I've always said that I'm more interested in the people surrounding the US presidential candidates than the actual candidates themselves. Watching the men and women who were prepared to celebrate the victory of John McCain I can't help but feel as though I'm seeing what Fitzgerald described when he spoke of Gatsby's grand parties. An endless sea of rich white Americans in poorly tailored Brooks Brothers knockoffs grasping at the little that is left of what they perceive to be the American dream.
Meanwhile at the Obama rallies I see the actual American dream. A mosaic of men and women from all walks of life. Rich or poor. Black or white. Christian or Muslim. Gay or straight. It's a sliver of humanity and unity in a world that seems to preach division at every turn. The news today is not that a black man was elected president of the United States of America. The news is that a president was chosen by those who have been overlooked for so long.
"I'd like to say that people.... people can change anything they want to.... and that means everything in the world. Show me any country and there'll be people in it. It's time to take the humanity back into the center of the ring and follow that for a time. You know, think on that. Without people, you're nothing."
- Joe Strummer
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