The moment of truth has finally arrived! At 12PM eastern time on the steps of the capital building, Barack Obama will become the 44th President of The United States Of America. As an African-American I am filled with pride at this moment, I couldn’t even sleep in anticipation of this historic once-in-a-lifetime event. This is one of those defining moments in history that shows America as great country it is. Personally, I really thought there would be a woman President before there was an African-American President.
The old guard is rapidly fading into the background and America is evolving. People are starting to realize that judging a person’s character and capabilities by the the color of his or her skin is wrong. The vast economic problems we face today transcend race and the American people voted as such. People are looking for the person who will do the job and help relieve the enormous economic burden that has been placed on all of us. Barack Obama appealed to the masses and he was heard. Now his actions must follow his words. I didn’t vote for Obama because of his color. I voted for him because I thought he could deliver on most of his promises. I voted for him because America needs a change and I voted for him because he is brilliant!
Today, after all the pomp and circumstance is done the fact remains that President Obama has a difficult job to do. For ALL of our sakes he has to successful. Regardless of party affiliation we all face a crisis that has not been seen since our grandparents were youngsters. We have to rally around our leader and help him to do the best job that he can. I’m an ardent Obama supporter and I’m sure at some point I won’t agree with some of his decisions, but as long as he has a clear vision, a sound agenda, and competent plan he’ll have my support. He will have to make hard decisions that will call for sacrifices by all but it will be worthwhile if we can get America back on it’s feet.
Change has come to America and we must embrace it. I’m not just talking about a change in the color of our President I’m talking about a shift in philosophy that will be beneficial to all Americans. I’m talking about reasonable education costs, affordable health care for all, decent paying jobs, less dependency on foreign oil, less outsourcing of jobs, sensible foreign policy that does not position us as the world police etc. I have very realistic expectations. President Obama won’t be able to get all these things done. Invariably, he will encounter resistance because, in general, people are resistant to change. Change make us uncomfortable. Most of us welcome routine. But, at this juncture, America has to change because the world is changing. We must adapt, also, if we want to remain the preeminent super power.
Right now, as I type this post, Ray Charles’ rendition of “America The Beautiful” keeps playing in my head. “Oh beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain…” (we all know the rest sing it for me one time). To me this song represents what America is all about. Today let’s welcome President Obama. Let’s savor this historic moment and let’s celebrate the greatness of this country. But after that, let’s all get to work. There’s a job to be done and we each can contribute in our own way.
“Honest” Politics - The Perfect Oxymoron!
Wednesday, December 10th, 2008Yesterday the Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois was arrested for having the gall to try to sell the senate seat that Barack Obama will be vacating to the highest bidder. Thankfully Obama has nothing to do with this character, who obviously thought he could get away with this simply idiotic crime. It was reported that since illinois is a competitive state for both Democrats and Republicans thus makes it more prone to corrupt politicians. On average there is a corruption scandal in Illinois every 10 years. It’s hard to believe that an decent politician like Obama came from that state.
I really believe that President-Elect Obama sincerly wants things to change but will he really be able to get around a system that seems to foster corruption. It appears that most government officials either want a favor or need a favor and they barter with legislation that is mutually beneficial to whoever is involved in the deal. If you have enough money you can get anything done in America. you can get unpopular bills passed you can put politicians in your pocket and get inside information. How can we move American forward with this kind of system?
As far as politicians go I believe Barack Obama is an honest man but as we all know he can’t deliver on all his campaign promises without help from others. Whether or not he will get that help remains to be seen. I feel that once he gets the economy moving forward again and keeps us out of any more unneccessary wars that he would have done his job. Anything else he gets done would be icing on the cake.
Politics is America is a dirty game and very few politicians are able to keep their noses clean. Power is the ultimate aphrodisiac and I believe that many government officials fall under its spell and forget the reason they were elected was to do the people’s business. A politicians office should not be a platform to seek home renovations, luxury vacations, to have various sexual trysts or whatever else their heart desires. So we should not be surprised when a scandal breaks because I believe we expect too much of politicians because after all they are only human.
Does that mean that they should get away with doing what they want, of course not! But until some method is found to reform the American political system there will always be lobbyists, partisanship and snipping in Washington. Real change will be hard to come by!
I really hope Obama can make a change but i’m realistic if change doesn’t happen it won’t be his fault it will be ours because we keep electing officials who are seeking their own interests not ours. President-Elect Obama needs elected officials around him who also want change for American he can’t do it by himself! Unfortunately, many of our elected officials talk about change but what they really want is power and this doesn’t bode well for us regular people.
Tags: Barack Obama, Governor of Illinios arrested on corruption charges, Governor Rod Blagojevich, Illinois News, Illinois senate seat, political corruption
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