Battling Our Greatest Fear

About a month ago, I found myself dropping into an all too familiar pre-election depression. I was having dinner with my wife, a writer and a journalist friend. The jovial topic of discussion was where we were thinking of moving when McCain-Palin won and the inevitable Supreme Court changes occurred. My wife and I had discussed England and my friend informed me that she and her husband had considered New Zealand.

Yes. It had seemed that bleak. Am I a pessimist? Yes, I am. That's the way I'm wired. And the last two presidential elections really nailed it for me -- big time. The Republicans, had in my opinion gotten too big, too nasty, mean spirited and ruthless to be stopped. They were able to "copyright" the word FEAR and use it again and again to effectively hammer the American public. And the Democrats, it seemed, had become too easy to attack. Like a mismatched boxing opponent in a ring with no referee, their reactions were too slow, leaving them open to low groin shots and head butts.

In short, the Dems seemed to make lousy fighters.

In my view, Karl Rove and his buddies had changed the playing field forever in the battle for the White House. And the Democratic Party, even after two blown elections, had not yet learned to adjust to the new playing field and the new rules.

Watching how the Republicans worked, it appeared that while running against Kerry, Bush would run one campaign and the Republican Party would support it with a more direct and lower aiming complimentary campaign, while the 527 groups would be the covert special ops swooping in and aiming for the guts.

And so, there I was at dinner during that time when a tremendous barrage of horrific lies and distortions were raining down on Obama from all directions. And I wanted to know why wasn't I seeing any direct response ads to hit back? Was it just that we Democrats simply weren't wired that way?

I was impressed with Obama consistently taking the high road. That's who he is, and that's what he should be doing. But where was that ground level support? And I couldn't help falling into that awful deja vu sensation of complete frustration and helplessness.

The bottom line is this -- it got me thinking. I'd given all the money I could and I still wasn't feeling any better. And my constant complaining and the pessimistic storm cloud that was following me around was bringing my wife, and my whole family down. Even my dog seemed morose.

What ensued was an all night internal argument that echoed and ping-ponged around my brain until I had to get up and leave for New York in the morning. By the time I landed I had more or less come to the conclusion that why couldn't I, an ordinary bum, do SOMETHING! ANYTHING rather than sit and whine.

I began making phone calls and sending out emails. Lots of them. I started with my daughter Lola, who worked with a political consulting agency, and I began to slowly get an education on what's involved in creating a political ad. I knew what the first message was that I wanted to get out there. It was not an original idea. It's what everybody I knew talked about all the time. It was easy.

Sarah Palin was my worst nightmare.

It was like experiencing a real-life reenactment of the movie The Omen. Not that I literally thought Sarah Palin was Damien with a 666 birthmark on her scalp, but it still felt like some kind of terrible pre-ordained horror. Worse -- a person who thought that "seeing" Russian land in the distance gave her an edge on international relations? A person who believed that men walked with dinosaurs when the world began 6000 years ago? Worse. The idea that person who believed that the "End of Days" would likely happen in her lifetime would possess the launch codes for enough firepower to actually bring that Armageddon to fruition without God's help. The personification of the repressive, small-minded extreme religious right in the driver's seat of the racecar called Earth!

Uh uh. No way.

President Palin; "one heartbeat away". It was a message that I'd seen dozens of versions of on YouTube, but they weren't getting onto people's TVs in their homes. That's the only place you can effectively get a message to a person who might be on the fence. My cursory research showed that there were many McCain supporters and undecided voters who felt the same discomfort level that we did with Palin. They were the ones who I wanted to connect with.

I won't go into how difficult it really is to begin a political non-profit group, to understand the myriad of rules and regulations, the differences of 527 groups and PAC organizations. It's really boring....'nough said on that.

But once started, it was hard to stop. And suffice it to say, it was a great relief for my wife to see me doing something that both shut me up with my constant whining and seemed to have snapped me out of the terrible hopeless mental state I had fallen into.

So here we are a month later, with a TV ad and internet ad and a PAC called OurGreatestFear.org. And it's interesting to see how this message is even more relevant now that the Palin effect has mushroomed to such monumental proportions.

And who the hell am I trying to jump into politics like this? Am I smarter than everyone else? No, I am most definitely not.

Am I arrogant and egotistical enough to imagine that I could actually change the course of the election? Of course not.

I was driven by this crazy idea that I might, at the very best, make a tiny, tiny dent in a giant iron-plated machine, like attacking an army tank with a hammer.

But, more than that, I was driven by the possibility that MAYBE, just maybe I was one of many independent people and groups who, like myself, were doing something. And that MAYBE, if enough hammers were going at once, then just MAYBE that dent might become a bigger dent. And if we were extremely lucky, we might actually open a small crack in that machine.

I guess this is what it must have felt like in some tiny isolated trench in one of the world wars when some small tenacious group fought without having any knowledge of whether or not they were having even the most insignificant effect, but held to the hope that there were many others out there doing the same thing and though no single shot could end the war, many shots coming from many directions might.

And that was my whole goal. Absurd as it may seem. To take a one tiny shot from a different direction and hope that it was one of many, coming from all directions.

I will be the first to admit, shamefully, that I am an extremely reclusive and self-centered individual who gets completely and hopelessly lost in his work... the kind of person who would sit in his basement obliviously writing music while the world came crumbling down around him.

And I must admit that, until now, I've never felt the call to do anything remotely like this, something that was for a "common good" in such an abstract way, something that had no "gain" or "upside" for me. In fact, I've been fearful that all I'm likely to do is bring down a mountain of shit on my family and me. And I may very well look back on this from some point in the future as the dumbest thing I ever did...

But I still had to try.

And finally... This is the big one. I know things look good now, much better than they did a month ago when I began all of this. The Democratic Party has really pulled itself together and I'm actually proud of them. And, as expected, Obama has run an amazing, even inspiring campaign. But I still am who I am. The race is still too close and the stakes too high and I still expect the worst and won't relax a second until Nov. 4th.

OurGreatestFear.org

Comments

[loyal lumpling]

Dear Danny,

Well man....you did it!!!! The postal votes still need to be counted, but let's face it - it's a landslide. Obama's in!! I am so relieved and surprised - I'm a pessimist as well and really couldn't bring myself to believe that the demoncrats would win, though i wanted it so much it was driving me insane. You know how that feels. Enjoy your celebrations!

I was SO inspired when i read this article. Getting out there, making the add, kicking ass - I respect you so much for this, and am so so glad you could see your efforts help bring success. Hopefully you'll feel less powerless in the future :)

I' ve always been a huge fan, and it was amazing to see someone I admire so much really getting out there to bring about a better world. Thank you for this. I hope you never lose that fire - it's what makes you the man we love, from Boingo to today.

In short - WELL DONE! You're my hero, you really are xxx

[LeilaUral]

Well, Mr. Elfman, just the plain fact that you are against McCain is probably getting at least a few people off the fence and onto Obama's side. :P.
I'm not into politics much, being 15 and all, but Obama has definately got me thinking and really hoping he wins! It seems hes really doing that to a lot of people.

[mataliandy]

I would love to see you work with Eugene at TruthAndHope.org. The positive grassroots ads his team created for this election season are the best I've seen. Couple those with your ... pessimistic ... ads, and the grassroots could seriously change our elections for the better. See Truth and Hope's inspiring "local voices" ad campaigns here: http://www.truthandhope.org/localvoices/index.htm.

[steveinillinois]

Danny, you are my hero. Bless you.

[sajrocks]

So many fears hinged to the outcome of this election, but this definitely towards the top. Thank you and donation made!

[radnip]

Considering how often she lies and how she lies about items, like the teleprompter, that really are not that important, I would guess that Palin is a pathological liar.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_can_you_tell_if_someone_is_a_pathological_liar

Very interesting. Would probably apply to a bunch of Repugs.

[layrious]

I love Mr. Elfman's discussion of his great need to do SOMETHING to prevent re-living the last 2 nightmare elections. Myself and countless others have gone through the same process. I was moved to create a site of my own videos on the same theme as OurGreatestFear.org - MyPresiden­tPalin.com­. I do hope all of these 'hammers' knock a serious hole in the politics of the last 8 years.

It seems that the democratization of technology has allowed the democratization of democracy. Not only do people feel empowered to create their own politcal ads, but candidates are able to take their fundraising to the people, not the big corporations. I HOPE that this can ultimately change the way political system works...but I'm new at this 'hope' thing.

[kemstone]

Well said, Danny. I too am a hard-wired pessimist, so much so that I can't even bring myself to believe that an Obama administration would really mean the kind of dramatic, positive change that the idea of it represents--as much as I really really want to believe it. All I know is that a McCain-Palin administration, and the not-very-unlikely Palin administration that could easily follow, would be an absolute disaster for the nation and the world. And I too will be holding my breath until the moment McCain officially concedes.

[beansie]

I have the same feelings regarding the impact that I could have on this whole election. But as never before I HAD to do something. So I have donated my time making calls, making photo copies, putting packets together for the door to door canvassers to take with them and I have done data entry to enter the documentation into the Democratic database. I will never look back at this and say this was the dumbest thing I have done.....actually just the reverse I am extremely proud of my efforts. I know that Mr. Elfman was using humor by self effacing himself. It seems as though he is a very private person and that any kind of accolades he is not comfortable with. But I am here to tell you.....THANK GOD WE ARE ALL DOING WHAT WE CAN.....even if they are little dents....I too do not want to be over confident but I certainly will sigh a heavy sigh come Wednesday if our dreams come true!

[knowBuddhaU]

O brother, my Brother Danny! I greatly appreciate your sentiments expressed here. Our modern ways of thinking are ill-serving us. The world is not a machine.

Absolute dualism is the boogeyman you run from. "The personification of the repressive, small-minded extreme religious right in the driver's seat of the racecar called Earth!" If it's the absolute Other, in control of the car in which you ride, that terrifies you so, I'd look there for the source of your frustration and helplessness.

Until we get beyond the artificial dualism of 'Us Good Guys Here vs. Them Evil-Doers Over There, we'll be doomed to repeating the wars of the past.

The fundamental question of our time is this: Being, or Machine? Are we sharing Being aware of this, our shared Becoming, arising mysteriously from within? Or are we Newtonian mechanisms, machines forced into order from the outside and held together by sheer force?

Do we will our selves into Being? Do we arise from within? Or do we somehow stand apart from our very selves and force them to do our bidding under pain of punishment, by dint of our superior firepower?

Schopenhauer was right: we will the world, we do not force it. I am changing my environment--and now yours, o reader my Reader--the same way a plant grows: from within!

[mycall8]

Leaving the country doesn't really work.... OK, maybe Australia or New Zealand, but what about all the senseless distruction that would result from a nuclear exchange between the US & Russia over WHAT? an internal conflict in a former USSR member, Georgia. What good would the oil pipeline there be if there is no one to use it left. This is what the potential VP Palin was ready to start shooting over... I have more experience with foreign policy knowing which day to recycle plastic in Munich..... I also wouldn't have attacked Iraq or assaulted Syria. Would the voters decide on 4 more years of the same lack of basic reasoning skills? God only knows Heaven forbid Thank You Jesus

[Tinkerbellee]

Way to go Danny, and good for you for trying to make a difference!
I just made a donation - hope it helps! GET THAT AD OUT THERE!

[ewoman]

Danny - I understand where you're coming from. And, like you, I threatened to leave the country during the last two elections. But, I'm still here - with a daughter in college and aging parents on hand. I can't leave them. Then, I thought that, perhaps, it would be the wrong thing to leave, no matter who wins. Especially if McCain wins. I cannot, will not, leave behind my fellow Americans who cannot leave and who are beholden to a leadership that breeds fear and contempt.

This is why, even if Obama wins, I have become more politically committed over the last few months. And, I've realized that the reason things are as they are now is because the citizens of this country don't take freedoms seriously - we see now how easy they are to lose under a president who has no taste in his mouth for the common good of his constituency.

Good for you that you did what you did...please keep up the good fight.

[Tizzlepiss]

Danny,
I hear you, Man. The last two elections were the worst ever. I felt the same way about Bush in 2000 that i feel about Palin now. Why on earth would people vote for someone like that to be a heartbeat away from becoming leader of the free world? But they do. I have had otherwise intellegent people insist that Obama is Muslim, when that can easily be proven wrong. Sarah Palin insists Obama is a Socialist. People buy this crap. (Obama's answer to that was to say that next they will be calling him a Communist because he shared his toys as a child. Right on!) How can these Evangelicals bastardize Christianity the way they do and it is accepted as right?
I for one will never give up. My family has been an integral part of this country for almost 400 years. I will never stop fighting for what I know is right, and what the Constitution calls for. I agree 100% with the founding fathers that religion and our government should never mix.

[Tangento]

Danny,

Like some of the others here, your eloquent article mirrors my feelings about this race uncannily; especially where you stated:

"I've never felt the call to do anything remotely like this, something that was for a 'common good' in such an abstract way, something that had no 'gain' or 'upside' for me. "

I think there are millions of us who feel the same way, and feel that there truly IS an upside to getting involved. I think we are all finally waking up, just in time to see the end of this particular nightmare's final act.

Here's to reaping a BIG 'upside' on Nov. 5th.


P.S. Love the film scores, and I've been a huge fan since Nothing to Fear.

[DANISMOM]

well its interesting to see how connected we all are. a famous composer feels as i do, a home daycare provider. we are not so far apart in this world. most of us have good common sense enough to know sarah palin is a sham. why doesn't anyone discuss her lack of education. she has a journalism degree. do you know how many of us out their have journalism degrees?? i could go on and on about her lack of qualifications but others have laid it out better than i ever could. thanks danny elfman.