| Give our President a Break |
| Thursday, 10 September 2009 19:34 | |||
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First, a statement: I am pro-Obama. Always have been, and feel this man is the one best prepared to lead us out of this mess.
This is in part why I feel the second-guessing, tirades, and the out-and-out falsehoods that have sliced and diced their way through the Internet, the media and into our collective minds since his inauguration and in particular during the healthcare discussion is not only wrong, it’s downright scary. Historically, and going back to Harry Truman, anytime a politician mentions changing the way our healthcare system is run it’s going to create controversy, and more than one opinion. But to literally make things up, or scream down our nation’s leaders when they attempt to answer their constituents’ questions reminds those of us who were alive at the time of the falsehoods and threats surrounding the John F. Kennedy administration. Added to this is the latest flap over President Obama’s speech to school children; absolutely ludicrous. The first President Bush did the same thing. So did Ronald Reagan. I don’t remember the public going off on either one of them, do you? So why are they attacking Obama? It’s as if the U.S. is all of a sudden filled with hidden agendas. The negative response by some to Obama’s school speech, wrong on many levels, is an extension of the misguided thoughts tied to the healthcare issue, and would (or will) be connected to anything else that comes up during his presidency that some will mistrust. I don’t have all the answers, but part of the ‘why’ to me is that those out there with agendas, or who are poorly informed, bent politically or just plain dumb, all tend to be frightened out of their socks if anything opposite the status quo, or something radical, new or untried is suggested that departs from the way it’s been done in the past – even if doing so will make things better. For all his so-called conservatism, even George Bush pushed for change, and God knows some of his wishes came true – but negative reaction to those opposed was more subdued. George was more like ‘us’; he screwed up, he had difficulty communicating; he didn’t listen well. He had his own agenda. But Obama is a highly intelligent, eloquent speaker – and a thinker/doer who is moving fast to right the wrongs of the past eight years that have put us in the mess we’re in today. Still, his mastery frightens many. The atmosphere pervasive in the early 1960’s grew worse as JFK worked his way through what became only 1,000 days on the job. Who knows what might have happened had he lived? Did the political environment in Texas during that time send the already troubled Lee Oswald over the edge? The period following JFK’s assassination opened the door for change, and during Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society, we saw the creation of Medicare, Medicaid and other key legislation helpful to U.S. citizens. Many feared then that this was indeed the beginning of a socialistic state, but it didn’t happen. If we’re smart, it won’t happen this time. And if we’re lucky, the majority of us are ready, once and for all, for a major healthcare plan that will be of benefit to us all. The last surviving Kennedy of his generation spent a career creating legislation that not only helped, it moved those of us who think logically toward acceptance of a change in healthcare we all knew had to come someday. What better tribute to Teddy and others in Congress who contributed than to allow this president to see these ideas become reality.
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