Cults of personality coupled with utopian fantasies have always been troubling things; indeed looking at the course of the last century, one cannot but conclude that the combination of these two things has led to more horrors than anything else in human history. What begins so often with wide-eyed optimism usually ends with bitter regret, or to use an old phrase: now they ring the bells, soon they will wring their hands.
I've never really experienced the sense of mass delusion in my lifetime which seemed to accompany the Nuremberg rallies, with legions of delirious worshipping chanting the name of their messiah, until this very recent Obamamania. This, as is usual with such things, started innoculously enough, with a charismatic leader peddling 'hope' to a disillusioned public. A fresh-faced outsider was perhaps what the jaded system needed and, at first, his homily message of optimism was nothing but a good. Recently though, it has taken a darker turn.
I am not sugesting for a moment that Obama is some kind of Hitler figure. I have no doubt that he is a genuine man deeply concerned about the future direction of his country. But quite what this future direction is and the lack of detail about how to get there, should set alarm bells ringing among intelligent people. It has not.
What I find astonishing is how many of the intelligentsia have fallen in love with Obama, despite him having no solid foundation. Instead of holding him to account, they praise him for giving "Hope" and "inspiration" to people, but what are they meant to be hoping for? A better tomorrow? Seasoned pundits should know there is more to building a better world than fine speeches, but seeing the collective swoon of the media for Obama is rather redolent of the intelligentsia falling for Fascism and/or communism in the 1930s.
If we witnessed scenes of a quasi-religious nature, with hordes of followers robotically chanting O-BA-MA (as seen in a recent Will.I.Am video on youtube), in a thirdworld country election, we would be deeply concerned, and rightly so. What protects us -or what we thinks protects us- from the rise of a charismatic dictator is the US constitution. Let's hope it does, since the rise of Obama shows how personality cults and mass-hysteria are still alive and well in the world's most powerful nation in the 21st century.
As I stated earlier, I in no way believe that Obama is an evil person but this mania proves yet again how vulnerable we are to utopian fantasies especially centred around a strong leader. Robert Conquest has termed this effect The Dragons of Expectation, subtitled Reality and delusion in the course of history. He charts the ruinous nature of this utopianism with great aplomb. Now, more than ever, should his message be headed.
Labels: Barack Obama, Hitler, Nuremberg, Robert Conquest, Will.I.Am
