
- be open and honest with each other that the real problem is not Senator Obama, but us. It is our fears about ourselves, not about him, which drive much of the dire talk about his position on this or that.
- stop seeing Obama as a savior figure who has somehow disappointed us. He is not a savior, and he has been clear from the start that he does not see himself that way. When we adopt the attitude that if he were only perfect all would be well, we buy into a mentality of hero-worship which is antithetical to our vision of American democracy. He represents an opportunity, not a solution. We are the solution.
Four simple steps - - but essential steps if in November we are going to prevail and make a new, better day possible. No one can guarantee if we will create that better day -- no candidate, no party - - but we won't even have the chance to find out if we keep looking for ways to destroy before we have that chance to build.