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  • "Halftime in America:" Missing the point

    Posted by Rich Harwood
    Feb 7, 2012


    I hope you caught the Super Bowl ad “Halftime in America,” featuring Clint Eastwood. It’s amazing. Like Chrysler’s ad with Eminem, this one captures the country’s mood and people’s aspirations for moving forward. But the response to the ad reflects the sheer silliness and shallowness of our politics. Now, each of us must disregard the political posturing and tune into what we really want. 

    Here’s a brief snippet of the ad which Eastwood narrated: 

    I’ve seen a lot of tough eras, a lot of downturns in my life. And, times when we didn’t understand each other. It seems like we’ve lost our heart at times. When the fog of division, discord, and blame made it hard to see what lies ahead. 

    But after those trials, we all rallied around what was right, and acted as one. Because that’s what we do. We find a way through tough times, and if we can’t find a way, then we’ll make one. 

    All that matters now is what’s ahead. How do we come from behind? How do we come together? And, how do we win? 

    No sooner than the ad went live, those on the right and left took up sides. Some said the ad was mere cheerleading for the government bailout of auto companies. Karl Rove, the Republican strategist, wrote on FOX Nation: “… administration officials and Obama campaign leaders immediately took to Twitter to draw attention to the ad as support for their man…Why did Team Obama need to put this ad in a political context?” It’s true the administration has tried to get as much mileage from the ad as possible. 

    The responses reminded me of a discussion I heard yesterday between House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Steve Case, the founder of AOL and other high tech businesses. Case was making the point that there is much agreement in the nation to support better conditions for entrepreneurialism – and thus job creation. He said he comes at this issue as neither a Democrat nor a Republican, but as an American. Like the Chrysler ad, he too believes there is much Americans can rally around together. 

    But as Case was talking Cantor interrupted him, and rather than address Case’s substantive points, Cantor launched into a broadside attack against Obama and what he sees as the president’s ongoing quest to divide America and the gap between the president’s rhetoric and action. 

    In both instances – the ad and Case’s comments – there were attempts to “bring people together,” “find a way through tough times,” and “win” for the country, not a political party (all quotes from the Chrysler ad – see above). It’s not impossible. For instance, just consider for a moment that Eastwood says he votes Republican, his political leanings are libertarian, and yet there he was in the Chrysler ad. 

    Nowadays everything seems to become immediately politicized. But we don’t need to fall for this approach, its negative rhetoric and its predictable outcomes. I see Chrysler’s ad and Steve Case’s comments as moments of piercing through the silliness and shallowness of politics and offering an alternative way to see and engage in community and public life. It can – it does – happen. 

    So what’s the takeaway for each of us? 

    1. Sometimes when we see or hear something that inspires us, calls us forward, taps into our deepest aspirations, we must disregard all the political chatter, and let it touch us so we and others can see an alternate path forward. We must ward off the negativity and finger-pointing and literally open ourselves up, and make room for seeing the possibility of a different path. Will you do this? 

    2. Too often in our own daily lives we are confined by our knee-jerk responses to something and the desire to take up sides. But in doing so we forfeit the possibility there might be ways to come together with others and get stuff done. We must be willing to suspend our knee-jerk responses and listen, engage, debate, and figure out where progress is possible. Will you do this? 

    The endless acrimony, divisiveness and finger-pointing that contaminate society will give way, in large part, when each of us decides to take a different path and when our individual actions roll-up into a larger collective purpose. Make the choice – it’s ours to be had. .
        
  • Re: "Halftime in America:" Missing the point
    Feb 24, 2012 | Shion 
    You've got it in one. Couldn't have put it beettr.
  • Re: "Halftime in America:" Missing the point
    Feb 8, 2012 | Nathan Moore 
    Until fairly recently, I lived in Wisconsin. There are clear sides there, with a bright line between each side. In fact, stock footage of the protests at the State Capitol in Madison was playing under Clint Eastwood's line, "When the fog of division, discord, and blame made it hard to see what lies ahead."

    While I have a lot of sympathy for what you write here and elsewhere, I think the Wisconsin context is an exception. The state government was hijacked by a radical right wing cabal. To not take sides, to not fight, to not protest and organize is to give in to forces that want to strip the state and nation of what has made it strong.

    Or maybe Wisconsin is not an exception: various stripes of Wisconsinites *have* found ways to work together. Unionists, environmentalists, student activists, sympathetic moderates, and many others would not typically talk to each other much. But they have become very organized and are very capable of forging a path forward across the lines that usually separate them.

    Unfortunately for your argument here, that path forward involves throwing out the rotten garbage that has occupied the Capitol offices for the last year.
  • Re: "Halftime in America:" Missing the point
    Feb 8, 2012 | Kim Bettie 
    People will always try to turn others eyes off of the good...I appreciated your blog post that pointed out the petty attempt to do just that! THANKS!

    I saw all of the negative articles the next day but chose to focus on the few positive ones and post about them in my blog (www.inspirereport.com) I am from Detroit and excited that my city is becoming a source of inspiration for people all over the country. The San Francisco Chronicle quoted Clint Eastwood in the commercial for Chrysler, “People are out of work and they’re hurting. And they’re all wondering what they’re going to do to make a comeback. Answers can come from the people of Detroit.”

    THAT inspires!
  • Re: "Halftime in America:" Missing the point
    Feb 7, 2012 | Peter Nicks 
    The main thrust of this post is a reality that frustrates me - and other Americans - endlessly: the relentless framing of every discussion in a warring political context. How do we solve this? Courage, leadership and participation of the American public. That's how.
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