Finally!

Well people, it looks as if the two major parties put aside their differences enough to get something done for once tonight. If all goes well, the House and Senate will be able to put into effect a measure that will allow our country to avoid default before the August 2nd deadline. This entire process has made me very uncomfortable because of the seemingly endless back and forth from our leaders. Several times in the last few months people on both sides snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and kowtowed to extremists on each end of the spectrum. I know that there is enough blame to go around, and that neither party is completely innocent or completely to blame, but I do see one group as a bit more guilty than the rest- the Tea Party members of the House of Representatives.

These people, most of whom have spent precious little time in office, have come to Washington angry and full of bitter cynicism about how our government functions. It's too bad that they don't know how our government functions. I won't name names, but as I have watched this debt ceiling debacle play out, I have to say that never in my life have I seen a group of people so angry and ignorant at the same time. I know that people are upset about the economy and that the Tea Party has harnessed that anger and turned it into seats in the House and Senate, but anger isn't an agenda, and neither is simply saying no to anything and everything people to the left of you propose. There needs to be something else besides blind, ignorant anger.

I commend some of the older, more seasoned, level headed and capable people in the GOP who have stood up to the new breed of conservative legislators and told them that compromise isn't the end of the world, and that there needs to be substance in their political message. John McCain, John Boehner and others are not on my list of favorite people by any means, but these guys need to continue to put these flash in the pan Tea Partiers in their place because even though they want to make sure Obama loses in 2012, they can't have the debt crisis blood on their hands. I hope so much now that clearer, more pragmatic heads have prevailed that the uber-conservative newbies in the House will see that just being pissed off and saying 'no' doesn't amount to a rat fart when it comes to legislating and being a good public servant. It just breeds more anger, and that's what will get someone else elected in their place in two years.

Closure

There was a modicum of closure tonight as the death of Osama Bin Laden was announced. The man who was the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks is no more. To all our men and women who serve our country, I salute you, and to all those who lost loved ones on 9/11/2001, I am sorry for your loss. To President Obama, who gave the order to go ahead with the operation that eliminated an evil man, I thank you. 

The terror that Bin Laden unleashed was horrific and changed the world in a profound way. While his death cannot undo what was done, and nothing can bring back his victims, there is some closure tonight of a violent chapter in our nation's history. The unity that we felt as a country ten years ago was born of sorrow and anger. Let us hope that unity will once again sweep the nation in the face of a great accomplishment. I am proud of the U.S.A. tonight and moved by the scenes of people gathering in our cities. 

A great deal has happened in the last ten years, and I can say that for me, tonight marks a welcome bit of solace that I thought might never come. There will likely be violent repercussions for this act by our military, but perhaps America will have a renewed sense of pride and togetherness that can help end some of the bitterness we have felt of late and overcome the other obstacles that stand in our way. U.S.A! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!

A Country Half Full

All I've been hearing from news media the last few weeks is how bad things are and how little confidence people have in the government and President Obama. I must say that even though things haven't been going exactly swimmingly (the Japan nuclear disaster, Lybia, the economy), whining and being apathetic isn't going to accomplish anything. It bothers me that people are so quick to point fingers and throw in the towel. Our country deserves better from its leaders and citizens. I will be the first to admit that Obama hasn't been the force for positive change that he seemed to be in January 2009, but we have nobody to blame but ourselves for that one.

Before the guy had even done anything we filled our glass of optimism to the brim and never bothered to think about the fact that it wouldn't be easy to right all the wrongs of the previous administration and achieve every item in an ambitious agenda. Not to mention that a bunch of other crap came up while Obama was tackling the existing issues. The BP oil spill, various revolutions and this recent tragedy in Japan only heaped more to do items on America's painfully long list. Rather than being so defeatist and negative, the nation needs to regain perspective and think about how unfair we made the expectations. Not even a dream team of leaders like FDR, George Washington and Ronald Reagan could have met the lofty goals we set two years ago. The glass needs to be about half full now, not mostly empty, because that's where we are.

This will be a good test to see if people in this country can see things as they are, without panicking, without getting angry or complacent and with a guarded sense of optimism. I'm not saying the glass won't ever be full, and I'm not saying it will be full soon, what I am saying is that politicians and citizens need to be less ready to build up their leaders, only to tear them down a short time later. If we were in charge we'd kill for that kind of mentality from those that we serve.

Decision 2010

As the days wind down to Election Day 2010 I am struck by the apathy of many and the anger of others. Many people right now are upset with the plight of the nation, and I can sympathize, to a point. I am worried though about how extremists threaten to take our government by storm because their outrage and platform matches that of a small, loud mass of people who are pushing the panic button. It is hard for me to see our nation freak out and prepare to take a step backward in many areas with the rise of the Tea Party.

It is true that things have not improved in the way many people, including President Obama, thought they would. I am hoping to appeal to the more level-headed, less reactionary majority that Jon Stewart hopes to rally later this month in Washington D.C. Get out and vote! Show the loud, angry minority that they don't speak for all of us. Voter apathy is abhorrent to me, and if those on the left and in the middle stay home and let Tea Partiers dominate the polls we will lose something valuable. Prejudice and discrimination are at the core of what the extremists stand for, whether they admit it or not. I don't think our country can afford to take steps backward, and the only way to make sure that we don't is to get out and VOTE!

Co-opting the Past

It has become popular for people all over the political landscape to use history as a way to forward their agenda. This is not a new phenomenon, in fact, it is as old as the nation in which we live. Sadly, people have never been able to accurately portray the past in order to influence the present. Hindsight is always skewed, either to make the past look better or worse than it actually was. As a historian, I am appalled by how misinformed the general public is about their past. Many seek to relive prior eras that seem closer to our nation's core values and founding principles. Tea Partiers constantly invoke the "salad days" of the American Revolution and the great leaders of that time in their rhetoric. Yes, George Washington, John Adams and Co. were some of the greatest leaders we have ever known, but let's not forget that slavery and political strife were defining aspects of that time period. I hate to burst the Tea Party's bubble, but the late 18th Century wasn't like living in the Disney Cartoon- Ben and Me.

Also, let's dispel any of the rumors that the 1950's and early 1960's were so much better than the current decade. Women and African Americans, not to mention Homosexuals were all completely marginalized, mistreated and kept from being equal with straight white men. Anyone who wants to go back to the Leave It To Beaver world is forgetting these facts, as well as the fear of Communism that inspired McCarthyism, the Bay of Pigs threat, the Civil Rights Movement and the start of the Vietnam War. If you wish to invoke the past- invoke the reality of it, not the childish fantasy.

In addition to this, does anyone actually know about Adolf Hitler? Every time you turn around someone is comparing our current leaders to Hitler. I spent a majority of my undergraduate work studying Nazi Germany, and even though times are bad, I am 100% sure that the America of 2010 is nowhere near as bad as the Germany of 1944. Stop being ignorant and using the Hitler analogy when you make a political argument, please. Hitler's regime bares no comparisons with Obama's administration- no matter how many little mustaches you paint on his upper lip. I realize that sometimes it is common to exaggerate something to make a point, but unless any of our politicians in Washington engineer the mass extermination of a race of people, the Hitler comparison is not viable for any of them.

As a rule, it needs to be understood that no era, decade or century was perfect. Instead of trying to recapture bygone days, our country needs to look to the future. Times have changed too much to go backward, and the past should serve only as a lesson to learn from the mistakes we made. It isn't 1776 or 1955, it's 2010.

The State of the Union

Tonight marks Obama's first State of the Union address to the nation, and as such, I have some thoughts. I am a Democrat, I voted for Obama and I like him, so please understand that I have a bias. Yes, things in the country are not where we hoped they would be, yes we Democrats have seemingly given away the advantage, and yes, health care is in the lurch, but the state of our union is much stronger now than at any time during the years 2001-2008.

Obama was handed the biggest mess imaginable, and everybody in the United States needs to back off. I don't have a job, I am going to eventually run out of unemployment pay and I am disappointed by the crisis, but I don't feel the need to start ripping the President because we haven't made a 180 degree turnaround from this time last year. Those who thought things were going to change for the better overnight are idiots. Republicans who want to call Obama's presidency a failure need to use their elephant memory and think back to how their guy and his people spent eight years ruining EVERYTHING! It makes me so upset that even those with the HOPE bumper stickers and Obama mugs are saying he hasn't done enough yet. Guess what? He told us repeatedly when he took office, and even in the campaign, that there would not be a quick fix, one hour photo solution to our problems, and that things would probably get worse before they got better.

Therefore, please have the HOPE that Obama instilled during the campaign, and give the guy a chance. I am trying to make the best of my situation, and everyone else needs to do that too. These are dark times for our country, but it could also very easily be our finest hour. It is critical that we band together and support the leadership in Washington. If we do not, and succumb to negativity and in-fighting, we will never know how much good could have been done. Barack Obama deserves the opportunity to make things right, and even though it will take time, I know it will be worth the wait.