Tag: Politics

In a US Army effort to boost their ‘human capital’, they will

begin recruiting skilled immigrants who are living in this country with temporary visas, offering them the chance to become United States citizens in as little as six months… Recruiters expect that the temporary immigrants will have more education, foreign language skills and professional expertise than many Americans who enlist, helping the military to fill shortages in medical care, language interpretation and field intelligence analysis.

This article makes my head spin with questions. Could have simply posted the link via my Facebook or Twitter, but want to place it within the space of Desedo and talk it out. So:

The loss of private sector jobs is a boon to the military, as more folks are now enlisting. But should that well run dry, could the US military impose a draft for such an abstract war?

Each generation of immigrants is denigrated, and then swept into the fold of ‘America’. Will this citizenship via military be adopted en masse by any particular group?

What artists are speaking with the greatest insight about everyday truth of military life? Certain sonic spaces of country and hip-hop seem to be the closest, as do documentaries like Gunnar Palace. And don’t forget the vital voice of Mommy blogs.

…Below is another Obama Supporters, Riding Subways story from my cousin Sarah Doe.

Last night, as I stepped onto my old familiar L-train, I felt like it was New Year’s Eve. It was after midnight and the train was packed with exuberant 20-somethings. But best of all, as I got on the train, the whole packed car erupted with whoops and cheers and claps. This trend continued at every single stop along the train, from Union Square to Grand Street in Brooklyn, as new passengers got on the train and old passengers left, we all joined in shared celebration. For the first time in our voting lives, a collective hope had been answered with true promise of a better tomorrow. Like us millenials, the cheers were primal and a tad coarse, howls in the night that we could not contain.

In the early hours of yesterday evening, my cousin Michael was full of joy and energy. He compared this pre-returns joy to that of new lovers: maybe it’ll turn into a 4-year relationship or maybe it’s fleeting, but either way he was happy to be happy. And later my friend questioned the degree of change that would occur after Obama won the election.

So it was with great curiosity when I woke and walked to the train for the ‘morning after’ of this new and beautiful relationship. Would people still be shouting in the subways? Would there be ponies and rainbows everywhere? Well, no. There were not those things. Nor was there the unbridled jubilation that had filled the night just hours before. But there was, in the packed rush hour train, a new gentleness. As people pressed into the cars, they negotiated the empty spaces, rather than pushing for a spot. The girl who softly bumped me even more tenderly apologized, and all around the train (speckled with Obama buttons and a few stars and stripes) there was a hesitant trust, not necessarily in Obama or in the political system, but in each other, in ourselves, and in the potential for our futures.

Yes We Did.

This is what Obama has done and will continue to do. This is the deepest part of the change he brings, that grows like grass through pavement because it is rooted in every one of us. This is the power of democracy, and this is why, I can say with a straight face, that I am now proud to be an American.

In Washington DC, the U Street neighborhood is often compared to Harlem as a locus of black life that has seen the highs and lows of art and city living. It is also dear to Desedo, as our first project was Raafi’s short film U Street Blue. And it was the place to be last night after We won, sent in by our friend Erin.
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Better still? Sean’s clip of people marching down 16th street en route to the White House, folks took over the tunnel under Dupont Circle for a dance party.
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I love my country? It sounds so strange, but feels. so. good.

1) Methinks today were gonna see a nationwide meme of photos and videos from voting lines and inside voting booths.

2) Having a mobile device with which to text/twit/call/ blog/watch makes the time spent in line less mundane. You’re not only able to talk discuss/record the process, but you can also work, or at least simulate it for you and your boss. Less so in ’04. This tech salve could help more people vote.

3) Watch the gamblers, not the pollsters, to get a true line on the odds.

4) The new media aspect of the election made this feel like a participatory democracy. While I know our blog may not have directly swung a vote, seeing that your friends are volunteering has an activating effect.

5) Knock wood, should Obama win, I think the American flag will have a new brand position. The stars + stripes is symbol oft owned exclusively by the right, and seen by many on the left as jingoistic. A new before seen diversity of new people might wave it with pride tonight.

The world’s gone crazy, in that I’m misty and posting about today’s passing of Obama’s grandma. The timing is surreal, and I’ve got no religion, but I take it as a cosmic sign from on high.

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Many thought that Charles and Rednecks could never cast the same ballot. Change soon come.
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(HT to AB and TN)