The dangers of defining yourself in opposition to others

[SidneyCarton]

Some recent threads in GDP have pointed out once again the painful transformation which we as a party and DU as a group will be undergoing in the coming months. For the past 8 years (and in the case of many posters on this board individually, a much longer period before that) we have been the opposition. We have defined ourselves as everything Bush was not: lovers of the environment, believers in regulation, defenders of law and civil liberties, etc... As the Bush Administration went from atrocity to atrocity with ever greater arrogance and impunity, our outrage has increased. It crystallized during both election years in our primary battles (to which I was only a witness of the 2008 primaries, so I will only speak of them.)

Having accepted a manichean world view, (courtesy of our brainless leader, who has one himself) it brutally spilled over into the primaries, creating a sense of division among followers which was far wider than the actual differences between the candidates. Furthermore, we have had a tendency to project our hopes, views and ideals onto the P-E, while projecting our fears, prejudices and hatreds on his erstwhile opponents. It is perfectly natural that we do so, but it is also dangerous, particularly when we find that the object of our projections has a will of their own, which they use to act in ways we would not.

Hence the "patching up" of differences between the Clintons and the Obamas, (never as wide a gulf as some imagined) PE Obama's cabinet picks and the current supposed rift between Obama and Dean are often regarded by shock, as the older definition of identity in opposition to any of these groups becomes obsolete.

Next Tuesday President Obama will take the oath of office, and for the first time in a long time, we will be in the driver's seat. We will be forced to define ourselves by what we do, and what we advocate. For many on this board, this will be no problem, as these things have been integral to their identity for a while. For a chosen few, it will be truly difficult, may we have patience with them, and may they learn swiftly.