Satirizing inspiration

Despite my own tendency to be cynical, I've been alternately surprised, amused, and distressed by the satires of Barack Obama this past week. The only way the media seems able to describe what Obama symbolizes to his enthusiastic (even ecstatic) followers is through satirizing him as the Second Coming. See, for example, this political cartoon or The Daily Show's mock bio. While I think both of these are funny, the comment of one aging white politician to another in the political cartoon is telling--"Ok, this is too much." It's as if the liberal establishment, too, isn't quite sure what to make of the fervor of Obama's followers. These old white men have never drawn the crowds Obama has, and I get the sense that they have never seen it as their role to inspire people or even really to shake things up.

When people are inspired, of course, there's a much greater chance that things will get shaken up. It's a fear of what these inspired crowds might do that I see in David Brook's stinging satire of Obama's acceptance speech. The most scathing line of the column addressed how Brooks sees my generation, which has largely backed Obama:

We meet today to pass the torch to a new generation of Americans, a generation that came of age amidst iced chais and mocha strawberry Frappuccinos®, a generation with a historical memory that doesn’t extend back past Coke Zero.

If my generation could remember what happened in past decades free of fancy caffeinated beverages, Brooks suggests, we might not latch on to Obama. But in fact, any memory of how our nation has changed when spurred by the leadership of inspirational figures does just the opposite.

History remember moments when people have come together in common cause to fight injustices, not through cynical satires, but as turning points. No matter how this election turns out, I hope this movement follows through on the passion of this campaign to effect some desperately-needed change in America.

Fall jitters

I returned to Philadelphia from my summer break today, returning to cooler weather and a stack of mail-ordered books. Tomorrow begins three days of intensive training to be a teaching assistant. It's the first time I've started a school year in which I'll be teaching, not just taking classes. While I may not have to worry about a syllabus or lectures yet, I do have to worry about...well, to be honest, I'm not even sure!

One thing I do wonder about is how I'll relate to my students. I was insulated completely from undergrads in my first year of graduate school, and I'm not sure that was a good thing. I don't know what the typical Penn undergrad is like or what they expect from their classes. I do know that I've made sure they can't see my facebook profile.

Going back to school doesn't have the same feeling in graduate school--no special first day outfit, no nervousness about whether you'll like your teachers, no readjustment to schoolwork after a summer of leisure. This fall, maybe I'll finally start to get a sense of what it feels like from the other side.