Dream-Biden Schools Me On "The Helping Twins" Of Politics

Since it's Vice-President Biden's 70th birthday today, I thought I'd publish a dream related to him that I had over 10 years ago. I had this dream during the height of the 2004 Bush/Kerry election race, and it was one that always stuck with me. Had no idea at the time why I was dreaming of Joe Biden, of all people; I didn't follow politics that closely at the time, and he was completely off my radar. But when he finally became VP in 2008, it sort of really made me revisit this dream journal entry:

Dream Journal, 10/23/04

Joe Biden does a lecture on something called  "The New World Order" (though he never actually refers to it like that...it's like just sort of "understood"). He invites a bunch of people to come, including many senators and even John Kerry. Everybody thinks this is going to be a normal presentation and have no idea what is in store for them.

The senator shows these slides that illustrate his points. One is one called the "Helping Twins" which shows Kerry & Bush winding around each other like snakes on a caduceus.

Another is of a lion and other big cats: it's about how they represent one class of people, and there is another, smaller group of predatory animals under them, and how these two relatively small groups feed on the vast numbers of the rest of the animal population.

By now some people in the audience are clearly uncomfortable. Kerry looks extremely uncomfortable to be there, and he keeps clearing his throat, tugging at his tie, and looking back at the exit.

"Screw you guys -- I'm going home"

During a slight pause in the lecture, a bunch of people get up & head for the exit, using this as their excuse to leave.

I stay as well as some others--most of the people who stay are everyday folks, they clutch the program brochure in their hands as if it contains valuable information.

So I guess Joe Biden is my "dream totem" then?

My interpretation of the dream:

1. Even though the Bush/Kerry election was very divisive, Right vs. Left -- they really are both sides of the same coin. We aren't getting anything that's much different. It's almost as if both sides are working for the same team: "the helping twins."

2. The predatory animals represent the rich and powerful, exploiting the rest of humanity.

3. Kerry and the other politicians leave because they feel "exposed."

4. I and others stay because this is indeed valuable info to impart.

At the time of this dream, I was a very hardcore Democrat, and when Kerry lost it hit me very hard. It took a while for this dream to sink in, like brewing a good sauce.

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Post-Election Schadenfreude

Arnold Schwarzenegger helpfully tweeted this picture of himself yesterday

Watching FOX News now is like smoking the crack-cocaine version of schadenfreude.
— ArtForStrangers (@ArtForStrangers) November 7, 2012

There is so much to sift through, post-election, that it's going to take me some time to construct even a semi-coherent analysis. Not surprised that Barack Obama won; Mitt Romney was indeed the "John Kerry" of this election, and the fact that the GOP couldn't get it together to choose a more charismatic candidate is inexplicable to me.

Much post-election freakout happening from the far right, with Donald Trump calling for a "revolution":

Other pundits were also stoking the fire using terminology that speak to uprisings and civil war. I hope they are held accountable when such rhetoric makes people -- who are already ground down by the recession and a recent natural disaster -- snap. (Alex Jones continues to talk about Obama's "weather machine" that "caused" him to win the election; at least that is sort of entertaining, in an old-school "G.I. Joe" cartoon sort of way).

As always, Drudge Report, masters of the incendiary headline/image combo, posted this on their site this morning:

This is the new narrative you'll be seeing not only politically, but woven into our pop-culture. President Lincoln energy in pop-culture has been strong all year, culminating in the new Steven Spielberg movie:

Of course, a "Promoted Tweet" linking to the movie has topped "Twitter Trends" on the social media service this morning:

In contrast to the "Nation Divided" narrative of the far right, this Promoted Tweet -- essentially, a movie ad -- talks of a "Nation United." ALL "civil war" type narratives of one way or another. Then we had, of course, the pre-election "SNL" that just aired last Saturday, featuring Louis CK as Lincoln:

 I could go on with the Lincoln syncs all day -- that should be a separate post entirely.

But the world of comic books have been presciently entertaining the notion of a Nation Divided for months. The Marvel comic "Ultimate Comics Ultimates" features a fractured America (including "The New Republic of Texas," which must make Jones happy), and indeed has a map each issue so you can follow along:

After a night of viewing voter maps, the above is quite interesting. Needless to say, the narrative here features a lot of "uprising" masses and chest-beating about "their" America. Similarly, in a recent "Captain America" arc called "New World Orders," a pundit that I guess is sort of supposed to be Glenn Beck but looks uncannily like Alex Jones stirs up the masses to revolution. I'll be taking a closer look at both in future posts.

In other comics-related coverage, a Buzzfeed article entitled "America Votes Again For The Divided Government It Wants" features a picture of Batman:

Why bring up Batman again?

On Twitter, several people have even tied the Obama re-election to a sync/conspiracy (choose your  poison) involving the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy. In a much quoted/retweeted message:

2005 - Obama sworn in as senator. Batman Begins.2008 - Wins Presidency. The Dark Knight.2012 - Wins once again. The Dark Knight Rises.
— Big Bird (@BigBirdRomney) November 7, 2012

Even the current writer of the comic "Batman" tweeted last night that "there is a little Batman in Barack."

Where am I going in this post? I feel like I'm all over the place, sort of just aggregating notions, fueled by lack of sleep and black tea.

As for my own feelings on the election -- didn't feel like I had too much of a dog in this race, one way or another. Preferred Obama to Romney, certainly. But I can't get caught up on one side or the other. I take each situation as it comes. I watch the wheels.

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