Monday Musings...
We inch ever closer to the inexorable inauguration of Barack Obama as our next President, and it's extremely reflective of what I've been saying about our society on this blog. It's ALL about "entertainment".
Bigger parties, bigger concerts, bigger dreams, bigger EVERYTHING.
Now, I don't want to come across as "Tom Swift and his Electric Wet Blanket" here, but stop and think about it.
Do any of you old enough to remember past inaugurations recall such "pomp and circumstance"?
OK, I'll grant you this THIS President is the FIRST "black" President, and It's another addition to the list of things that happened in MY lifetime (along with the moon landing, and the Berlin Wall coming down), but isn't a large part of America trying shamelessly to place the cart BEFORE the horse here?
My take on all this is simple; I am waiting with quiet anticipation for this "change" I've heard about lo, these many months, and I'm waiting for this change to be of the GOOD variety.
I am hopeful that this nation will turn itself around and get back on whatever track it's supposed to be on, and not be caught up in all the frivolity of the moment.
President Obama is going to have a full plate of obstacles to overcome, and I wish him the best. I WANT to see him succeed, because I want this NATION to succeed.
Doesn''t get any easier than that, does it?
That's not to say that I thought Bush failed. Bush kept us safe on the home front since 9/11, and that was no easy task. He also sent MORE money to Africa than ANY other President to help with feeding the starving, cure the sick, and provide some level of living to those in need. Oh, I guess the MSM "forgot" about all that.
Like ANY President, George W. Bush made mistakes. He readily admits that himself. ANY President will make mistakes, no matter what.
Will I castigate him for those mistakes?
Not really. It's all part of being HUMAN.
And I''m sure Barack Obama will make HIS share of mistakes.
If there are to be any differences in Presidents with regards to "mistakes" it will be in the manner those mistakes are DEALT WITH.
Adding insult to injury is NOT a cure for the common mistake, and with the world hip deep in problems, that would be the last thing anyone needs. Perhaps this is where that "change" President Obama assures us will occur, will reveal itself?
Still, we, as Americans will have to be "entertained" along the way.
No point is making decisions on a NATIONAL or even GLOBAL scale, if we're all not "having a good time", now, is it?
Now, I'm no political analyst, never held a degree in sociology, economics, or majored in statistics or psychology, but I damn well can tell when I'm seeing wool over my eyes, and who's pulling it down there.
I'd like to say "enough is enough", but I also know HOW politics works.
What I envision for the next four years, is an uphill struggle for our President.
We have Mexican drug cartels beheading their own police and military down there, and THAT represents an IMMINENT threat to OUR security. How Obama deals with THAT aspect of our southern border's national security will speak volumes.
Obama has to shore up a flagging economy, and while I believe this "bailout" is noble in concept, the method of execution purely reeks of potential financial disaster, namely a possible inflationary period after we crawl out from this recession. I think Bush dropped the ball on this one, but will Obama pick it up and run with it, or fumble himself?
Our dollar is already devalued across the globe, and we're going to need something more than "just a new face" in the White House.
Our new President will also have to deal with China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, and the Gaza. And unless we want to be speaking of of THOSE languages in our schools within the next 40 years, something definitive needs to be done to deter those nations from seeking global dominance by whatever means they have at their disposal.
And the new President will have to enact CHANGE in our OWN nation, seeking to secure jobs for all those tossed to other nations (during the LAST 40 years). How he plans to do that is any one's guess. Those jobs are ALREADY GONE, and we're at our tipping point of fast food joints.
Americans honestly LIKE to work.
We like to eat, have a roof over our heads, drive a decent car, raise families and plan for our futures
But with no tangible means to bring home the bacon, all of that goes for naught...unless we ALL want to get on the welfare bandwagon.
REAL Americans are way too proud for that.
We'd much rather take care of OURSELVES.
The welfare system was always meant as a STOP-GAP between situations, and NOT a multi-generational gravy train for the "gimmes" in our society. Our new President will HAVE to address that, if for NO other reason, than to shore up a failing TAX BASE, both on the federal and local/municipal levels.
Lastly, whether Mr. Obama believes it or not, he WILL have to address the race-relations issues in this nation. And that might mean getting the black community to "ante up" and stop fragmenting ITSELF. I firmly believe that all the black people that think Obama will make the world RIGHT FOR THEM (immediately) are in for a bit of a surprise. He might ask them to ask more OF THEMSELVES...something not done in quite some time, and it will most likely go over like a pregnant pole-vaulter. Hey, if Barack Obama can elevate himself to the nation's HIGHEST office by hard work, dedication, perseverance, and a tenacious want for self-betterment, why can't it work for everyone else in the black (and all other) communities around the nation? I think he'll push for that aspect. Rude awakening time might finally come to America's inner cities.
The free ride will come to an abrupt halt.
Well, that's what I "believe", anyway. I could be SO wrong, and our nation WILL slip further into the abyss.
I'd like to think otherwise.
Finally, today is the day we remember Dr. Martin Luther King, and while his life might have had it's share of problems, his WORDS still ring true and echo much of what all Americans of ALL colors would like to see. Maybe he wasn't Gandhi, OR Mother Theresa, but by God, he was given the capacity to speak with eloquence, and to ALL people.
After all these years, Dr. King's words STILL have value...and meaning to every one of us, black OR white.
I'd like to see a NEW beginning...a NEW tomorrow. I'd like to see less strife in the world, and more peace. Then again, I'd just like to see more people more respectful of others, and that's just around MY neighborhood.
But until and unless we see REAL change for the better, not much WILL actually change, and I'm not all that sure this is something I can take HOPE in. But Barack Obama promises CHANGE...and HOPE.
Well, I HOPE he can CHANGE the hearts of men, otherwise, we're pretty much boned.