Long live the king!

So I'm really looking forward to Obama's coronation. I mean inauguration. People say it's more like a coronation and it's true, but fuck it, maybe we need someone kingly right now. We've just suffered eight years of having a drunk frat boy drive the country into a ditch like his dad's mercedes. Things suck. We need someone to put on a pedestal to prove the pedestal hasn't been reposessed.

We also need someone with common sense enough to not be a bully. I've been thinking and have come to the conclusion that the same rules apply to dealing with friends, coworkers, customer service representatives and smelly international diplomats who eat weird stuff. I'm particularly sensitive to being bullied, probably for some deep seated psychological reason I won't be paying a shrink to unearth because after all that money I'll still want to throw things/rebel/quit/bite when I feel that way, but still, I suspect that in any arena, being a bully is at best a short term solution that causes long term problems. Look at Bush - he bullied the UN, Iraq and pretty much everyone else. And for a while, he got what he wanted. But long term, he got the lowest approval ratings in history, a shitcan economy, lots of dead people, roadside bombs, more terrorists than ever, and the whole world thinking we're a bunch of arrogant assholes. I met a girl at a party who trains horses and explained how she works with them, not on them, and how animals who run in herds or packs never follow the bully; they follow the one who has shown good decision making abilities. Of course, Americans aren't too bright and reelected our dumbass in cheif, but we caught on eventually.

So, I think the same thing applies in personal relationships.I don't know whether we as Americans are particularly susceptible to this, but I do see a lot of people who confuse wearing people down with getting them to agree. It's not the same thing. Anyway, maybe the other guy had to be worn down because your idea sucked - like going to war in Iraq with no plan or evidence we needed to be there, for instance. So, here's a thought - if someone gives in because they're sick of telling you you're an idiot and your idea is not good/stupid/dangerous/inappropriate/makes them want to stab you/is going to get you sued/ etc. it doesn't make the idea a good one. Getting one's way by bullying also comes at the expense of creating resentments, damaging relationships and making people just feel run over - which does not make the herd want to follow you.

But Obama makes people want to follow him. 2 million people are trekking to D.C. in the fuck-me-oh-hell-what-is-this cold to watch him get sworn in for a reason. He makes people believe we're not a bunch of bullies; that we can listen; that we have the common sense to respect and build good relationships with people we need; that we're not just arrogant pigs, but people who are capable of growth and change for a greater good.

So, I say give Obama a fucking crown and some purple robes, I don't care. I'm so glad to trade in this illiterate schoolyard bully for a grown up with some self discipline and tact I don't care if he gets carried in on the shoulders of 6 men in turbans and fed grapes by local virgins, only the virgins should, of course, not miss school, since they're probably only in 5th grade. Anoit his head with oil. Whatever. If he can save some kid from a roadside bomb and make us look a little less like international date rapists, I say long live the king.