Well, it's an election year and the Big Day is only about two months away. Absolutely everything on radio and TV is election related. So I've succumbed to Election Fever. I've actually watched some of a convention. I managed to avoid the Democratic convention, but we were watching the Amazing Race and the convention came on next. I wasn't intending to watch it, I just failed to leave the room or change the channel. Arnold, governor of Caleefornya and Mrs. Bush spoke. Some random thoughts on the night's event:
- Don't these people have lives? I have a real hard time relating to folks who would go to a political conventions and stand up and hoot and holler at these speeches. They are nearly all sooo fake, how does one get excited about them?
- There seemed to be a co-ordination of signs. When Arnold was speaking it was the tall, "4 More Years!" signs that kept popping up and down. During the First Lady's speech it was "W Stands For Women" signs primarily. Did they even give out instructions on what sign to use when?
- Arnold's speech was better than Laura's and the Bush twins' (they introduced the President, who introduced Laura, via satellite from a softball game) I think it was that the twins' and Laura's speeches came across as so deliberate and careful. They spoke in loving terms about their family, but it was obvious that it was carefully written and carefully delivered. I understand that one cannot afford to have folks speak carefully at events like this, but the effect was to dilute the desired 'warm and fuzzy' feeling you were supposed to get for the Bush family. What does that say of the system when even the man's wife & children have to watch their words carefully? I don't necessarily doubt anything said, it was just too stiff and cautious.
- There was this strange crowd dynamic going on. I guess it can happen in any sort of crowd, but it seemed that the spontaneous standing and applauding at every point was almost robotic for some. There'd be these shots of folks staring blankly off into space but clapping none the less. Other times you'd see people rising to their feet, obviously not moved in themselves to do so, but because the crowd was. The power of the crowd.
(Yawn) That's it. Can you sense my political fever? I think I ought to lie down. :-)
There was this strange crowd dynamic going on. I guess it can happen in any sort of crowd, but it seemed that the spontaneous standing and applauding at every point was almost robotic for some. There'd be these shots of folks staring blankly off into space but clapping none the less. Other times you'd see people rising to their feet, obviously not moved in themselves to do so, but because the crowd was. The power of the crowd.
Sounds like most church services I've attended in my life...
"Sounds like most church services I've attended in my life..."
I've been to those too! It can get kinda uncomfotable if you're the only one still sitting there while everyone else is standing/clapping/etc. Peer pressure is not only felt be teenagers.