11.08.08
Dancing in the Streets
When the 2008 presidential election was called for Obama, dancing in the streets began. Crowds in the streets celebrating political situations are not unique. Around the world, through out time crowds have gathered in the streets welcoming new politicians and their ideas.
Current studies show that crowds change the way individuals see the world. And more interesting is that these changes come from the fear center of the brain.
May 17, 1959 cheering crowds in the streets of Havana ushered in Fidel Castro and his revolution. Obama’s and Castro’s crowds are/were cheering for the same things.
Castro promised drastic changes in the Cuban economy and society for the benefit of the masses. Obama already explained to “Joe” his plan to redistribute wealth among U.S. citizens and non-citizens alike.
Castro exhorted the people to greater community service and attached importance to the deferment of rewards. Consequently, millions of Cuban citizens contributed “volunteer” labor to do the government’s work for Castro. Their deferred monitory rewards are still in deferment!
Obama had over a million volunteers in his campaign. Today, Obama’s web site calls for massive volunteer efforts for U.S. citizens. (http://www.change.gov/) And don’t forget to defer any monitory enjoyment. Paying more taxes will be the ultimate ‘reward’ deferment for the future of the country.
On the way to where Cuba is today several things happened. Castro’s government lost its independence to communism. His economic record is so lackluster that Cubans living far below U.S. poverty levels are fleeing the country whenever possible. He’s implemented a number of policies including health care for all citizens. Included in that health care is isolation for all AIDS patients.
The upside of Cuba today is that socialism has survived even through bouts with Communism. Max Azicri in his book Cuba Today and Tomorrow unknowingly touches on why Obama’s cheering crowds are like Castro’s. “Demonstrating how Cuba’s ongoing reform process has allowed it to avoid the fate of other Soviet bloc regimes, he maintains that Havana has continually reinvented the nature of Cuban socialism.” Azicri argues “that a more restrained and limited socialism is suitable to today’s Cuba and explains why such a system probably will prevail beyond Castro.” http://www.upf.com/Fall2000/azicri.html
Castro sold his revolution abroad. Castro mastered the media home and abroad. He nationalized U.S. assets and favored a Marxist approach to economics. Substitute Obama for Castro in the last three sentences. There is nothing special or unique about ‘copycat’ Obama.
Crowds testify Obama’s presidency as having great historical significance. Other crowds of historical great significance included:
The Russian revolution of 1917 saw motivated crowds for provisional government and an alliance between liberals and socialists who wanted to instigate political reform.
German crowds in the 1930s were enthused. “With hindsight, we can look back on those people with pity, knowing now how many of them would be led to their deaths by the man they idolized.” http://adjunct.diodon349.com/Attack_on_USA/obama_and_hitler.htm
In France, crowds cheered the bourgeois revolution of’ 1789. It took a classical form of a struggle of the bourgeoisie against the ruling classes – today’s ‘rich’ in Obama’s terms.
On May 17, 1997 ragtag Zairian rebels marched triumphantly into the capital of Zaire (Congo) greeted by sporadic gunfire and cheering civilians. They promised to bring vast changes to this huge, strife-torn nation.
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9705/17/zaire/index.html
Today, 2008, fighting between rebels and the army caused a fresh refugee exodus in east Congo.
http://africa.reuters.com/world/news/usnTRE4A65CU.html
Around the world cheering crowds have a conformity aspect to them. The examples above illustrate individuals doing the cheering are acting out emotions without any critical thinking process. One of these crowd emotions is being shown to have its foundation in fear.
“In the 1950’s, psychologist Solomon Asch performed a series of now famous experiments on social conformity. The most frightening aspect of the experiment only came to light recently, in 2005.”
“Dr. Gregory Berns from Emory University led a study where the researchers used an fMRI brain scan on the subjects in an experiment similar to the original Asch study. The results showed that, when individuals conform to a group’s opinion, even when the group is wrong, perceptual circuits in the brain light up. This suggests that groups actually change the way we see the world.”
“Second, when an individual stands up against the group, they observed strong activation in the amygdala, the fear center of the brain. All this suggests that not only are our brains not wired for truly independent thought, but it takes a huge amount of effort to overcome the fear of standing up for one’s own beliefs and speaking out.”
http://www.adsavvy.org/the-power-of-conformity-how-to-actually-change-a-persons-thoughts-with-advertising/
Did Obama and his handlers knowingly assembly large ‘rock concert’ crowds at the beginning of his candidacy knowing about this research? If you are in the crowds cheering for Obama, are you just conforming? Are Obama’s beliefs really your beliefs?
On the world’s stage, Obama’s perceived beliefs are being heralded. The world media doesn’t really know his beliefs but they are dancing anyways. They know that Obama is from Chicago. When they think of Chicago they conjure up visions of Al Capone, gangsters and corruption. Down deep, world politicians (most of whom are corrupt to the bone) can easily identify the new president with Capone’s corrupt gangster, Chicago image.
Future crowds will call for a third Presidential term for Obama! Their battle cry will be “Incipit vita nova. Here begins the new life.”
Those not dancing in the street may still want REAL positive change in the U.S. government. That will only happen by cleaning the political house.
VOTB – Vote Out The Bums (every incumbent, every election) is the only relevant house cleaning idea on the horizon. VOTB would bring real positive change our founding fathers would approve because they didn’t need crowds to back them. Their ideas were strong enough to stand the test of time.
Support the VOTB idea. Visit the VOTB store and spread the idea.
Good Cuban reference: Latin America in the Era of the Cuban Revolution by Thomas C. Wright
