That reader is named Memo S., who contacted me recently asking to share with readers of OK WASSUP! a video he collaborated on regarding today’s political structure. The VIMEO description says the video “features a whole bunch of people asking our prez a few questions they would like answered- set to an in-your-face bit of political hip-hop.”
In his note, Memo said “Everything is so polarized, and no one wants to be honest with themselves, so the point of this (video) was to say ‘Listen, we’re obviously not going to support Romney, but that doesn’t mean we have to pretend we love Obama, either. Let’s be honest with ourselves.'” As an avid reader of this blog, Memo added that “Ok Wassup always has a no-B.S. point of view” and that he believed this “blog might appreciate a different voice in an otherwise-cluttered political landscape.”
So many thanks to Memo S. for being politically conscious and for sharing his extremely well produced work with our readers. You may or may not agree with his politics, but you’ll love his creativity. You can check out more of his work by visiting www.foolfactory.com. Here is his video on the current presidential contest. Enjoy!
First: KUDOS!..to Memo S.
He's a frustrated voter who decided to take "creative" action in voicing that frustration.
Needless to say, he speaks for a lot of frustrated voters (via his video), especially many of the same voters who supported the President in 2008 and had rather high expectations for his Presidency.
Second: The truth is I didn't get behind the *Occupy Wall Street* movement for several reasons…the primary reason being that it seemed to me it was made up mostly of people who had set UNreasonably high expectations for the President in the first place. Expectations that he never could have lived up to.
That said. There are major areas/issues of concern where I share their frustration. …where I wish the President had put up a more vigorous fight_the *Public Option* in healthcare reform being one such issue.
Finally: Quite frankly, if re-elected I wonder will we see a President more willing to *fight to the finish* in championing initiatives/causes that most Americans support?…and doing so with a sense of URGENCY?
Yes, congrats to Memo for his excellent work. I'm always happy to provide a different point of view in this forum and to showcase the works of our devoted readers.
As for the comment by Truthizz: I believe we will see a very different President Obama in a 2nd term (assuming he is reelected). The president tried hard not to offend others and to at least appear to compromise with the GOP in his 1st term. But a 2nd term would allow him free reign to do what he's always wanted without repercussion. Hope and change can really come to fruition then.
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Hi Truthizz, Memo here- thanks for the kind words. I can't speak for the OWS people as a whole, but the times I'd gone down to check out what they were up to I always found an incredibly warm vibe and tons of positive energy- people we helping each other out, engaged in lively debate, you name it. It was a fascinating scene, nothing like what was reported in the news. Sure, there were fringey folks hanging out with less-than-mainstream ideas, but also lots of very smart folks with very concrete and sound ideas… as well as lots of average, middle-class, middle-aged Americans who didn't fit the stereotype but genuinely believed in doing something to fight back.
But in answer to your comment, I think the point is we need to always have ideals to head towards and be concrete about, even when we know the reality is that we will fail in reaching them. One frustrating thing about Mr. Obama is that his speeches speak of these same ideals all the time- he's very eloquent- but his actions are so far below his words, that (depending on your point of view) he's either giving up way too easily, or he never really believed them in the first place. I doubt any of us can ever truly judge this, but it certainly isn't unreasonable to expect a leader to genuinely aim for doing what's right, rather than just talk about it.
OWS came about as a reaction to the fact that even after Wall Street's shameful actions, our government did nothing to penalize them, and this is indicative of how everything's been going lately, everywhere- the bad guy gets away with it in the end. Providing a wish list of things that you would like your country to be, even if they're 30 years away from happening- is still a very important step #1. Washington gave up on that step a long time ago, and that's what's so sad (and frustrating.) You have to be a realist AND an idealist! If you aren't aiming high to begin with, you're never even going to get close. I personally don't think Obama is an evil man, the antichrist, or any such nonsense- but he definitely held the power to make more good things happen without any Republican interference, and he didn't. I guess we will see how he acts in term #2. I sincerely hope to be proven wrong and see the kick-ass version of B.O. come out, the one that has nothing to lose and goes for broke with the Hope and Change he promised. It would definitely warm this cynical voter's heart.
But even so, I don't believe we will ever move forward until we've dislodge the entrenched 2 party system that is just too deeply embedded in the pockets of corporations around the world. It's not even about Obama, really- it's about the party that fuels him, and the sad reality of how this government works. I also think the truth is we have a lot more power than we think we do simply with our wallets, and could change the way America does business simply by consciously choosing where we spend our money. It's so simple… and yet so difficult, because people hate changing their lifestyle. But, ultimately, neither Romney or Obama could compete with an America that chose to stop shopping at Walmart and Amazon, rode bikes or drove biodiesel-fueled cars to work, bought their fruits, vegetables and meat directly from nearby farmers, and cancelled their cable subscription. To me, those kinds of actions are the real Hope and Change, and more realistic than waiting for a SuperPresident to come fix everything up.
thanks!
I'm a Obama man myself but I gotta admit that was pretty kool Memo. Like my dad used to say, 'don't talk about it be about it' and you were about it. You had something important to say about todays politics and you made your point. I know DJ said you read the posts here but hope to see you around more often adding your smart comments to the discussion. I know me and Truth will be looking for you.
@Memo – Sorry for the delay in responding to your very thoughtful post…but let me say how great is is to have another voice added to the mix!
Okay. Now regarding your description of the majority type of person makes up OWS:
"lots of very smart folks with very concrete and sound ideas…as well as lots of average, middle-class, middle-aged Americans who didn't fit the stereotype but genuinely believed in doing something to fight back."
Let me just say that that was certainly easily discernable by me early on.
"I think the point is we need to always have ideals to head towards and be concrete about, even when we know the reality is that we will fail in reaching them. One frustrating thing about Mr. Obama is that his speeches speak of these same ideals all the time- he's very eloquent- but his actions are so far below his words, that (depending on your point of view) he's either giving up way too easily, or he never really believed them in the first place."
You'll get no argument from me on any of this!
(for some reason I couldn't post my entire response in one post???)
Part II:
"I doubt any of us can ever truly judge this, but it certainly isn't unreasonable to expect a leader to genuinely aim for doing what's right, rather than just talk about it. " Again we agree.
But here's where I think you and I probably have a different take:
Candidate Obama promised…well what didn't he promise?! sarc. And with every soaring speech AND promise, expectations of most, of his supporters grew to an unreasonable level. IMO. And when it came to crucial issues that matter most to them, they expected A LOT more from him than just an "aim for doing what's right." They expected him to deliver…and to deliver during his FIRST term. NO excuses. When his actions failed to live up to his soaring rhetoric and promises they got angry and turned on him.
There doesn't seem to be a recognition among his supporters that achieving certain goals take a h*ll of lot more TIME to achieve (if acieved at all) than others. They seemed to believe the man can work miracles!?!
Conclusion:
The truth is, I became frustrated with the President because in too many instances, I didn't even see him taking "aim" at tackling certain major isuues. I saw him retreating from the Repubs time-and-time again. I saw him being rather content with running out the clock till the 11th hour. Putting forth just enough effort to get by. It truly got on my last *good* nerve…smh.
But having said all that. I think your last paragrapgh htis it OUT the park. And here's hoping that the majority of Americans will soon figure it out too!
thanks- I do read the posts but just sort of kept silent, partly because I didn't want to just be the guy always saying "We could avoid all this if we voted for a 3rd party!" But I appreciate the support. And I hope you guys are right about B.O. and the next 4 years!
Rest assured Memo — all points of view are allowed here. You don't have to agree with every point of view to participate. Your presence is appreciated and I encourage you to feel free to comment on any topic you're passionate about. Welcome to our site!
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