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From the
EDITORS
Democracy and Idolatry
Marla Braverman
This was no ordinary love. The proof was in the posters—specifically, influential “street artist” Shephard Fairey’s iconic images of Barack Obama, which proved a huge hit at campaign rallies. Rendered in blood red and gray, with his face in silk-screened, Warholian black, the presidential hopeful gazes out toward some distant point, confident and contemplative at once. Only one word was emblazoned across the bottom, in large, block letters: “Hope,” or “Progress.” Judging by the posters raised by the ecstatic masses, the campaign was not just about Obama the Democratic presidential candidate. It was about Obama, America’s long-awaited Beloved Leader. It is precisely now, however, as the politics of hope have captured the hearts and minds of so many, that we must remind ourselves why the idealization of politics, and of political leaders in particular, is so dangerous to liberal democracies. For in truth, these societies require skeptical citizens, not trusting ones, if they are to remain strong and healthy, and fulfill the promise for which they were created. |
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