It’s a selfish, arrogant feeling, to want to be a part of history in the making. But it’s a feeling that all of us, at one time or another, share. And that’s what makes it so oddly beautiful.
Big Daddy Drew, from Deadspin and KSK, has his reasons:
I’m voting for Barack Obama this fall. Now, I have lots of reasons to do it, all of them blatantly self-serving. Don’t like Obama? Feel like voting for McCain? Fine by me. I’m not interested in starting any sort of political flame war. But the main reason that I’m voting for Obama is because he offers something that McCain does not: an opportunity for me to “be a part” of a historic moment.
It’s an inescapable fact for both candidates that a black man winning the White House would be a far a greater milestone in American History than if another oldass white guy were to keep the streak alive. The reason Obama can talk about change all the time without getting too specific is because he doesn’t have to get specific. He IS the change. The act of him winning, by itself, has a huge impact.
So there’s something immensely appealing to me about the prospect of living through that sort of moment. I was born in 1976. I have lived through exactly one seminal moment in American history, and that was 9/11. I would very much like something to counterbalance it. I’d like to bear witness to history and not feel ashamed for the odd kind of thrill it provides. I’m voting for the moment as much as I’m voting for the man.
I wish I could tell you I like Barack Obama because he has detailed plans laid out to end the war, solve the economy, save the planet, cure cancer, invent the flying car, and get Erin Andrews to pose for High Society. And he may very well have those plans tucked away somewhere on his website, along with a fully padded resume. But I’ve never bothered to look, because I don’t particularly give a shit about any of that (except the Erin Andrews part). No, I’m voting for him because, history-wise, it’s just more interesting. It makes for a more entertaining and significant part of MY personal history.
Is this a superficial reason to vote for someone? Even somewhat racist? Oh, yes. Superficiality and racism are two of my strongest suits. But I can’t resist the primal urge, deep in my core, to watch something notable occur. You hear Baby Boomers brag all the time about the 60’s and Woodstock and all that shit. “What a time to be alive, maaaaan.” It’s almost as if generations are competitive with one another about who gets to be around for the most shit going down, good or bad. Because if we’re around for something important, then there’s a feeling, by osmosis, that we’re important as well.
Even more, there’s a feeling that, the more history we get to live through, the more we have in common as a population. Even though we do it in separate rooms and houses, we watch massive sporting events like the U.S. Open together. We watch presidential elections together. We watch horrible news like 9/11 together. And we get to share with each other where we were when it happened, and how we felt. Those moments galvanize us. We call each other when the moment happens. We email. We leave a comment. We give each other our own little, tiny, insignificant view of that history.
It’s a natural byproduct of our ambition, our selfishness, our insecurity, and our curiosity. It’s a way of amplifying our own lives, of placing our lives into a greater context. Alone, we don’t matter. The only way we can feel like we’ve made an impact on the world is if we’re part of a moment that’s woven into the greater social fabric. Because those moments cannot achieve transcendence if no one is there to witness them.
