Walking through campus over the past few weeks since this historic 2008 election has filled me with a sense of dread. I'm not necessarily upset with the outcome of this awful election; I honestly couldn't care less which of the giant government parties reigns over me for the next few years. Yet, the way people seem to be treating this election, especially post election, is greatly disturbing to me. I cannot count how many students I passed on my walks through campus with Obama's face plastered on a T-shirt. His holy likeness is usually accompanied by a silly printed slogan such as: "Victory!" "From Rosa Parks to Obama," and last but not least: "Yes We Can!" The Obama love is everywhere.
Of course, none of these slogans really mean anything. However, that certainly won't stop people from wearing them proudly, all the while giving themselves a good pat on the back for being so pro-change. It's terrifying to me that people can love their elected leader so much they are willing to cover themselves with clever Obama marketing slogans, and in many cases proudly support just about everything the man says.
An assumption that Barack Obama will be a terrible president probably isn't an unreasonable one, especially considering the track record of the previous 43 presidents. Yet, there are those who truly believe in their hearts that somehow Barack Obama is different. They believe that somehow Obama's all-too-common "radical" ideas will save our nation and bring about a world of peace and freedom. I advise these people to open their eyes to the fact that Obama has become a well-loved man who has just gained a lot of power. Continuing the crazed Hollywood-style love for Obama will only cause his inevitable abuses of power to be overlooked -- much in the same way groupies overlook the unethical escapades of their favorite lead singer.
I'm afraid eternal vigilance is the only way to keep what freedoms we have left from being eroded away. Eternal vigilance does not include chanting your president's name and crying tears of change when you hear him speak. I assumed that worshipping a leader was something that history eradicated along with the concept of divine right. However, now that the American people have seen the light of the church of 'Bama, I fear we're regressing back to a state where we are no longer vigilant and instead trust and love our leaders to do what is best for us all.
As humble as Barack Obama may seem when he speaks, it is impossible for a man to be forever humble when he has an army of chanting, sign-waving groupies crying tears of joy at the very mention of his name. I ask the people who love Obama to get off their high horse of phony open-mindedness and consider the following: For whom does Obama work? The answer to that question is you. The office of the president serves the will of the American people, and we in turn keep the president from abusing the power that we grant to him. By so blindly loving our president we are not upholding our duty as citizens to keep his office in check. Instead, we are leaving the fox to guard the hen house.
When George W. Bush was elected into office in 2000, Christian conservative groups were acting much in the same manner as the Obamaites do today. When Bush was elected, it was as if God himself had been placed into office. The Christian conservative base cried tears of joy. I remember a pastor friend of mine saying to me that "Good just won the election." It was an ideological victory much criticized by the liberal opposition who feared (and rightfully so) their liberties would be eaten away by the nation of sheep who worshipped the servant of God known as George W. Bush.
Now that the unclean spirits of Bush and his supporters have entered the bodies of swine, and thereafter ran off a cliff edge of complete defeat, the Republican Party finds itself in the same place the Democrats were only eight short years ago. The pendulum swings back, but this time the flock of sheep is made up of a left-leaning mob ready to follow a new leader who promises to grant us salvation.
For people such as myself who aggressively oppose the back 'n' forth two-party nonsense, we aren't left with very many options other than to criticize whichever leader may be in power. So long as the pendulum of reason is constantly stopped whenever it reaches the far right or far left, the problems in this country will never cease to exist. So long as candidates continue to receive constant love and support, they will always break their pre-election promises and fall into the cycle of tax and spend. This will assure that problems are never resolved, and government is left free to grow. A vote for change will soon just become another vote for a benevolent tyrant.
Fan worship belongs on the red carpet; chanting a person's name is something reserved for a WWE match; tears of joy and T-shirts with marketing slogans have no place in politics. This dangerous practice must cease if we're ever to restore our lost liberty and shrink the size of intrusive government. With every new president, politics moves ever closer into a world of Hollywood stardom and clever advertising campaigns. Voters are becoming nothing more than consumers for charismatic individuals in office to prey upon. Barack Obama should not be viewed in the same manner as a movie star. If we're ever to see real change, we'll have to stop believing that one man can bring it.