It's not what I wanted. It's not the best America can do, but I still say WOW.
I said that about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in
a post last night celebrating my older child's successful acquisition of affordable health insurance. The post
had a cup of coffee, as they say in the big leagues, on the Recommended List.
I posted that diary thinking that the ACA has an image problem, many known enemies and too few outspoken unabashed and unequivocal friends. Come out into the tall grass to find out where those thoughts led.
It made me think that many people seem to have little appreciation for how useful and good the ACA is for what it does. Even if they're OK with it, they don't get the WOW! part. I kept thinking about how unsuccessfully ACA champions seem to have been in pushing back against GOP/Tea Party/Faux Noise propaganda spreading lies about the ACA. And then, reminded suddenly of the cult classic film of Jay and Silent Bob in Dogma, I realized what our side has been missing in all of this.
Our side needs an ObamaCare, Wow! campaign. You know. Like this:
That is a photo of my personal Buddy Christ statute, the iconic promotional image of Cardinal Glick's Catholicism, WOW! campaign that becomes entangled, in
Dogma, in the tale of a demon who uses God's love of Skee-Ball to exploit an oversight in Catholic Dogma to bring the end all existence. If you don't know this film, you are missing a real treat.
The idea for ObamaCare, WOW! comes from the this clip:
Announcer: Ladies and Gentlemen, the driving force behind Catholicism WOW! Cardinal Glick.
[music; crowd noise, applause]
Cardinal Glick: Thank you. Thank you. Now, we all know how the majority and the media view the Catholic Church. People find the Bible and the Church obtuse, even hokey. Now, in an effort to disprove all that, the Church has appointed this year as a time of faith and style. For example, the crucifix. While it has been a time honored symbol of our faith Holy Mother Church has decided to retire this highly recognizable yet wholly depressing image of our Lord Crucified.
Christ didn't come to Earth to give us the Willies! He came to help us out. He was a booster! And it is with that take on our Lord in mind that we come up with a new and more inspiring sigil. So, it is with great pleasure that I present you with the first of many revamps the Catholicism WOW! Campaign will unveil over the next year.
I give you, The Buddy Christ!
But that's not the sanctioned term that we are using for the symbol, just something we have been kicking around the office.
But look at it! Doesn't it POP!
Of course, for something like ObamaCare, Buddy Christ, however upbeat and cheerful He may be, offers an inappropriate image. I'm no marketing professional and have no insight into how to better market the ACA with the public.
But I do know this: the ACA didn't come along to give us the Willies! So, I have at least a preliminary idea of what we could use as the image of our campaign. This iconic image is the second most precious item, after the aforementioned Buddy Christ, in my tiny, personal collection of two, dashboard ready, molded statuary chachkies. The collection may be small, but today it is apropos. So, it is with great pleasure that I present you with the first of many revamps the ObamaCare WOW! Campaign will unveil over the next year.
I give you, The Buddy Obama.
But that's not the sanctioned symbol for ObamaCare WOW!, just something we have been kicking around the office.
But look at it! Doesn't it POP!