But we also may be looking at him through the tinted frames of the Bush-era – through the distrust, and especially partisanship which has dominated our political psyche. We cannot discount the effect Bush has had on the way we think, and cannot believe that Bush is truly gone, simply because he is no longer President.
Beyond these frames we have become so accustomed to wearing, we cannot dismiss the stress of moving itself: while many of us have hated living on Bush St., we nonetheless lived here for years. We are all captured by a powerful inertia, a gravity that wants to hold things the way they are, even if that way is the wrong way. There is something profoundly uncomfortable in upsetting the “normal” for an uncertain future.
And even as Obama enters the White House, we still are not totally moved out of Bush St. W's profound influence, not only on policies but on our psyches, will not disappear with Rick Warren’s invocation. We cannot ignore what we have lived through, how it has changed us, and what “baggage” it has ultimately left.
Moving from Bush St. isn’t just Obama’s job. It’s not just the President-elect’s task to change the political landscape, to move us from a culture of fear and terror and partisanship.
It’s also our job.
So let’s start packing.
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