I was reading explanations for Hillary Clinton's lead in the New Hampshire Primaries, and something struck me as very interesting. The media went on and on about how she got more votes because she cried on camera and that reinforced to the viewers that she was more "human". Then there's the CNN speculation that her main supporters, elderly women, came out to vote because it was a "warm day". Or the one that said, voters wanted to mix it up, because they didn't want Obama to feel content, and wanted him to try harder. Andrew Sullivan, the conservative blogger and the epitome of all things I detest, goes as far to applaud a reader who speculates that "I think Hillary won New Hampshire because voters resented Obama's coronation" (at Iowa).And then I read about a stunt in her rally where protesters put up a sign saying "Iron my shirt". Look at the picture attached.
Huh? I'm not supporter for either HRC or BO (neither of them support federal level civil unions), and sitting in Afghanistan, the outcome of the election doesn't make an iota of difference in my life for next 4/5 years. But wow! Some major dirty laundry in need of a spin cycle.
So, this got me thinking about roles we play because it makes us "human", i.e. more acceptable to others. Others being mass people, mass media, mass consciousness, etc. In past 10 years, the media, especially, the western media has capitalized on the growing trend of the need to feel human. Power, intellect, accomplishment means nothing unless you are perceived as a human, an ordinary person, just like us.
In that respect, it is not enough that Angelina Jolie has raised XYZ millions for the cambodian victims, she has to talk to Barbara Walters to talk about her mother's death. Aishwariya Rai, the highest paid Asian woman ever goes to Oprah, and what does she talk about? How to tie a sari and look indian, and how her family keeps her grounded. It is not enough to earn $15 million per picture in India, she needs to look grounded and humble too? J K Rowlings, the 2nd richest woman in the world needs to attribute her accomplishment to the death of her mother at the age of 45. She claims that the tragedy was responsible for the fact that Harry is an orphan, and that it had made death "immeasurably more important" in her books.
Thus, we continue to play multiple roles in our everyday life that make us look humble and approachable. We might not love certain people, (okay, maybe can not stand someone on certain days even), but we play the roles of loving husband, father, son, helpful colleague, steadfast citizen, and moral fabric of the society, just so the other people (especially people who barely know us) will find us acceptable. I'm not above it. Ever since being in Kabul, every speech of mine begins with Bismillah, and I have kept my mouth shut about world politics ever since I started work for a non-partisan org. It makes sense to maintain the status quo and play the game, especially if that allows my private life to thrive with all its perversions.
I think that the more we try to make us look human, the more we move away from being human, particularly because we reject diversity and don't allow for dissent or discussion. Incidents like Larry Craig Toetapping, Britney Spears Meltdown, Sanjay Dutt Arrests (note the capitalization) occurs because we don't allow for public figures to desire anything that's not in the Good Housekeeping handbook.
Even though I play the role to fit the glove everyday, I detest this Homer Simpson school of thought, "I want my beer cold, my TV loud and my homosexuals flaming."
Sadly, Hillary Clintons will continue to find that to exploit the opportunity to make a difference in this world, it is more important she promotes the fact that she stood by her cheating husband and raised a normal child than her Yale law degree or her public service.
