I have this picture hanging in my kitchen/living room:
I got it at Cirque du Soleil a few years ago and people I meet, who enter Shiz's little enclave, comment on it all the time. Balancier. Balance. It's what I strive for and it's part of who I am. Balance is what I need to be a successful and compassionate person. I consider nothing else in my life to be more important than balance, except maybe motherhood, but even then, "balance" is a sub-topic.
DKos has gone absolutely apeshit over the past week, embroiled in yet another ugly flamewar involving torture. I am sick to death of all the Obama = Bush, Obama = Cheney, Obama = Hitler false equivalencies. In the Cirque du Soleil photo, the woman is balancing the man. Just think about that one for a second.
Barack Obama is not the anti-Christ, and he's not an evil guy. Barack Obama is brilliant. He is cool, calm, and collected. He is funny. He is tailored. He is humble. He is a strategist. He is a politician. But, most of all, Barack Obama is a human being, fallible and not without shortcomings.
Balance.
From whence we came, it is astounding to me that we have arrived at this destination in such a short length of time. Nary 4 months ago, George W. Bush was still President of the United States of America, the last remaining superpower on Earth. President Obama represents much of what is right in the US and, for many of us, our personal hopes and dreams for our wonderful country hinge on this one great, albeit flawed, man.
That's just too much freaking pressure to place on anybody. If you are looking for someone else to make your life better, you're essentially looking in the wrong direction. Consider yourself. Consider your family. Consider your friends and your outside world. President Obama is but one man and, if you want to change the corruption we presently have in our two-party system, or if you want to change the system itself, then y'all are going to have to be a lot more patient.
Balance.
Personally, I'm either a Democratic Socialist or a Socialist Democrat, I can never decide. My tired refrain is I just want everybody to be OK! Cheesy and girly, but oh-so-true. President Obama just appointed some dumbass lobbyist lawyer to deal with environmental issues in the DOJ. Am I happy about this? No, not even close. President Obama keeps flipflopping on "don't ask, don't tell". Am I excited about this? No way, Jose, especially since I'm bisexual. President Obama consistently pisses me off, what with all the shoving torture and civil liberties under the rug. Am I thrilled about this? No, uh uh. I want justice, baby. President Obama has been backtracking on single payer healthcare. Am I upset about this? You're goddamned right I am!
But it's all about that one word: balance.
There's an entire, though certainly not complete, list of what Barack Obama has done right for our country. That list cannot mean more to me right now, especially since I am angry as hell about all the things he's done wrong as our President. I know that he's a centrist and a pragmatist but, quite frankly, I think that others' beliefs about Barack Obama go much farther than my own. As a liberal woman who cannot get anymore left without falling off the map, I trust our fair President. Truly, I do. It's not anything that I can pin down, but he's convinced this old, tired broad that there's a little bit of hope left in the world. Ya know what I'm saying? Are you pickin' up what I'm puttin' down?
Barack Obama has only been POTUS for 4 fucking months! Give him a motherfucking BREAK, people! Jesus Christ! Do you expect miracles? Do you expect water to be turned into wine? Do you expect the system not to fluctuate as it has, since the beginning of our great nation? No, I didn't think so.
So don't give me that "torture appeaser" or "Obamabot" bullshit. My balance-meter says I can rip you a new one for that. Just don't disregard the man entirely because he's part of the system, OK? He's part of the system that we're trying to make better and, in some cases, completely overturn. Show me a government without corruption and I'll show you my vagina. (NO! I totally won't, but you can try.)
Flame away if you want, but I still think that Barack Hussein Obama is the best hope this country has right now. We're lucky people, yo. We really, truly are.
P.S. I am having major internet issues right now but, as I get back online slowly (it's a long story), I'll definitely respond to your comments. :)