I’m kinda old school Obama. I remember being really impressed by a speech he gave on the importance of the church/state divide-fascinating I know, but in these scary times it was incredibly reassuring to hear someone so intelligent and articulate. It was almost like he was from another era entirely, capable somehow of invoking the memory of the great american political orators who were once so universally admired.

It’s a dangerous thing that kind of charisma, it can seduce and blind you to all kinds of darker political failings. Not that I necessarily think that of Barack-he seems like a sincere and good intentioned man. My worry is that when you raise a people’s expectation of change too high, in failing to deliver you risk damaging the belief that change is possible at all.

If the wire has taught us anything it’s that the fate of individuals who challenge the system to end up bathed in glory far less often than we (or they) would hope.

To quote David Simon;

“In much of television, and in a good deal of our stage drama, individuals are often portrayed as rising above institutions to achieve catharsis. In this drama, the institutions always prove larger, and those characters with hubris enough to challenge the postmodern construct of American empire are invariably mocked, marginalized, or crushed. Greek tragedy for the new millennium, so to speak. Because so much of television is about providing catharsis and redemption and the triumph of character, a drama in which postmodern institutions trump individuality and morality and justice seems different in some ways, I think.”

Which is of course another reason to love the wire and to admire the battles of those with the audacity to hope.

Little Dragon-Twice