Term of the day: Sympathy Deficit

I love politics. Not the daily process, not the glory of democracy, but the part where the politicians squirm about, pontificate, and sling mud at each other. There’s nothing quite like an intelligent, well-written, fantastically delivered speech full of political pandering to make me giggle first thing in the morning.

The Americans have been disappointing me on these fronts recently. We’ve had our own little bits of fun here at home, with sponsorship scandals, floor crossing, minority governments, drunk driving convictions, and pizza bribes. Listening to Mr. Harper or Mr. Dion speak is as exciting as watching the Leafs. On the whole, there hasn’t been anything entertaining enough to rant about (unless you’re Rick Mercer. Newfoundlanders find humor in everything).

Thank goodness for the Democrats. They’ve finally decided to get back to the nitty gritty, and they do it in style. Maybe it really isn’t that interesting, but with Hollywood writers on strike, what else is there to watch?

Having a close race with no clear favourite creates an aura of excitement about every speech, every debate, every primary. Neither political party has a clear frontrunner. Americans have no idea who they are going to choose for their next president. Can you blame them? Maybe it’s a result of the sympathy deficit.

Monday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the US. A day to remember the man, his message, and the ongoing battle for civil rights in America. All very important things. Barack Obama chose on this day to give a speech in Atlanta at the Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Let’s leave the irony in a Democrat making a very left-leaning speech to the masses at a church for the time being. That’s not what really amuses me, though I’m wondering where the “separation of church and state” camp will put this one. What caught my interest was Obama’s use of the word "deficit".

A term usually reserved for the fiscally inclined, “deficit” has an ominous ring to it. As Canadians, we associate the term with recession, inflation, big chins and other bad things we never want to see again. Deficits have been blacklisted since the early nineties, but unless you can convince Ralph Klein to lay off the booze and move to Ottawa, we’re going to see more of them in the immediate future. Actually, even King Ralph would have to tighten his belt these days. (Yes, I am flitting from country to country, politician to politician. Deal with it.)

There is a sympathy deficit in America. Consider yourself informed. Citizens (specifically those who belong to a visible minority) of the United States need to be more sympathetic to their fellow citizens (specifically those to belong to another visible minority) in order to make America a better place.

I’m not agreeing or disagreeing with this proclamation from the pulpit. I just think it’s intriguing. Don’t you? It applies to all of us, not just minorities. I like the idea of emotional deficits. Favreau (speech writer extraordinare) must know this, jean-wearing twenty something that he is. It implies that a little responsibility, sacrifice, and self-control will fix everything. It’s the same old touchy-feely idealist message, wrapped up in a sexy new Obama package. We could use some sexy in politics these days, particularly of the intelligent kind. I’m not saying he should win, or even that I'd vote for him if I was an American. I'm just a fan of the sexy.

Education, poverty, health care…where social issues are concerned, Americans have been turning a blind eye. Well, sure. So have Canadians. There are more important things to worry about, like ourselves.

We civilized humans in the Western world are a selfish bunch, particularly those under forty. We sit at home and play Guitar Hero instead of volunteering our time at soup kitchens or marching in protests. We keep our headphones in on the subway (listening to Arcade Fire to look cool, when we really want to listen to Bon Jovi); we walk around in our own little bubble that contains work and home, ignoring the rest of the world. We deal with our partners, our kids, our jobs, and that’s it. It’s a survival technique, and on an individual level, it works. For awhile.

I have a sympathy deficit myself. It consists of (but is not limited to) my ex, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan holders, lobster fishermen, record companies, Daniel Alfredsson, and “the man”. I’ll have to work on reforming my evil ways.

Kudos to Obama and Favreau for resurrecting the craft of speechwriting in American politics. Maybe they dreamed it up while trying to best Dragonforce on the “expert” setting. First Des Moines, now this. The boys in the Republican camp should be taking notes. So should Dion and Harper, come to think of it.

Here we are now. Entertain us! Make us feel that, by listening to such a charismatic person, we’ll be making the world, and ourselves, better. We’re all entitled to our delusions, after all.