The television told me today that some of the people inside of it are angry because Obama laughed during a 60 Minutes interview. I just watched the clip, and I'm not surprised that it agitated the easily irkable, since it involved our current financial quagmire. This was such a human moment, though. I honestly don't think we're too comfortable with our commanders in chief acting like real live humans. The most candid of candidates usually get filtered out one way or another.
Here's what I think was going on. There's this spot that exists somewhere between a rock and a hard place. We all know about it. Everyone's been there but no one ever wants to stay. Some like to spend their visits in a quiet fetal position, rocking slowly back and forth. Others may use the time for exercise, running around in circles, occasionally clawing at the walls. A few might spend their time on the phone yelling at their travel agent for allowing them to end up there. Then there are those who reluctantly accept the reality, throw up their arms, chuckle a cocktail of irony and desperation, and try to figure out how to get out with as few bruises as possible.
I dunno. I'd say the best thing for our national well-being right now is for us to try to filter ambiguous outbursts of humanity through a positive lens, keep our wits about us, and let the summation of actions do the talking. Ask questions and be critical, but look for potential, focus on the big picture, and allow humans to occasionally be human. Pessimistic filters rarely lead anywhere good -- and as it's been mused in the book of Proverbs, A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.
You bastard! Seeing the title of this post, I expected an actual JOKE, not an Obama-love fest. You fail.
Lovefest shlovefest. It could've been anyone up there, and I'd be saying the same thing!
Although I do admit that my title was maybe a little misleading -- but it was also a semi-obscure song reference and I was proud of myself for tying it in!