The End of our Rainbow

The problems of this world cannot be solved
by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited
by the obvious realities, but only by people
of vision, confidence, hope and imagination
--George Bernard Shaw

If you had had a sudden change of heart
I wish that you would tell me
so don't leave me hangin' on the promises
you've got to let me know
--Where is the Love?, Roberta Flack

Hate baby hate
When there's nothing left for you
You're only human
What can you do?
--New Sensation, INXS
________________

Re. the graphic: Yeah, right on. Classify this entry under "Culture Wars".

Sometimes my sap-meter just redlines. Tonight, in short order I was exposed to Trace Adkins' Arlington (And every time I hear, twenty-one guns,/I know they brought another hero home, to us) and Susan Boyle's rendition of I Dreamed a Dream on "Britain's Got Talent". "And even Simon liked her," the new Good Housekeeping seal of approval. *Sigh*.

You can imagine the glurge that "Arlington" is about. Ms. Boyle is the case of a doughty and homely, never-been-kissed, "almost 48-year-old" who harrumphs onto stage to jeers, only to be embraced by the once-hostile audience for her heart-tugging rendition of Les Miz's "I Dreamed a Dream". All within three minutes, mind -- a new sensation!

The sturdy Ms. Boyle was interviewed, if you could call it that, this morning by once heavy-hitter Diane Sawyer who had to feign incredulity with the contrivance. Are we really this naive?

Who buys this pap? A woman who describes herself as "a garage" sings: "There was a time, when men were kind/And their voices were soft/And their words were inviting," and the audience hops to its feet on cue, shrieking for this brave woman with the audacity to hope and sing of such things which were probably never her truth.

To dream the impossible dream. . . And speaking of the audacity of hope, it seems Obama had lost his die-hard constituency in our fair city.

The day ended with a late trip to our local food co-op. Sensing I might be a subversive activist, one of the clerks approached me on the checkout line: "Did you hear, Obama will not bring charges against the torturers? This is the first time I have been deeply disappointed by my vote." Others rallied around concurring. A pall hung over this last redoubt of liberalism in Tallahassee; no one was wearing their Shepard Fairey tonight.

"Where is the change?" he asked glumly, to no one in particular. And that was our hope: That our nation would be reinstated as the bastion of freedom and respect for human rights that it once was, before the Bush years tamped it down. The hope was that Obama would do a 180, and fully reject the abuses done in our name. A full rejection would require recognition of and amendment of those wrongs. Judicial review would be a part of that process, which has sadly been co-opted now.

In announcing that CIA operatives, including contractors, who followed Bush guidelines for torturing prisoners will not be prosecuted for these actions, Obama launched a pre-emptive strike covering those who might plead the Nuremburg Defense (New Interrogation Details Emerge).

I'm still hopeful, but things seem less bright/shiny/clean with this executive decision.