Deconstructing a dream...

Today, on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday, these mild January East Coast winds remind me of much harsher, colder January winds a year ago. My wife and I made the trip to our nation’s plaza, outside the Capitol Building to witness the swearing in and Presidential Inauguration of our 44th President of the Unites States, Barack Obama.

I will never forget the numbness in my toes, the shallow chill-like-ice breath in such stark contrast to the immeasurable human warmth that radiated from every person on the National Mall. I remember standing next to an African-American gentleman, who stood there—pressed against me, holding an American flag with his daughter on his shoulders—anxiously awaiting the ceremony to begin. That moment is frozen in my memory: the pure joy, excitement from this man, from hundreds—thousands just like him. In spite of bone-chilling weather, masses upon masses of people; everyone was so happy, so honored to be a part of this historic moment.


“America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.”


-the final words of the new President’s inauguration speech.


With a lump in my throat, I glanced over at that man with his little girl on his shoulders. He was crying. Not sobbing, but that proud kind of crying you experience, where your face is almost stone cold, your nostrils might flare a bit, and you have a steady, strong, stream of tears down the sides of your face. I looked over in the other direction and this African-American woman (she must have been 65 at least) was bundled up and sobbing. There I stood right next to her, I was a total [white] stranger and she reached over to my hand and grabbed it with both of hers, hard. She didn’t even have gloves on. She looked at me and cried, “We did it, I never, never thought I would see anything like this. I’m so happy.”

Words seem flat when trying to describe that moment, but one thing that I couldn’t shake was this moment’s echo of Dr. King’s famous march on Washington in 1963. President Obama’s words and energy seemed to answer the famous “I Have a Dream” speech:


We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.


We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn back.


There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."


I think in our world of political pundits, billions of blogs, media celebrity, and the like, it may be harder and rarer for the average individual to experience a living, breathing, inspirational American symbol or image. I’ve seen the American flag hundreds of times and have always been proud of my country. Yet after seeing thousands upon thousands of the most diverse people waving flags on January 20, 2009…I will never view that flag in the same way ever again.


No matter what our 44th President is able to achieve or fails to achieve while in office; our country is all the better for his election.

Beating a Dead "Cogitative" Horse?

I'm not one for regurgitating questions in an evolving sort-of way...okay, maybe I am.  The discussions on a most recent blog posting, took on a very thought-provoking notion of our society's loss of culture however, and I just can't help myself.

I won't reiterate that particular jargon here (please read it), but several well-thought-out theories and comments on our [national] cultural identity over the past decade led me to re-clarify my own interpretation of cultural icons or images.

The argument was three-fold:
1.  There was a noticeable decline of "new" cultural icons created in the last decade when compared to previous decades.

2.  The last decade showed a more varied, less "monolithic culture" than perceived in previous decades.

3.  Our current era, there is less variety in "the powers that be" that end up creating or distributing ideas, images and the like through media.

I say all of these assessments are true, at least to some extent.

What I think we must first distinguish between is culture and image.  Culture is as culture does and what ever is happening or not happening, and however we are reacting or not reacting; that determines what our culture is currently.

Image however, that is the crux of this discussion.

I definitely agree that in this past decade, there is most definitely a perceived loss of "mainstream" images that reflect our current culture (And no...your Obama family poster you bought on the sidewalk of 34th and 8th doesn't count.) And because media is so varied (blogs, Google, Twitter, movies, cable, etc.) that variety of images and icons seem too numerous to catalogue properly.

What is at such juxtaposition with this notion, however, is that the media makers are becoming monolithic.  (I mean, look at ClearChannel or Fox, or Wal Mart...)  Could these image and icon creators may be creating an era of perceived diversity?  Or have these monolithic media giants helped to spur on a counter-culture of image and icon makers?

This circular discussion is made up of many points, for sure.  One thing I think most of us could agree on perhaps is that this past decade's culture might be harder to label or summarize than previous decades.

Of course perception is poised in progress, so I assume that in 2035, our view of 2000-2009 might shake out even further. 

Reviewing the Rough Draft

Soon, I'll be posting a piece that explores former President George W. Bush's stylistic Presidential beginnings and endings, by comparing his first White House speech (the one after September 11) and his farewell speech last January.

Using tools of methaphoric critique, I uncovered conjunctive repetition in each speech: "and" and "but," respectively.

In the piece I will post, I explore the notion of what those symbols "and" and "but" mean, in specific context to the boomarks the Bush era.  Stay tuned.


What do you think?

2 TXT or to not text....

Very quickly (and appropriately quickly) I wanted to throw out a thought for today in response to a "decade" comment on this blog:  How has grammer or spelling changed in the 2000s?

In this very obviously social networking decade, as we continue to develop our "twittering," "friending" and "txting" skills...are we at the same time losing a sense of culture?  More specifically is our loss of words now inhibiting us from the depth and color that words evoke?

Or, are we simply moving into an age where rhetorical analysis of society (art, lanaguage, politics, music, etc) will involve the reading in not the coding of the meaning of words but the actual code that represents a word?

You be the judge:

An interestin thort: r we losing culcha d wA w'r losing wrds? dz r lang influence culcha? n f so, S r loss of lang nt 1ly afecting us culturally, bt also socially? I tnk contextual thinkN duznt dev naturally NEmor. Nstead, r soc. S now developing a "flatter," less texturally :-$$$ soc.. wadya tnk? r we abL 2 reverse Ny of d fx dis loss of lang hs had n d wA dev n sustain culcha?

The Pervasiveness of Retro Culture?

I can't take credit for this posting's title, but this posed question yesterday is too interesting to not explore a little further.

Jake Rollefson argues that with this new era we live in, we are not producing much "new" culture" and are looking to our past cultures.  In short, we are all "retro-centric."  While he hits home with alot of his observations, the actual act of looking back or infusing the nostalgic past with the present is not out of the ordinary for our culture.

Look at the 1970s' obession with the 1950s.  Or perhaps the 90's grunge era that borrowed ideals from the 60s.  Take a look at these for additional reading:

How the 70s made the 80s Look Like the 50s

50's Nostalgia in the 70's




The Retro Explosion

What I think is a larger question, and one we should examine, is when we do look at reto-symbols: what context are we viewing them in?  For example, in the 1970s after an era of countercultural revolution, war, assasinations of global leaders and larger, conflicting world perspectives, the American culture hightened it's fascination and nostlagic longing for a simpler time: an idealized 1950s.

At present, what could be causing us to turn backward to many eras is--as Jake would term it--"lack  of culture."  I would argue rather that it is a decline of cultural kitsch, things, or icons that cause us to seek those items or images of the past.  Part of this steady interest in what is retro could definitely lie in the accessibility of these items: Ebay, Ipod, Google, etc.

Perhaps the dawning of online social networking, has increased a need to connect, and a defining common denominator would be these iconic symbols of our childhood: Remeber G.I Joe?  Star Wars?  Larry Bird?  The Ford Thunderbird?  The Beatles?...  We can quickly gravitate toward and communicate with those who understand our symbolic childhood code.
Of course, another question this raises is the children who have grown up during the 2000s, what icons will they hold on to?  An image of Facebook?  WebKinz? An iPod? 

What is so hard to isolate in our current state of retro-mania, is that it ends up being so personal for each individual.  I like watching the Golden Girls not because I was invested in the late 1980s cultue, but because it reminds me of spending Saturday evenings with my grandmother.  My sister has picked up music from Bob Dylan not because she is invested in the ideologies or social turmoil of the 60s, but she recognize a really good songwriter.  My mother can watch any Andy Griffith Show episode any time she wants and enjoys being nostalgic for a period of time she actually remembered experiencing.

When studying icons and symbols of various eras, I think it is important to isolate what context those symbols are currently being viewed in and how that could, or could not, be in juxtaposition with the here and now.  What do you think?

What reto-icons do you still seek?  Why?  What do they remind you of?  Do you find a certain retro-era being celebrated more than others in our current culture?

I'm interested to know your thoughts.

What defines this decade?

Iraq, iPod, Barrack Obama, Arod.
Space shuttle Columbia, Hurricane Katrina.
Nine-eleven, GPS, Reality TV made a mess.
Sarah Palin, gays wed, Ford and Reagan both dead.... 

Remember that Billy Joel song, "We Didn't Start the Fire"?

In 10 years, so much has happened.  Ranging from hightened cultural conflict, disastrous  natural events, political shifts and huge political movements, new and wide-spread technology, changes in education, global economics, the list goes on. 

What defines this decade for you?  People?  Places, specific cultural or social events?  What common, widely-known American or global symbols or icons have given you the most personal and emotional responses or reactions?  I am curious, so post away.

The End of the First Decade in the 21st Century

I’ve never been one to enjoy writing or speeches that began with jargon like “Thomas Jefferson once said….” However, in this dawn of a new decade, a particular quote of our third United States President seems too tailored to this moment. “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.”


I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like the future better than the history of the past, hence the slew of New Year’s resolutions: “I want to eat healthier,” “I want to save more money,” “I want to get more organized,” “I want to get in shape,” “I want to travel more…” You get the idea. Like famous quotations as literary hooks, I’ve also never been a fan of resolutions. Yet here I am, with a resolution of my own, this blog: Deconstructing the Decade.

To be fair, I am not solely going to deconstruct the decade’s prominent events and figures, but rather explore the decade’s icons as symbols. This blog’s rhetorical criticism will aim to isolate specific significant symbols from 2000 to 2010 discovering how, and how well, they work: how they instruct, inform, entertain, move, arouse, perform, convince and, in general, persuade their audience.

Turn on the television—the media outlets are churning out exhausted sound-bites and featurettes about the past decade. What these retrospectives lack, are analysis. Looking backward is always the best way to look forward, but real dissection in necessary in order to gain any meaningful perspective.

So that’s what this blog is about: essays, mini-essays and articles, critically analyzing significant historic, cultural symbols of this past decade.

Here’s to 2010 and beyond. Stay tuned.