The Audacity of the Blank Screens

"I am new enough on the national political scene that I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views... I am bound to disappoint some... of them."

~~ Barack Hussein Obama in "The Audacity of Hope" ~~

I cannot shake the icy feeling of an ill wind sweeping across my beloved land of the free. It's a wind that I fear will change America, not for four years or for eight, but for many generations to come. The election of November 4th, 2008 has brought forth a reckless abandonment of rationale among the people, a cult-like following of all ages and races who are blindly willing to surrender their liberty and security in order to hold up their tiny paper cups to be filled with the Kool-Aid of socialism by The Anointed One. Meet the blank screens.

I never expected to see such a thing in America. Even some life-long conservatives are caught up in the insanity of the blank screens. They timidly attempt to explain their unexpected switch to Obama, but they end up being un-persuasive and somewhat pitiful. Otherwise intelligent people became embarrassingly illogical. Blank screens are not limited by education, IQ or personality.

There's a cult-like atmosphere surrounding Barack Obama; one which includes a messiah complex complete with worshipful followers. And then there are the special Obama flags, and an Obama presidential seal – a colorful graphic in the shape of a capital O. The seal adorns everything from Obama's plane to his campaign literature.

Blank screens have no boundaries. There were the young school children who sang praises to the Anointed One: "Obama's gonna' change it." And there were teens wearing camouflage, marching military style and chanting Obama's name as each one named a profession that Obama will make available for them.

And there was the Obama world tour where the visitor acted more like a host than several of the actual hosts themselves. It was embarrassing but it made for amazing television that culminated in a speech in Berlin where Obama proclaimed that we are all citizens of the world. Perhaps he sees the whole world as nothing more than blank screens on whom he is going to imprint his world view.

Dear readers, this is scary stuff -- scary, but it is not exactly new.

We've all seen the very old, grainy, black and white film clips where throngs of people stood spellbound as they listened to a new exciting personality on the scene. Oh, how this man could turn a phrase! He was an orator extraordinaire! He promised to uplift the poor, comfort the downtrodden, and strengthen the weak.

He was the agent of change. He would make all things new -- make the government work for all the people. He bashed the wealthy and promised everyone their share of prosperity. There were no obstacles too large -- not when the gifted one spoke. The blank screens entertained no doubt about a bright future coming.

The great one from long ago also had a seal of his own. The new seal was seen on flags, on uniforms, on everything. The great one was new and exciting and he made his appearance at a time when the people were weary, worn, and economically broken. They loved Hindenburg but they viewed the old soldier as weak and ineffective. The blank screens were ripe and ready for change.

Did I mention that this great one also wrote a book before he became famous? He wrote to the world and spelled out all he planned to do. His book was Mein Kampf. It was read by only a few, and those who did, dismissed it as nonsense – the ravings of a mad man. No one believed that anyone could carry out such radical, terrorist programs. By the time Adolph Hitler became Chancellor of the Third Reich in 1933, his book had become a bestseller.

If Germany had not been a country of blank screens when Mein Kampf was published in 1925, there's every reason to believe the history of the 20th century could have been very, very different.

The election of 2008 is only two days away, and the question now is whether the majority of voting Americans understand the magnitude of what’s at stake; and if they do, whether they care enough to become informed about the issues. Or are they merely blank screens following the allure of the charismatic demagogue of socialism?

Nikki