“We just elect the next old guy in line.” –Mitt Romney
Atlanta GA, – David Blaine, the famous if slightly odd
magician and illusionist who has pulled off many stunts, in November of 2000
pulled off one endurance stunt which was absolutely incredible-and so famous,
it got its own section on his Wikipedia page.
In New York’s Time Square, he had himself encased in
transparent blocks of ice, in what he called his “Frozen in Time” stunt. He
would stay there for more than sixty hours, in ice so cold, that it was said if
he touched it, he would be frost bitten almost instantly.
Recently, a slew of Republicans have shown that they may be very
much frozen in time themselves. Just a couple of months ago, the political realm
looked like it was shaping up to be a new era of ideas, with people like the
Castro brothers for the Democrats, preparing their frontal assault on the Grand
Old Party in Texas, and Republican Senators Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Marco
Rubio shaping up to be the face of the new, younger, tweeting, iPad carrying,
picture sharing and selfie-taking generation.
Change can be a scary thing. When organs first appeared in
some churches, some preachers preached against them, saying that there should
be no music in church not made by the voice. Never mind they did not really
have any arguments to back up their claims, they just were afraid of something
new.
And it seems now, that Republicans in the Establishment are determined
to hold on to the old ways as long as they possibly can. Jeb Bush is being
paraded as the man to beat in 2016-no matter there is no popular support for
him. (Never mind the last time a Bush ran against a Clinton he did not do so
well.)
Someone who the old guard knows would definitely make them
feel more comfortable than someone new. Someone like Marco Rubio or Mike Pence,
who has not been in the establishment a long time and has not had time to learn
all the ins and outs of Washington’s ruling class would be too much of an
unknown factor for the “good old boys.”
The old men are coming back to tell everyone that “You Like
Ike.” It won’t work. Without popular support for their candidate, if they
ramrod someone through, it might just finally tell the social experimenters how
historically low voter turnout can really get-what a chance for science!
In closing, let us not forget what happens to those that
freeze themselves in time. When David Blaine finally came out of his ice cage
after more than sixty hours, he could not walk.
Freezing yourself in time, holding onto old ways even when
they are deader than the proverbial horse people are always beating-will
cripple you in the end.
Andrew C. Abbott
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