There are only Fear and Love.

[Ron Green]

That's what this election boils down to. Any human transaction, any act at all, really, must be out of Fear (I don't have enough, someone's trying to hurt me, I'm not being understood, someone is different from me) or Love (I'm OK, you're OK, life is worth living, I'll reach out my hand to you, we're all in this together.) Fear is easy; it's always here for someone to tap into, or to use to manipulate others. Love is hard; it requires going way outside our comfort zone to make it happen and make it grow (most spiritual traditions tell us it's always here as well, but that's another topic.)

Of course, there's a constant vibration between these two poles in all aspects of daily life, and most of us muddle through trying to move toward Love and away from Fear. That's why we take care of and try to forgive ourselves and each other. You see plenty of it on this message board, as well as cynicism, which is of course part of Fear.

McCain's campaign clearly is Fear-based. It centers around protecting America from outsiders who want to harm us, mentioning the term "commander-in-chief" a lot, and scaring voters of a younger man. Obama's campaign has talked much more of unity, tolerance and accord. He can't come right out and talk of "Love" without being ridiculed by fear-based cynics, but that's really what's going on here.

In my opinion the success of Obama's campaign will hinge upon his ability to remain "Christ-like," in that he must continue to exemplify the good man he really is as a model for tolerant and caring behavior. Fear and cynicism will eventually be seen for what they are, and if Americans are really ready for better days they'll reject the media bombs we're now experiencing. But if we succumb to the attack mentality, I don't think we'll be able to pull it out this time.

[ErinBerin84]

1. heh. This reminds me of that Love and Fear line in Donnie Darko.

I remember a college professor doing nearly the same thing a couple of years ago,which random "situations" for us to place on a line, and it was so bizarre.


Wasn't McCain's hippie ad even entitled "love" or something? As in, the optimism of the hippies was vacuous and shallow, all that shit.

[Twillig]

3. Yeah, exactly. "You can't just lump everything into these two categories

and just deny everything else!"

Here's the appropriate Youtube vid for those who haven't seen the movie

Wait and watch to learn what Donnie said :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6A0GdR2LlKo&feature=related

[Ron Green]

4. You can't place it on a line, can you? Everything we do contains both.

That's what the teacher didn't get, trying to make him use her continuum, and it's what Donnie didn't get either: Thinking there are all kinds of other human emotions. The truth is that either comes from one or the other.

[ErinBerin84]

5. and it's very relevant, bc Mccain sees things like "Victory" in black and white.

I remember Eugene Robinson saying that he hopes that McCain realizes that whatever the outcome is in Iraq, it is going to be ambiguous, not a "victory" vs "defeat" thing. Yet, McCain refuses to define what Victory is.

[Bluerthanblue]

2. k&r

Obama needs to stay true to who he is.

First they ignore you...
Then they fight you...
Then they laugh at you...
And then you win...
(Mahatma Gandhi)

[goodgd_yall]

6. It really is quite evident, isn't it

How fear-based McCain's campaign is and how Obama's campaign is so different from that.

I don't agree with those that think Obama has to go on the attack---at least not in the way McCain is going on the attack. All he needs to do is be clear---I mean "clear" as in "clarifying"---bringing out the truth. I heard, I believe, Paul Klugman advise that he should do more than dismiss the attacks and gave an example of what Obama could have said about his using "the race card" and it was quite a good example because it was speaking truth. The suggestion was to say how race has been used by Republicans (rather than merely denying that he wasn't accusing McCain of using racist tactics).