Is Obama the First Postmodern President?

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While watching the election coverage last night with my wife, I heard Tom Brokaw say something that stopped me in my liveblogging tracks: “Obama could be the first postmodern President.”

At the time, Obama and McCain were still slugging it out for electoral votes. Now they’re not. Now it’s over. Brokaw’s “could be” can be replaced with an “is”:

Barack Obama is the first post-modern President.

Obama is also the first African-American President, which is a breath of fresh air for a country that, historically speaking, has only recently given people of color the right to vote. This is nothing less than stunning in the best sense of the word, but it is a separate post altogether.

I do believe that Obama being the first post-modern President could have as great of an effect on this country as him being the first African-American one. Maybe an even greater and sustained one.

“What exactly is a post-modern President anyway?” you might find yourself asking. Valid question. Defining postmodernism has been likened to trying to nail Jell-o to a wall, so I’ll spare us the agony of trying to accomplish that task. But for the sake of discussion, and in Brokaw’s context, it means a President who is not a Boomer. “Post-boomer” was the word Brokaw used. (Or perhaps Chuck Todd? After four hours of coverage, the voices kind of blend together!) Obama, at 47, while officially belonging to the “Boomer” demographic, functions as a “post-boomer”, the analysts said.

What does this mean?

Answer: A lot. This has implications for every area of life, from the workplace to the pew and back again. The fact remains that Obama, regardless of where you stand on his political stances, has mobilized younger voters to actually show up at the polls, something that campaigns in the past have been powerless to do. (Remember all the hype for MTV’s “Choose or Lose” and “Vote or Die” campaigns aimed at 20-something voters in 2000 and 2004? They largely failed. They generated much excitement, but little voter turnout for Gore or Kerry in their respective elections.)

Younger voters (and thereby younger Americans) turned out to not only vote, but to vote for Obama and propel him forward into the White House. He did this by speaking their language. He utilized communication tools like Twitter and Facebook. He bought ads in video games like “Madden 2009″, effectively reaching a demographic (18-25 year old males) that is notoriously hard to reach. He spoke to the heart of young adults by saying, “Your voice matters. It matters to me and it matters to the future of this country. I’m listening.“

What does this mean?

Answer: Everything.

It means that if you are an older American and you are in a place of authority and leadership, you will need to pay attention to the younger voices around you. You will need to listen or your company/church/organization will not have anyone to pick up the baton after you’re gone. It will die.

Shane Vander Hart notes: “Generation Y/Millennials will be in positions of leadership and influence soon.”

It means that young people will desire to move into places of leadership not because they feel entitled, but because they feel empowered. There’s a huge difference between the two.

It means that churches, for instance, need to study the way in which Obama reached a younger generation. A generation that is typically non-existent in the church. Obama reached them and he reached them well and it paid off. Big time.

It means that the stagnant security of the “same ol’ way” of doing things is less appealing than the riskiness of change.

This is not so much a political take on Obama’s election but a sociological one. Paul Stewart rightly notes:

“By 2050 the “minorities will be the majority” in this country and those young “millennial” voters will be running it. For better or for worse our nation will never be the same, and the church had better pay attention.”

What does this all mean? It means you don’t have to be a democrat, or even an Obama supporter to realize that his election into the White House is causing a lot more people to stand up and say, “Yes. We. Can.”

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Contributor: Justin Wise

A religious deviant who enjoys coffee, collared shirts, spending time with his wife and son, learning about quantum physics and creatively exploring the riches of the Spirit of Christ. Culture + Faith + Technology. Contact the author

Shane Vander Hart

Great post Justin. I was just thinking about that today as well.

Thanks for the link, btw, you were much kinder than the other person who linked to that post :).

Mac

This is great. The church has to be dynamic and able to adapt to current trends under the guidelines Christ has laid out. The Democratic party in recent years has a more loving message. Yesterday, Justin pointed out many times that McCain's party was private, while Grant park was off the chain. Obama made it clear that he wanted everyone, including the young people. God gave us the ability to think and feel for ourselves. By living in the same old traditions, we are confining ourselves to a box, which will become repetitive and stagnant, and eventually start to lose its quality. This"box" hinders us from understanding God's revelation.

Rita

Barack Obama is a baby boomer. He is 47 years old. He was born in 1961. Baby boomers were born between 1946 and 1964.

I blog at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide.

Rita

Justin Wise

@Rita: Yep. You're right! I wrote in the post, "Obama, at 47, while officially belonging to the “Boomer” demographic, functions as a “post-boomer”, the analysts said."

The commentators on NBC were saying that Obama was not lock-step with his Boomer counterparts. He thinks, acts, and "politicks" like a post-Boomer. That's what made the We Generation vote for him in record numbers!

Thanks for your comment and thanks for reading.

Brandon B

Interesting post. The only issues I have with what you are saying is that you are suggesting that Obama (singular) is responsible for the message. I disagree with that. Obama was progressive in hiring a team of leaders that reached out to the po-mo's. I do not think you can call Obama postmodern until his decisions as a leader warrant it. Right now it is merely marketing. His team marketed well to po-mo's.

The proof will be in the pudding (and by pudding I mean leading in a new and effective manner). Obama will prove to be a post-modern president when we leads in a non-modern fashion. That is yet to be see. Probably yet to be invented. It will be interesting to watch, though.

Justin Wise

@Brandon: Certainly. Obama's run for President necessitated being surrounded by people who know more than him, specifically young-minded marketers.

The difference between Obama and McCain, in my opinion and what I stated in the post, is the way in which they approached the younger generation. McCain has a Twitter account, a Web 2.0-like website, and young people on his staff, many of whom he put in front of the camera when touring the press circuit. But this seemed forced and token; it was more of McCain knowing he should do this rather than embracing the younger generation.

Contrast that with Obama who, like McCain, utilized internet and technology resources, young people as a part of the campaign, etc. The reason I believe Obama is the first postmodern President is because using these resources were not token. They is a genuine interest in the Obama camp to know what young people think, how they act, etc.

The difference, as we know, is that "anointing flows from the beard down." As goes the leader, so goes the group. Obama leads with an entirely different set of principles than McCain. This difference was noticed and it paid off big time for Obama with the younger vote.

Alex

When you look at both campaigns is doesn't take a rocket scientist to see which candidate is the stronger leader. The greatest leaders are smart enough to realize that they don't know everything. So they surround themselves with smart people, even people that don't agree with them. This is what Obama did and why his campaign was so successful.

This is the same way a good president works. We are not under a dictatorship. In order to make the right decisions for our country, we needed a president that opens his ears before his mouth.