This weekend, I took my pre-teen daughter and her best friend to see Green Day when they came to DFW. I didn't expect it to spawn an extended political thought for the night, but it did. Besides the guys having a great social message and encouraging kids to participate in their governmental process (and of course, dedicating "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" to Cindy S. was AMAZING), they command a presence that our party is often lacking and the other side seems so able to capture...star quality and F words. For whatever reason, it's a formula that's working for them.
I kept thinking that when GW and Cheney got caught hurling profanities about a reporter they disliked or when our ever brilliant Ken doll of a Governor, Rick Perry, signs off to a guy he doesn't like with "Adios MF" that someone would care. The religious right has used these guys as poster children for a movement and they consistently prove how much of a hypocrite they each are every day. How is this okay? Because the public has the attention span of a 12 year old at a concert, if it's not 2-3 minutes or less, explodes or bursts into flames, we just don't notice it...
These guys have Regan and the girly man, hell, the Libertarians even get Eastwood, where is our star? Since that is all people notice, where is the person that makes everyone get out of their seats, clap together, chant, sing together, where is the person that can speak to thousands of people in a stadium and you can hear a pin drop? As I looked at those people, young and old, yuppie to urban, all races, I saw them all united under the belief that music can change the world and their politicians have failed them. Where is our rock star and when are we going to be angry enough to start getting down and dirty, occasionally being passionate to use an F word (I digress here into the disclaimer that I don't really mean everyone rise up and use the F word every time you can...really many of us do that already...lol...for God's sake just get pissed off man) instead of sitting back not ruffling feathers?
I also realized that night that I have seen our "rock star"...since I was lucky enough to cast a vote in Boston last summer. You could hear a pin drop, people cheered, people cried. You could have lead that Army of thousands into battle right there that night...I believe our rock star is Barack Obama.
We all need to continue to frame it in those terms. We have to get people to give a crap about what they are saying and have a reason to be motivated to vote. Last election, IN A PRESIDENTAL ELECTION, in my district, less than half showed up to vote. I hear people refer to that as "normal" all the time...to me it's completely unacceptable. We have to lead them there and make them rock out. I think Barack has that potential...go see him speak in person, I think you will see what I mean.