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AnjaliBhatFirstPaper 3 - 26 Mar 2009 - Main.IanSullivan
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< | It is strongly recommended that you include your outline in the body of your essay by using the outline as section titles. The headings below are there to remind you how section and subsection titles are formatted. | | | Obama, Hope and the Godcon | | | To clarify, I am not arguing that hopes in Obama have been completely misplaced or even that his supporters have been "conned" in the sense of being cheated. Rather, I am arguing that the dynamics of belief, hope, fear and defensiveness among his supporters are con-like. I believe Obama's campaign can be described as similar to Leff's “Godcon.” He publicly offered something ineffable and potentially plentiful—hope—in exchange for monetary and other support. The purpose of the deal was to benefit America and humanity in general and give them a share of the hope. “Hope” can substitute for “grace” in Leff's formulation. But unlike in a true Godcon where you don't know if you were truly saved until you die, we will be able to find out whether the distributed hope had any real foundation in the next few years.
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- I think the mechanism of the essay obscures rather than illuminating. There were unusually strong feelings among the electorate and the rest of society during last year's campaign. Many people followed the inauguration and early weeks of this administration as they have done with no other in their lifetimes. Circumstances have caused people who usually feel that they have no expectations from politics to look to this President and this Administration to save them from serious economic injury. Political supporters, many of them passionate, knowing what is at stake, are reluctant to break with the president over any issue, and would prefer to overlook the inevitable compromises and disappointments. Why do we need to discuss con games in order to appreciate the role that repression of cognitive dissonance has in the attitudes of political supporters of this or any other administration?
- I don't doubt that without the Leff mechanism you can write an accomplished and self-consistent essay on this theme. I wonder, however, whether it serves you well to do so. Switching perspectives, and asking what the public-communications problems of the Administration are, and outlining how to handle them, would be very much more challenging and a better showcase for your talents.
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