A Reflection On the Election (A KCCal Serious Post)

To those who know me and those who have read my writing, one word can usually describe me as a person: jaded. It’s not something I’m going to try and deny. I am a jaded person. I walk down the street and see someone with peace sign shirt and I quickly roll my eyes. On the same token, I walk down the street and see someone drive by in their Hummer and I feel like I want to ram my face into a brick wall. Is a big wheel, gas guzzling machine used for military purposes really necessary to cruise around in on the “mean streets” of Silicon Valley. I digress.

I even seem jaded about something I’m really passionate about: sports. I know it seems like a complete contradiction to state so, but it’s true. I remember at the beginning of the year I sat and had dinner with all my fellow hardcore Cal fans and they were discussing Aaron Rodgers’s chances in the pros. They were all ecstatic and ready to root for their fellow Cal alumni. I on the other hand was a little bit skeptical, and if you read this blog, you know that I have my share of Aaron bashing. I would quickly get shot down by my friends as being someone who “wasn’t a true fan” and too “cynical” to appreciate my team.

Simply put, they just thought I was an apathetic person who just didn’t care to commit.

The truth is though; I care about my team greatly. I really do love the Cal Bears and will root for them during the good and the bad even though I may not be the most vocal about it. And yes, I will question and criticize my team for things that I disagree with. If it’s been a goal line situation for 3 downs and Tedford goes for the run AGAIN, I will boo. I’ve never been a big fan of blind faith. I believe that questioning every level means that you just show concern because you really do care about the outcome of the team. It may not be the most popular way to support your team, but it’s the way I like to do things because it keeps people on their toes, no matter how much they like or dislike it.

Yet, sometimes I feel maybe I do go overboard with things and that I just get overzealous in my role. Sometimes I just feel like I’m playing devil’s advocate for the hell of it, something which I get ashamed of at times. My good friend, u12, pointed out that sometimes when you look like you’re questioning things; you come off as trying to look cool. I guess I can agree and disagree with that comment. Yes, the intent of questioning even when you don’t really believe in what you’re questioning is to keep people on their feet. Unfortunately, the price you pay for such a thing is that you seem negative, cynical, and once again, jaded. However, that is a price I accept and I know I pay, because if you ask people about me, one of those words may come up. It’s just the way things are.

How does all of this relate to politics? Well, in essence, politics can be viewed as a sports competition. You have a guy you root for and you have a guy who’s the underdog. People cheer for their guy and attend rallies, much like how we attend rallies to get pumped up for our homecoming team. And as for me, just like a sports competition, sometimes I question the guy who I’m rooting for. As I said before, I’m never a big fan of blind faith.

And, just like when I questioned Cal, when I questioned my guy people are quick to judge my ideals and thoughts. Questioned things like what change is exactly going to happen? How is universal health care going to be done, and should I be skeptical? Is McCain really that bad of a guy? What’s the price tag for all this change?

Apathetic. Uncaring. Cold-hearted. Ignorant. It’s the same reaction I get from my fellow Cal fans when I get skeptical about my team, magnified to a greater spectrum. Many different assumptions come up all which are untrue, mainly the assumption that I didn’t vote for the guy everyone else did simply because I look at the other view from time to time. At first I bothered me. Just because I don’t slobber over the said presidential candidate, people assume the worst. The assume things that I’m a greedy asshole because I care about how much I’ll have to pay in taxes. Or they would tell me to vote, but would get outraged if I dare say I wouldn’t vote for their guy. Give me a fuckin’ break, you preaching assholes. Last time I checked, you didn’t really give a shit about the last election, just because you’re having a hard time paying off loans you shouldn’t have taken, you’re going to get all prissy about it? Shit. I hate this country's need to always tell you what to fucking do when we're built on the principle of let me do my own fucking thing.

It made my outlook on politics even more jaded than before. This is why I stick to sports, I thought.

I pretty much carried this sentiment all the way until November 4th. And as the election was closing and Obama was winning, I just thought to myself good for him. That’s it. That’s all I thought. I didn’t cheer or praise the lord that change was coming, I didn’t celebrate because I thought now gas is going to be free, houses are going to be affordable, and magical elves were going to clean my shoes every day. No. I just thought, okay, that’s good, the election is over.

But then, a few minutes later, I started to think about what had just happened, I started to think HARD about what just happened. I saw on CNN people were cheering, smiles abound and down the street from my Oakland apartment, horns were honking. People were literally celebrating on the streets. And that’s when I thought, you know what, this is kind of nice. America has been through a rough few months, and to see all this hope, blind or not, it was a refreshing thing to see.

And that’s when I realized this is something America needs right now. If not for the policies, if not for his economic plan, we just needed someone to give Americans something to cheer for, at least for this moment.

Is this something McCain could do? I clearly doubt it. Unfortunately for him, he’s guilty by association. I guess in the end it doesn’t matter though, because the guy this country needed to win got elected. And yes, I’m glad he did. Like I said, just because I question the guy doesn’t mean I didn’t root for him.

And so, now that the election is over we’ll see how things fold. And I will continue to question, because that’s just the way I am, and that’s how I show my support for the home team. Don’t mistake it for cynicism or being dispassionate. If anything, it is passionate because I do so for my love of the home team.

So if I still come off misunderstood, oh well. I wouldn’t have it any other way.