Icarus Feathers

“This is what is possible, if you believe,” Mr. Obama said.

“We believe,” the crowd replied.

“There are a lot of people who tell you not to believe,” he added. “There are a lot of naysayers. A lot of doubting Thomases.”

“We believe,” the crowd replied again. “We believe!” - NyTimes

I think I’m an Obama supporter. But this sort of ego evangelicalism has started to turn me off. How is it different than Christian politics? Whether it’s for God or America (or Obama himself?) belief and faith can be powerful tools of manipulation.

“Emily Dickenson was wrong, Hope isn’t the thing with feathers. The thing with feathers is my nephew. I’m taking him to a specialist in Zurich next week.” – Woody Allen

When belief becomes the keystone of our movement, especially when that movement depends essentially on the ego of one man, how far are we from a dictatorship? Not a physical dictatorship. A benevolent dictatorship, perhaps. But, hope and belief become dictators of ideas and replace reason and independence with faith in the movement. That is the dangerous thing.