If Obama Wins

If Obama wins, I won't feel defeated. The Patriots' last two Super Bowl losses and the Celtics' 2010 lay down to the dreaded Lakers all delivered a genuine feeling of dejection and yes, defeat. They won. We lost.

 I know the pain of losing all too well. That is not what I experienced in November, 2008. That is not what I will experience if Obama wins in 2012. What I have experienced for most of my life is the uniquely sad experience of watching a close friend drink himself to death. America is the close friend and self-delusion is his John Barleycorn.

 For over thirty years I have seen America guzzle self-delusion. We are great so the laws of arithmetic do not apply to us. Have another drink and we'll pay the piper tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the next. Should the science of economics raise its ugly head we will shoot the messenger. Party on, dudes.

2008 was the year ignorance crystallized. Belief meets disbelief. Yes, we all believed that bad things would happen if Civics and Economics were scratched from the cannon (to say nothing of science, critical thinking, history or rudimentary literacy.) But still, there was disbelief. The Soviet flag waved in front of the White House was chilling. But the coast to coast displays of Obama zombies cheering on the downfall of their country was creepy. Real creepy.

 Obama killed Bin Laden. Beyond that, his presidency has been a disaster. Almost as disturbing as his wretched job performance is the cold and petty character that has revealed itself over the past four years. The rich guy who won't help his destitute brother. The puny man who instructs his minions to play the race card against all who disagree with him. The Nixonian figure who maintains an enemies list a mile long. The bully who torments the politically disconnected. The overgrown college sophomore who spits in the face of middle class America.

 Of all the con artists in the world, why did America swoon over this cheesy shill? You could have been bamboozled by a better class of carnival barker! You could have succumbed to a better cult leader than this empty suit. But all it took was a vapid community organizer to lead you over the cliff. And follow you did!

 If Romney wins, America is still in deep shit. A large segment of the population is delusional by choice. They have consciously chosen silliness as a preferred lifestyle. They have taken a vow of willful blindness. At least 46% of America will still be cult bait. They will follow the next big thing, no matter how ridiculous that big thing happens to be. Mostly, they will refuse to examine the next great leader if scrutiny is deemed declasse.

 Self-delusion is powerful stuff. We all fall victim to its charms from time to time. But when an entire country drinks the Kool-Aid, that country might well be doomed.