Obama High vs. Hard times

It's the new drug of choice for Americans, heck for folks worldwide. It rivals "fear". Thinking, talking and celebrating Obama has become a national pastime and obsession of everyone. People are high off Obama with no real signs of coming down. I went to the concert and Dwayne Wiggins got a lukewarm response from the crowd with his classic hits but when he started babbling "Obamaobamaobamaobama" out of nowhere, folks started roaring. People stood up, clapped and cheered. Never though I would live to see the day that the mere mention of a politicians name during a jazz concert would bring about jubilation.
Everyone is having such a love fest that I hate to remind folks that times is hard. My brother in law got carjacked last night at gunpoint for his car, keys, phone, everything. My cousin and his wife got cussed out by a lady cause her car was parked in front of their house for a month and they called it in. The lady was muttering something about "times is hard...".
There are a good number of youngsters who I work with who readily admit that the afternoon conversation while kickin it on the block with the homies, is whether they should go rob someone and who should they rob. I am talking about preteens.
Before we moved out of west Oakland, I came home to find someone rummaging in my house. They bolted through my front door (I came in through the garage) and down the street and when the cops showed up and asked me for a description, I shrugged and said, "Black male, around 6 feet, maybe 180 pounds. He basically looks like me. You think you can find him?" The joke was not lost on the cop and he just said "I'm sorry this happened" which was another way of saying "wait until he comes back to rob you again and get a better look next time."
Times are hard. Folks are literally living and breathing Hope as nourishment because they ain't got no corn flakes. For some of my students who don't eat breakfast most mornings, they are gobbling Obama hope for breakfast, lunch dinner and snack.
The real cold part of it is that the brotha inherited a situation that only Jesus would say "I got this". That's why I am convinced that Obama is out of his mind. I love the brotha but he just took the hardest job in show business. When the applause fades and and he has to actually perform, I Hope (pun intended) that folks don't forget that brotha man is a politician and above all else, he is in fact a mortal human being. The beauty of it all is the We in "Yes We Can". It's like a remix of "We The People". Folks can actually continue to organize and rally around change and we are going to have to because if we don't fix this mess, some hungry fool will fleece you in the street, in front of your house or in your living room for your change.