Optimism

Has Kamala Harris's campaign ushered in a new era of optimism?

Was the pent-up demand already there, just waiting to be released?

And was Taylor Swift's Eras tour just a harbinger of a new era? And the nearly overnight success of Chappell Roan indicative of this newfound optimism?

Let's be clear, there's been a lot to be pessimistic about. The '08 crash. Covid. And the hulking giant, income inequality. People thought not only could they not get ahead, but they were falling behind. And they were angry.

But something funny happened along the way, the younger generations detached. This is where Biden and the Democrats had it wrong. They looked on paper and saw what Joe had done, they looked at it as a math problem as opposed to an emotional one. People were beaten down, they were depressed, they wanted a ray of sunshine, ergo Harris's great success.

And contrary to all the naysayers saying that the VP should have been Shapiro, to lock up Pennsylvania, the only people who have something negative to say about Walz are Republicans. Arguing about when he resigned from the National Guard after decades of service.

It's laughable, when Trump skated service completely.

This is why the "weird" descriptor has worked so well. There's no anger, no analysis of inane positions. Just a description of Trump and Vance as the other, out of step with the mainstream, not fully comprehensible.

Meanwhile, all Trump is selling is anger.

I can't watch the convention. Life is too short. If there are any highlights, I'll catch them later online.

There's a lot of ink on Biden's speech, which is ultimately irrelevant. It was the equivalent of giving him a gold watch before he rides into the sunset. Despite the hosannas, David Brooks was totally thumbs-down, saying the speech lacked intimacy, identity, all the elements that rile up the public in support of you. That it was just the usual political dreck and Joe was losing with this strategy and was going to lose again.

Actually, Biden's complete strategy was to portray Trump in a negative light. You don't want THIS guy, he's going to end democracy!

Well, it turned out that plan didn't work. The public is tired. They just can't fight the usual bogeyman one more time, they can't get it up.

But then the candidate was changed and this tsunami of energy and hope was unleashed. Suddenly, there were double digit increases amongst young people and those of color in support for the Harris/Walz ticket. The somnambulant awakened, the youngsters became active. And the weirdest thing is everybody believes their vote counts, and many of these people weren't even planning to vote at all!

And speaking of weird, RFK, Jr. self-immolated. Never mind the issue of residence, the bear in Central Park was a bridge too far. Unfathomable to people who've never even encountered a bear outside of a zoo, never mind put it in their vehicle and then dumped it in a major city. RFJ, Jr. was now laughable, indefensible, and his numbers tanked.

And RFJ, Jr.'s position was one of no. No vaccines! The CDC is the enemy!

What he and the Republicans want is chaos. That's what happens when you tear down government. As for the police, statistics tell us crime is going down. We want order. While not suppressing our individual rights. But somehow those in the hinterlands believe they have a lock on this, even when there is little law enforcement in the area.

Patriotism. Somehow the Democrats have reclaimed this. Turns out you can question your country and still love it.

As for Walz, he's everyman. People can relate to him and his background. He's not rich, he doesn't own stock. He's a man of the people. Not the people with rifles telling the government to stay away, but the people abiding by the rules who want a level playing field.

And all the Republicans are doing is attacking Harris.

She too could self-immolate, you can't predict the future, faux pas are lurking around every corner, but in truth her candidacy is not even about her, it's about what she represents. Hope.

Yes, that's what Obama rode all the way to the White House, hope. But we were sold a bill of goods. Congress was locked, other than the Affordable Care Act nothing was passed and the division between the parties grew and Trump won.

Trump won because of dissatisfaction. But homey don't play that no more. At some point you've got to have a plan.

As for Trump's term in office, the only people who view that positively are those committed blindly to support him. Those who actually lived through the era remember the chaos. In truth, we want to stop thinking about politics, we want to get on with our lives, we don't want to believe death and destruction is right around the corner. We're sick of fear.

I'm not saying there are not issues. But if you don't marvel at Shawn Fain's success with the UAW, you must be an owner. As for all this negativity about unions... That's an old paradigm. The corrupt officials. In a world where the federal minimum wage is less than ten dollars and manufacturing jobs have cratered, people want justice, they're for the little guy. It's less about you taking mine than all of us in it together for the benefit of everyone!

This is another way in which Trump bats zero. It's always about him. Solely about him. Everybody sees that. Those who vote for him believe the goodies will trickle down to them, even though he benefited the usual fat cat Republicans in office, but the rest of the public ain't buying it. They're not looking for a narcissist.

Think about it, last year's big hero was Barbie. The movie was dominated by pink.

As for "Oppenheimer"... A veneration of intelligence, of both the man and the viewer. It wasn't dumbed-down for lowest common denominator acceptance.

This is what the movie studios don't understand. They refuse to pivot to give the public what it wants. They make fewer movies in narrower verticals and even though some of these flicks do business, the overall numbers keep going down. You've got to break the trend.

Kind of like this spring's rap battle between Drake and Kendrick. Questlove declared it the end of hip-hop. Insiders and acolytes were hanging on to every diss. But most of the public? They'd seen this movie before, they didn't care, and what did it all mean anyway, two rich entertainers arguing about...exactly what? Their personalities, their choices? What about my personality and my choices!

Optimism does not mean no edge.

Then again, today's rock is all edge and no substance, and is also negative. Look at the history of rock, it had many upbeat moments. The whole lifestyle was upbeat. Sure, people were drinking and drugging and f*cking, but that's why they signed up, that's what we all wanted before AIDS and sober living, never mind smartphone cameras. The world changed, but rock did not, and then it evaporated.

Grow your hair long, don your leather jacket, sport your tattoos...maybe you feel good about yourself but most people see you as out of touch, stuck in a past that is never coming back.

People need to be optimistic or they can't go forward. Life is just too difficult sans sun. Sans belief you're mired in the mud, sunk in depression. People won't glom on to any false hope, but if everyone believes, they're eager to jump on the train.

Which is why you've got these Zoom calls for Harris. Everybody wants to play. And every niche, in a world comprised of niches, is included. I attended a Deadheads for Harris Zoom. Likeminded people want to hang together, and feel that there's a way forward.

And I could sit here and say how many ways Trump has it wrong, but that's the change, it doesn't matter, he's selling black and Harris and Walz are selling white. No one wants to hear him spew about how bad it is, how this or that person is evil, they're sick of it, they want something more positive.

And this does not only apply to politics. This optimism is and will continue to infiltrate all verticals. Sure there were scandals at the Olympics, then again there was Steph Curry's three-pointer, and Simone Biles and... People felt nationalistic, Paris was not a downer. As for the people claiming that bunch of misfits were recreating the Last Supper...

Some of us are misfits. Actually, I'd augur all of us are misfits. Those were heroes, those were outsiders brought in. Does everything have to be seen through a negative lens? Does religion have to permeate every pore? Can't we just have a good time?

But not be totally hedonistic?

The right keeps talking about the takers. Where on the left, people know they're working hard and that being on welfare is no picnic, never mind being homeless. Are we just going to ignore America's problems, throw our hands in the air, or are we going to dig in and address them, knowing progress is difficult, that not everything works out, but that does not mean you should stop trying.

This is a sea change in America. It's been happening over the last four years and D.C. certainly hasn't recognized it.

People want to leave the past behind. They want a fresh slate. They want something to believe in.

That's what Swift delivered. That's what Chappell Roan is delivering even more. You may not understand it, you may not care about it, but you must evaluate what it represents.

Everybody keeps painting the sixties as a dark era. And sure, there was Vietnam, protests, but there was also a hell of a lot of fun. Believe me, the Dead and the Airplane were having fun. Woodstock was all about fun.

That's what people want, fun. When they're not working hard.

And they want meaningful work. And they want to be heard.

All you have to do is give them opportunity.

When you keep telling them how bad things are, how the system is rigged, they are not energized. You've got to light a match to build a fire.

And that's what Harris has done.

I don't even care if you're voting Republican. You've got to recognize how America has changed. We want things to work. We want progress. Enough with the negativity, we want to party like it's...

A WHOLE NEW ERA!


--
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
--
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
--
http://www.twitter.com/lefsetz
--
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1

If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25

To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=0eecea7b60b461717065cbde887c8e25