Obama's "Movement"

I finally figured out what makes me so skeptical of Obama's message. I watched a few minutes of one of his stump speeches today on CNN. I can't usually watch him for long before I zone out from boredom, he is so repetitive, but this time something struck me. He was speaking about the "movement" he was leading. I mused on that for a while. Why do I not believe in his movement, in the face of his undeniable popularity, and the hugely enthusiastic following he has developed? Well, ought not there be some criteria to differentiate an authentic movement from the followers of the cynical pedagogue I believe Obama to be?

First of all, a "movement" ought to come from the people, at a grassroots level, and work its way up to the top, don't you think? The women's movement, for example, did not originate at the highest echelons of power in one of our nation's two main political parties, as Obama's so called "movement" did. Obama's campaign is great at organizing people at the grassroots level to do his bidding, but it did not originate there, rather is was pushed down from above. There was no pre-existing grassroots movement for "change" of the vague kind that Obama orates about.

A grassroot movement for Obama's kind of "change" couldn't ever exist because real movements are designed to achieve a specific goal or goals. Unions organized workers to ensure things like safe working conditions, and fair wages. They fought real and prolonged battles for real, tangible things that can be quantified. There are no specifics in Obama's rhetoric. There is no specific "change" he seems to want to achieve besides "uniting" people. How, and to what end will he unite people? Which people? Where? Who? Why? Obama says we are all one people. I'm not sure I believe him when he says that, but even if he's right, then what?

Real movements take real work. Besides campaigning for him, what real work for "change" have the bulk of Obama's followers done? More than that, what specific things does he ask his acolytes to do besides attend his rallies, feel good about themselves, and vote for him? Those are pretty easy demands. Real "change" demands real hard work toward real, defined goals. How many people marched and fought for equal rights for women and minorities? How many millions of hours of work by millions of dedicated people did it take for those movements to get even as far as they have today?

I've seen a real, grassroots movement first hand, and it's hard work. My aunt started a recycling center, almost single handedly in a small rural town in Canada about 20 years ago. Concerned about the amount of toxins that were being released into the atmosphere when rural people burned their trash, she set to work to change that in her own small way. She found businesses who bought recycables, convinced the town to donate some space in a vacant building, rounded up some volunteers, and spent thousands of hours sorting and loading trash so it could be shipped off to be recycled. The recycling center still operates, with volunteer labor provided now by high school students who receive community service credit. My aunt is no longer involved, but through her efforts, many thousands of tons of trash that would otherwise have been burned or buried in the landfill have been recycled. My aunt started her own small movement for real change, and it took real hard work.

There are two other things that serve to reinforce my skeptism about the authenticity of Obama's "movement." These are his sudden rise to popularity, and way the mass media has wholeheartedly embraced him. Real change is usually really unpopular to begin with, because people resist change. The only reason Obama can be so popular is because he doesn't propose any specific change. Real, positive social change is almost always about a shift of power from those who have a larger share to those with a lesser share. People don't like to give up any of their power, and will not do so without a struggle. Real change requires not just hard work, but sacrifice from someone, and sometimes from everyone.

Finally, there is one thing my father told me when I was a teenager that has stuck with me my whole life: "Just because something is popular doesn't mean it's good."