By Tom Kando
Folks: I got news for you: The REAL choice before us this fall is between Apollo and Dionysus, Square and hip, soul and no soul, love and no love. On the face of it, the upcoming election is about the interests of the rich vs. those of the middle class, individualism and freedom vs. collectivism, free market capitalism vs. welfare state, taxes and public benefits vs. business profits and productivity, in other words, “liberal” vs. “conservative”policies.But I say, policy schmolicy.
At least when it comes to
choosing between Obama and Romney, what most of us will base our vote on is not
a well-informed policy preference,
but emotion.
Long ago, the anthropologist
Ruth Benedict distinguished between Apollonian and Dionysian cultures and
personalities. The former value reason, restraint, moderation. The latter are
characterized by ecstasy and emotion.
Benedict gave the Zuni people (New Mexico) as an example of Apollonian culture
and the Kwakiutl (Vancouver Island) as an example of a Dionysian people. Of course, this distinction
goes all the way back to ancient Greece, and Nietzsche and many others have
used it as well, in various ways.
So one way to look at things is
to say that there are these two kinds of people (with many in between, of
course). Apollonian is square; Dionysian is hip, cool. Also, other things being equal, young people
are more Dionysian, more hip than old
people.
Dionysian has soul. By and large, blacks have more soul than whites. I don’t know why. Maybe because they have suffered more. And don’t get all huffy on me that I am stereotyping and that I am a racist, blah, blah, blah. Norman Mailer said it long before I did, in his classic essay The White Negro. Who can deny that Obama has soul? Have you seen his rendition of Al Green? On the other hand, nice and handsome as Romney may be, “soul” is not the first thing that comes to mind when you look at him.
I’m not saying that soul is
essential to be a good President. But let’s face it, some people got it and
some don’t.
So this is my theory for today: as we begin to vote
(early voting has already started), I believe that ultimately, many votes will
not be determined by rational choice, but by whether you are more Dionysian or
Apollonian, hip or square. THAT’s what will truly determine whether you vote
for Obama or Romney.
Of course, many of you will
disagree with my definitions. You will disagree that liberals and Democrat tend
to be more Dionysian, and that
conservatives and Republicans tend to be more Apollonian - even as ideal types. Well, we can have a debate about this.
As to me? I am a little bit of
both. I used to be somewhat hip when I was young, now I’m pretty square, but
not as square as many other people. I like Obama more than I like Romney. Pure emotion.
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12 comments:
How do you fit the following comment into your perspective?
More people who cannot read, write, or speak coherent english will vote for Obama.
I love your emotion and have the same.
I thank Anonymous and Csaba for their comments.
To Anonymous:
You make it sound bad, but it’s quite simple, really:
Obviously, America is every bit as much of a class society as are other countries. There is an upper class, and there is a lower class, among others. Obama represents the latter, and Romney represents the former.
Naturally, Obama’s constituency includes the lower class, which has a lower educational level than does the elite represented by Romney.
This is precisely part of the injustice which we, under Obama’s leadership, are trying to correct.
But there is also a highly educated, literate and fairly affluent group which tends to vote liberal - the intelligentsia, academia, Hollywood.
Look at Tom trying to straddle the fence!
These days there may be more of us who want to be both enlightened...and soulful. Or at least we hope we are. I'm all for thoughtful discourse, then a turn at the grape press.
So who was hip in the debate - the guy who fumbled without his teleprompter or the guy who came up with the line Trickle Down Government?
Dennis Miller's great line of the night - he tweeted "I hope Obamacare has Kicked Ass coverage because the President will need it."
To Dave:
Straddling the fence?
No, no, I am definitely on the Left side...
To Jonathan:
Congratulations, your champion won the first presidential debate.
Of course, this has nothing to do with hip or square. Maybe it was a question of who was more tired, or more jet lagged, or who didn’t prepare enough, or Obama trying to play it safe, or something...
But I am not looking for excuses. Obama’s performance was definitely disappointing. I have been saying for months that he is in jeopardy. Now more than ever.
By the way: One of the most stunning changes in Romney’s behavior was that he was now addressing the CENTER of the electorate (including the few still undecided voters). Everything he said about taxes, health care, social security, the role of government, the need for regulation, you name it, sounded so MODERATE. Pretty smart! He’s already got the Tea Party in his pocket anyway.
"And don’t get all huffy on me that I am stereotyping and that I am a racist, blah, blah, blah." You are also a Professor Emeritus in Sociology. This is good stuff, Tom!
Barry,
I'm not sure what my being a prof. of Soc. emeritus has to do with it, but thank you.
On the subject of my post - Obama, race, soul, hip, square, etc.:
Meanwhile, there has been a debate with an unexpectedly negative outcome for Obama.
But probably the best thing to do for me is to NOT relate what I said in my post to the debate...I guess....
I like this statement and think that it is accurate. Blacks have more soul and perhaps we could all learn from each other. I think that what you say is accurate. As a Black Female Sociologist, I notice that Blacks speak from emotion, feeling and what they understand from an everyday common sense perspective and many times this is about struggle and dealing with stigma.
Good points you make. I cant wait to see the next presidential debate!
Gail
Gail,
Thank you. Coming from you, these words mean a lot to me.
Do you consider yourself a strong conservative in your beliefs?
No, I consider myself a strong liberal in my beliefs.
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