Tag: United States of America

My Two Cents

I voted for Barack Obama twice. The first time because I believed that he would be a positive change in leadership. The second time because the Republicans had not only no one I wanted to vote for, but I was actively afraid of what they might do in office, so I voted for Obama as the lesser evil. I’d wanted to vote for Gary Johnson the Libertarian candidate, but let all the talk of throwing away my vote scare me into not voting my conscience, but my fears. I vowed to follow my beliefs in politics and never let my fears rule me again, because unlike the majority of my friends that voted for Obama a second time I wasn’t happy with my choice. I’ll give you one example of why.

One of the main reasons I voted for Obama the first time was his promise to close Guantanamo Bay[i]. Gitmo maybe absolutely necessary for safety and even survival, but it is still morally wrong. I believe that imprisoning a human being without legal representation starts us down a slippery slope towards the same type of tyranny that we fought a revolution against. But Obama didn’t close Gitmo, even though he had both congress and the house as democratic majority for the first two years of his presidency. I believe that he was shown top secret information that convinced him he could not close Gitmo without endangering too much, or too many. Whatever the reason something made him back off on it, but just last week he contacted a now Republican majority and asked that Gitmo be closed, after he was only hours away from no longer being president. He knew the answer would be, no. He had to know they would not cooperate with him. Obama is too intelligent a man to not understand that the answer would be negative. So, why did he do it? Because now he can say, I tried to close to Gitmo, but the big bad Republicans wouldn’t let me[ii]. Now, instead of it being his fault that he didn’t keep his promise its someone else’s fault. It was a good political move, but morally questionable. Its a way of avoiding responsibility for something he gave his word on, and that it is a pattern of behavior for him to place blame for any failures on others. He takes responsibility only for his victories, but never for his losses. Or so it seemed to me.

I also had an issue with him getting the Nobel Peace Prize when he was responsible for bombs being dropped on more countries than any of his immediate predecessor[iii][iv]. There was never a day of his presidency when we did not have soldiers in harm’s way on foreign soil[v]. How did he earn a Nobel Peace Prize? If you think I’m wrong about either of those statements look it up, but I’ve provided links to sources. Don’t believe the press, dig for the facts, please. We must stop accepting the surface information we are given, because it is always biased on either side.

I had hoped that President Obama would bring our country closer together. That we would come out of his term, his two terms, more united as a people, but the opposite has happened[vi]. We are more divided racially, religiously, sexually, etc . . . Pick something and I have never seen such vitriol spouted on both sides. The President that I thought would bring us together has managed to give us eight years that drove us apart. I’m not sure what happened and certainly one man doesn’t take full responsibility for it, but Obama lacked one thing that all great presidents have and that is an ability to work with both sides of an issue. He not only didn’t know how to reach across the aisle, but he didn’t try. It was all about us versus them over and over, until the entire country believed that. Most of the major news outlets and major cities believed Obama was great! They thought that it was a cinch for Hilary Clinton, Obama’s heir apparent to be the next president. Everyone was so happy with the democrats being in charge that, of course, she would win. Besides, the first woman president, just like the first black president – how could they lose?

I wanted a female president. I’ve wanted one for decades. I didn’t want Hilary Clinton, because I saw her as a continuation of the Obama presidency and the old school political power brokers doing business as usual. I agreed whole-heartedly with the Democrats and the major power brokers in the country, Hilary Clinton would have been a continuation of the last eight years. That was the problem. I, like so many Americans, didn’t want a continuation of the last eight years. We were unhappy with it, and no one in power seemed to be listening, or to even care. It was a very, “Yes, Socrates,” moment.

I voted Libertarian this time, and don’t tell me I threw my vote away. Its my vote, I get to decide how I use it. That’s the entire point of our system of government that we have a choice and a voice in an election, even if its just that one vote. I know people who voted for Trump. I know women, people of ethnic and every color we come in that voted for him. You can tell yourself its just racist bigots misogynists that voted for Donald J. Trump but that’s not the truth. A lot more liberals voted for him than you think, but they are literally afraid to admit it. They’re afraid of being attacked, they are afraid it will endanger their jobs, their families, because people have lost their minds that Trump won. (And yes, people are afraid that Trump being president will give rise to more violence from the far right, but that’s being covered in the media. What I haven’t seen being covered is the balancing side of those fears.)

I have intelligent, educated, sane friends who have literally looked me in the eye and called Trump the antichrist. I thought they were exaggerating, but they seem to mean it. He is not the antichrist. He is not Lucifer. He is not Hitler. (Remember before Hitler started shipping anyone off to death camps first he had to disarm them. Until someone comes to take the guns away from private citizens, they usually behave themselves better. If a president wants your guns, then worry about genocide and dictatorships. Sorry if the anti-gun crowd doesn’t like that statement. I wish we lived in a world where faith, good vibes, and safe spaces would actually keep us safe, but until that fantasy world becomes reality I’ll keep my ability to protect myself and my family.) Am I thrilled that Trump is our president? No, but I’m not sure anyone running would have thrilled me. I admit that when Donald J. Trump threw his hat in the ring I thought it was a publicity stunt for a future reality TV show. I don’t think even Trump thought he would win. I think he saw it as a chance to speak his mind and say things that the other politicians seemed afraid to say, so he said it, and weirdly he began to win. I think we were all shocked at first, even Trump.

If you want to know how Trump won there are great articles explaining it in mostly British media[vii] [viii]. Our own American media was almost completely blindsided. I hope that teaches our media to take the blinders off and see what’s really happening in our country, not what they want it to be, but the reality.

The president actually has much more limited powers than most people think. Yes, he signed an executive order that said that foreign aid or federal funding cannot be used to promote or provide abortions[ix]. It is something every republican since Reagan has signed into being. Just like there are things that every Democrat signs. Am I happy about it? No, but I’m not panicking either, and that’s my point. Take a deep breath, and let go of your fear. Work for what you believe, but please stop being terrified. If you are reacting to fear then you don’t think well, and reacting is not the same as acting. Act because you want to, not because you’re so scared you’re lashing out.

One thing I didn’t foresee is that so many people are terrified, enraged that Trump won – How did this happen? They keep asking themselves – that it seems to be bringing people together, even if it is a togetherness based on hating that Donald J. Trump is our new president. Obama was supposed to bring us closer together, but somehow his eight years divided us more. Wouldn’t it be weird if the Trump presidency brought us more together? Even if its just to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

[i] http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/177/close-the-guantanamo-bay-detention-center/
[ii] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/president-barack-obama-guantanamo-bay-gitmo-open-letter-congress-republicans-donald-trump-inmates-a7536346.html
[iii] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/peace-president-how-obama-came-to-bomb-seven-countries-in-six-years-9753131.html
[iv] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-president-barack-obama-bomb-map-drone-wars-strikes-20000-pakistan-middle-east-afghanistan-a7534851.html
[v] https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/15/us/politics/obama-as-wartime-president-has-wrestled-with-protecting-nation-and-troops.html?_r=0
[vi] http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/11/21/poll-americans-feel-divided/94224968/
[vii] http://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-37918303
[viii] https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/09/how-did-donald-trump-win-analysis
[ix] http://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2017-01-23/donald-trump-reinstates-mexico-city-policy-banning-international-abortion-funding

Happy 4th of July!

 Today is a national holiday here in America, we celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence and becoming an independent country, though declaring ourselves so didn’t make it true. There would be several more years of fighting before England gave up its rights to the colony that would become the United States of America. If we’d lost the war then every man who signed the Declaration would have likely been hung. So, while you’re grilling meat and veggies, consuming potato salad, cole slaw, chips, and other traditional goodies, think about what we’re really celebrating. This is the date that marks the birth of our nation. In the history of the world America is a very young country, we’re a teenager. If the world were different we’d be in the Imperial expansion stage and probably have colonies of our own now, but by the time America got to that point the world had changed too much. Can you imagine what the other world powers would do if we started conquering and keeping other countries? Before anyone says, well America is conquering other countries. No, we aren’t.  
  
Our men and women are serving their country on a lot of foreign land, but we have not kept anything we’ve fought and died for in the last two centuries. Unlike France, England, Spain, Portugal, Germany when their countries were the same age that we are now, America has kept nothing. Thousands of American lives lost in wars, peacekeeping actions, and just when other people call our military in for aid. Everyone that complains that America is tyrannical and aggressive don’t know their world history. This teenage country has been better behaved and more peaceful towards other countries than any “superpower” or world leader that I’m aware of, and that includes, Russia/The Soviet Union.  
 If you think the above paragraph sounds like I regret that my country hasn’t kept some of the soil we’ve fought and died on, you’re right. If we pay with blood and death for a piece of land, we should get to keep it, that’s the way countries and empires work, but America came of age in a world that no longer believes in empires. Would it have been a good idea for our country to keep more of what we’ve bled and died for, probably not, but I am beyond tired of other countries accusing us of aggressive behavior when we seem to have behaved ourselves better than they have in their pasts. But America was created on the principal of freedom. Freedom of speech, freedom to assemble, freedom to protest, freedom to bitch, and heaven knows Americans are good at that last part. It’s almost a national characteristic to complain about government, politics, social issues, you name it. Today there are groups that are going to express that Freedom of Speech by burning the American flag, because they say it is a sign of tyranny, abuse, and aggression. I do not agree with this, but I am an American which means I will fight for their right to say what they believe, because that’s what Freedom of Speech means. They are free to burn our flag, as much as I hate it, and I am free to put up a flag pole in front of my home and fly that same flag proudly.
Is America perfect? No, but then name me a country that is, and if you’re honest you won’t be able to, because nothing and nowhere is perfect, but I live in a country where people can burn the national flag and not be arrested, or shot, or disappeared. Thats more rare than you think in today’s world, but we, Americans, forget how good we have it in this country. Again, not perfect, and if they gave me the magic baton tomorrow I wouldn’t know how to fix the economy, but I know I’d concentrate on bringing jobs and manufacturing back to America. What I’m hearing across the country is that Americans need jobs that pay enough to support a family. All the other issues maybe important, but I believe in the end they are smoke and mirrors by the politicians on all sides of the aisle to divide America, when what is needed is to bring us together. We live in a country where we can disagree vehemently with each other, and that’s okay, that is a gift. This year has divided our country along so many lines, over so many issues, to the point where I’m against any issue that is divisive, and am trying to find things that are inclusive, because we are all more alike than we are different. The same hopes and fears are in most hearts. We hold our children’s hands, we dry their tears, we try to explain that the world is not a fair place, but you can still try to be a fair person. We try to teach our children to be kind in a world that is often unkind. Should we teach them harsher things? Some people seem to be doing just that, and I don’t know what to say in the face of such hate. Except perhaps this – hate is not the opposite of love, disinterest is, anyone that’s gone through a bad divorce will know what I mean, so everyone that is burning the American flag today here and abroad, remember that only love can spark such hate. America is loved for what it promises to be, and hated when that promise is not fulfilled.  
I’m not sure what to do about all of it, but I know this, I will fight for your right to do something that I find repugnant – burning our National flag. I will fight for your right to do something I don’t approve of, because that’s what Freedom means. It doesn’t mean freedom from being offended, or disappointed, but freedom of belief, speech, and actions within the law. Enjoy your flag burnings if it makes you happier, but I see it as the same as someone’s ex-wife burning the husband’s car. It’s a way of saying, I am hurting so much, and I want you to hurt, too. I hope we find a way in the coming months to help everyone stop hurting and find a way for all of us to start healing.
Now, I’m going to join my family and raise the flag of our country, so that all our neighbors can see it, because I do love my country. I don’t always love the politicians, or their policies, but they are not the country. Sometimes I think the politicians forget that America is two things, the land itself and the people, all the people, that inhabit it. Sometimes I think we, the people, forget that we are the nation and every time we let politics, or economics, or anything divide us, then we are weaker for it. As a group the American people can do anything we set our minds to, I truly believe that, but we all need to remember that we are the United States of America, not the Divided States of America. United we stand, divided we fall, isn’t just a saying, it’s the truth.  
I don’t agree with any of you that are protesting and burning our flag today, but I will defend your right to do it. I hope you will give me the same courtesy and support my right to hoist the flag high and honor it.