Maybe I'm naive. Hey, I said maybe. But here's something that I just can't square with my own views on the political climate in our nation these days. This isn't going to be a condemning welfare queens, or a "we need to raise taxes" post. Today I want to understand why in what seems to be a system of greater polarization why it is that we are so hostile toward the other side as if they were somehow the enemy. I'm not a spring chicken, but I'm not that old either, and maybe this has been going on a lot longer than I am aware, but what really got me thinking was this.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/hank-williams-jr-president-obama-hates-america-20120711
I respect the right of every American to use the first amendment protection of free speech, but really Hank? The president HATES AMERICA? I can't square this statement in any way. If he had said that Obama's policies were weakening the economy, I get that. I disagree with it, but I at least get it. If he had said that soft policies on terrorists had made us less safe, same thing. But he hates America? I can't. My brain rejects that statement on the same level as any other non-sequitur.
Purple sounds for dog the basket
I want desperately to think that it's all a coincidence that the first "non white" president is the one who has to keep proving his citizenship, and is called un-American, muslim, etc. I want to believe that there is not some significant portion of this country (a minority, but not an insignificant one) that has decided that fundamentally Obama can't be a good president because he is...BLACK. The reality is however that I can't recall a president who has been under such attack from day one. 'W' stripped more Americans of their liberties than any other I can recall. He and Cheney (et al) decided that waterboarding...aka TORTURE...was okay so long as the ends justified the means. They botched (repeatedly) our invasion and subsequent actions in Iraq. There were no WMD's. They put a two-front war on the credit card, all the while cutting taxes. All this, and so much more, and at worst we call them stupid, or corrupt. But not once have I heard their patriotism questioned. But Obama comes into office, inheriting a TBQH shitty situation. He pushes for the things he ran on (Healthcare, Banking Reform, etc.) and is met with headlong resistance from the right every step of the way. Then he caves to a series of conservative ideals (extending the Bush tax cuts, goes after pot dispensaries, etc.) because the political "will" wasn't there to challenge them. He kills Bin Laden, backs the overthrow of Quadaffi, imposes sanctions on Iran, and closes down the active part of the war in Iraq. And yet somehow he's the most socialist president ever. I don't get it. It forms a cognitive dissonance in my brain that just doesn't stop. How can so many people on the right hate the guy for what he's "done" and his base feels alienated by what he "hasn't". No equal rights to gays. A watered down health care bill (ironically basically the same one Repubs proposed a couple decades ago). A toothless financial reform that didn't really do much. Gitmo still open. So many fundamental things that he should have pushed through, and yet didn't. Honestly because he was playing politics...but more on that later.
I get it, I really do. There are two different platforms politically and they are on the surface pretty much diametrically opposing constructs. One side wants to tax and spend, the other wants to reduce taxes and spending. Ultimately it's all about balancing the checkbook, regardless of which approach we take. 'W' spent like a madman and then lowered taxes. Wait, what? That's like buying a new Ferrari and paying for it by asking your boss for a PAY CUT!!!!!! And then old Hank wants to bitch about how we're passing our debt onto our grandkids. Well yeah. Funny how when you spend and don't bring in money that tends to happen. And sure, the economy took a shit...in a BIG way. And yes we collectively had to do something to fix it. But somehow along the way we adopted this notion that the only thing we needed to do was cut spending (deep cuts) to fix it. Someone please tell me how degrading already diminished school facilities makes long term sense. Yes, there is waste that we need to root out, but if we're already so far behind it all, why aren't we looking at EVERYTHING. Military, welfare, etc. Why don't we look into marginal improvements into the tax structure, and <gasp> maybe ask the wealthy to help shoulder the burden that they can without taking food off the table in a short term solution. But no. It's all or nothing. There is no compromise. There is no political will to be the guy who says "enough is enough...we need to fix this...politics be damned". This concept actually will be covered in a different post to come, but for the here and now, why is it that we are settling for a more and more divergent attitude in our government. How is it that we are okay with the casual "bark but no bite" policies that seem to flow through DC like a river? $15 trillion and counting in the hole, and last I checked any and all actions going on from the government are to continue to shore up the economy which in turn keeps us going negative.
So what is my point? As I'm sure many of you are bored to tears after reading all this. Simply put, I think it's time we stopped thinking so oppositional to the "other" side and start thinking logically about what sorts of solutions need to happen regardless of politics. Recognizing that every action (raising or lowering taxes, or spending) will have far reaching impacts should we let this concept continue to paralyze us? Great, the DOW is back to nearly 13,000. Corporate profits are at record levels. The economy is in great shape. Except for all the people who are making a living. Investors, and the uber rich are doing great, but the rest of the people are still dealing with nearly 10% unemployment. Firefighters are getting their pay cut to minimum wage. Schools are crumbling, teachers are bailing. At what point do we say fuck it, and demand that as a collective, our society band together...help the needy, close the gaps in policy that allow for abuse, get our asses out of the global police mode, and get back to our roots? We have it in us to be the greatest nation this planet has ever seen. We actually WERE that nation a half a century ago. Can we just stop fighting and name calling just long enough to get some real traction on our situation and start sacrificing in the now, to make for a better tomorrow? For the love of God....can't we all just get along?!?!?
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