The Romantic appeal of Barack Obama

"Romanticism," Ayn Rand wrote, "is a category of art based on the recognition of the principle that man possesses the faculty of volition."

"Volition," the dictionary says, is "the act or an instance of making a conscious choice or decision. The power or faculty of choosing. The will."

In The Romantic Manifesto, Ayn Rand describes the two broad categories of art as "Romanticism, which recognizes the existence of man's volition--and Naturalism, which denies it."

"If a man does not possess volition, then his life and his character are determined by forces beyond his control," she wrote, "he is impotent to achieve his goals or to engage in purposeful action--and if he attempts the illusion of such action, he will be defeated by those forces."

Hillary Clinton spoke at a General Motors plant in Warren, Ohio, on Thursday. "Over the years you've heard plenty of promises from plenty of people in plenty of speeches and some of those speeches were probably pretty good, but speeches don't put food on the table," she said. "Speeches don't fill up your tank. Speeches don't fill your prescriptions or do anything about that stack of bills that keeps you up at night."

What is she really saying?

"Catch a clue, you powerless, helpless lump of a voter. Don't go thinking you can accomplish anything you set out to do. Don't start dreaming about possibilities. I'm your only hope, I'm the only one who can work the system and help you survive in an ugly world that's stacked against you."

Here it is in her words, from her victory speech in New Hampshire last month: "Politics isn't a game. This campaign is about people. About making a difference in your lives. About making sure that everyone in this country has the opportunity to live up to his or her God-given potential. That has been the work of my life. We are facing a moment of so many big challenges. We know we face challenges here at home, around the world, so many challenges for the people whose lives I've been privileged to be part of. I've met families in this state and all over our country who've lost their homes to foreclosures, men and women who work day and night but can't pay the bills, and hope they don't get sick, because they can't afford health insurance. Young people who can't afford to go to college to pursue their dreams. Too many have been invisible for too long. Well, you are not invisible to me."

Does she make you feel crushed by the unfairness of the world? It's the Naturalistic premise: your life is determined by forces beyond your control, and they are defeating you. You are impotent to achieve your goals.

This is what Barack Obama said that same night in New Hampshire: "No matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change. We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics. They will only grow louder and more dissonant in the weeks and months to come. We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope. But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope. For when we have faced down impossible odds, when we've been told we're not ready or that we shouldn't try or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes we can."

Feel better?

Wait, there's more: "Yes we can. It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation. Yes we can. It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail towards freedom through the darkest of nights. Yes we can. It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness. Yes we can. It was the call of workers who organized, women who reached for the ballot, a president who chose the moon as our new frontier, and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the promised land. Yes we can, to justice and equality. Yes we can, to opportunity and prosperity. Yes we can heal this nation. Yes we can repair this world."

It's the Romantic premise: Men have free will, volition, control of their own destiny. You have it in your power to do great things, to overcome tough obstacles, to accomplish what other people say cannot be done.

"We are one people," Senator Obama said in New Hampshire, "we are one nation, and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast, from sea to shining sea. Yes we can."

"Words," Senator Clinton said Thursday in Ohio, "are cheap."

What she pays her speechwriters is her own business.


Copyright 2008

.