“Obama’s gonna Change It”

Go back to September of 2008 when this YouTube was the hottest thing on the internet. Go ahead, click and play this as a reminder. It carried a promise which has been fulfilled. In a scant twenty-one months, he has indeed “changed it.” The precious young people who are delivering the message have now acquired their share of the projected national debt which comes to about $125,000 each. The odds are one in five (or one in ten if you believe the administration) that their parents have lost their jobs and will be unable to send them to college. If mortgage default continues at its present rate, they will also be homeless. The promise has been fulfilled, but only half way. He has delivered only half the deal; the change has occurred—the hope, not so much.

Those who have observed Obama in action clearly understand the principle of “using” others to achieve his goals. It is common practice in today’s advertising world to lean heavily on juvenile talent to carry an adult message. Find the cutest baby, the most appealing child and pull out all the stops to bang your message home while the audience is entranced by the endearing kid. No matter the product, baby food, tires, insurance, or cereal, some cuddly little tyke will get the job done when all else fails. The reason is simple: we are decent, loving people and are attracted to the youngest among us. Even the hardest heart recognizes the need to protect the young of our species. Also, we can easily relate because we were all there once.

Near the close of the tape, we note the pleased parents gathering the kids in their arms and praising their effort. Let’s admit it; for a youth choir, they are terrific. Now the question is how many of the proud mamas and papas were thrilled with the children’s efforts and how many were moved by the message? I would suggest that it was a horse apiece.

Not long after this, I had some serious conversations with a couple school board members about the possibility of our local district emulating this activity. Although it had not been suggested I was anxious to be reassured that it would not be a possibility. The current level of indoctrination of our youth by faculty is bad enough without lending facilities and other instructors to finish the job. In my dotage, I have no kids enrolled in the local school district but that in no way lessens my interest, as a taxpayer, in what is going on there. I left the interviews with each representative with agreement that he understood the potential for danger in this sort of politicking and the necessity of a watchful eye.

I spent two years in Germany shortly after WWII and had two close male friends (German citizens both) of my age who shared experiences they had as part of the Hitlerjugend. As I watched the video, the distant conversations with both Klaus and Joachim about their compulsory service came to mind immediately. The parallels were obvious and I believe, deliberate. While I have been a severe critic of Obama’s reputation for high intelligence I do credit him with a serious understanding of the dynamics of moving a crowd to a specific goal. Although unqualified for the job he did manage to win.

If you have not clicked on the link so far you should do so now. We all need the memory jog to keep us ever mindful of just how shallow the electorate can be. It would be ridiculous to say that he was elected as the result of this lone video. It surely didn’t hurt him though.

In His abiding love,

Cecil Moon