Well, by now we know that Barack Obama has won the election and will be our next president. Some of you are very, very disappointed and some of us are elated. Some of you are very afraid and some of us can now breathe a sigh of relief.
My wife made an interesting observation last night. She said that in the last two presidential elections we voted AGAINST Bush rather than FOR Gore or FOR Kerry. When I thought about it, it dawned on me that in both races we were not excited about either candidate. We saw each as the lesser of two evils. However, in this race of 2008, we felt inspired and hopeful by this articulate man who has lived in two worlds, one white and one black. We were inspired by his words of hope after eight years of Bush and Cheney and their Neocon comrades. For the first time, in a long time, perhaps…ever, I voted FOR someone.
Our country is in shambles. In all fairness, it was not the fault of any one party or any one administration or president. God knows there is enough blame to go around for all of us. President Obama has inherited a deep pile of dung created by years of self-centered greed and short sightedness. Partisanship between the liberal Left and the conservative Right has brought this country to its knees. Power politics has blinded us to the beauty, the true strength, the fairness and the common sense of this nation.
Some of you may be tempted to say, good, let Obama fall flat on his face and the “other side” will be back in four years to clean up the mess (he?) made. But you see it is not his mess alone. We all had a hand in it. If we can somehow get past the partisan, political bickering and finger pointing, if we can get past our fears and yes, even our prejudices… we might just discover that we all have work to do. We all have sacrifices to make. BUT, if we all pitch in, help our new president…, and help each other, we might just climb out of this stinking hole that we dug and breathe fresh, clean air again.
So, it really is up to us. We can continue to be a nation that looks at the things that divide us or we can come together, roll up our sleeves and get to work. God knows, we have plenty to do, but for the first time in a very long time, I have hope. I have hope that we will see that we are ONE people, one nation and that together we can realize a tomorrow filled with promise. We have this moment in time. What will we do? What will you do?
As for me, I voted for…not against.
FOOD for THOUGHT...
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
It Just Keeps Getting Better!
The immortal words of the great Republican icon, Ronald Reagan: “Well, there you go again!”
I had almost forgotten about the Savings and Loan Scandal of the late 80’s and early 90’s and the “Keating Five.” One of those five was John McCain seated in front of the Senate Ethics Committee for his part in this scandal. I know, I know… he was exonerated, but was he really. He received a slap on the wrist…something about his poor judgment and then he went on to be the “maverick” senator he portrays himself to be. That poor judgment and the belief in financial deregulation, coupled with greed and arrogance cost the American taxpayer over $100 billion to bail out the mess it created.
The lessons were never learned. Hardly ten years later, during the Clinton administration, there was the idea that we need to loosen lending regulations so that low and middle-income folks could buy a house. It was an American dream that turned sour, then rotten to the core. This time both Republicans and Democrats in congress decided to get into it with both feet and do for the banking and investment companies what Keating did for the savings and loan industry. Let Wall Street regulate itself! Once again, the American taxpayer is stuck with the bill for the mess created…a whopping $700 billion this time ...and counting.
And guess who is running for President as America heads into financial ruin? It is John McCain. After all these years promoting deregulation, now he is calling for regulation of those Wall Street scoundrels, as if he had invented the word. I don’t know, should we trust him? It is funny how history just keeps repeating itself with the same ol’ bad actors.
I am voting for a new play and a new cast.
FOOD for THOUGHT...
I had almost forgotten about the Savings and Loan Scandal of the late 80’s and early 90’s and the “Keating Five.” One of those five was John McCain seated in front of the Senate Ethics Committee for his part in this scandal. I know, I know… he was exonerated, but was he really. He received a slap on the wrist…something about his poor judgment and then he went on to be the “maverick” senator he portrays himself to be. That poor judgment and the belief in financial deregulation, coupled with greed and arrogance cost the American taxpayer over $100 billion to bail out the mess it created.
The lessons were never learned. Hardly ten years later, during the Clinton administration, there was the idea that we need to loosen lending regulations so that low and middle-income folks could buy a house. It was an American dream that turned sour, then rotten to the core. This time both Republicans and Democrats in congress decided to get into it with both feet and do for the banking and investment companies what Keating did for the savings and loan industry. Let Wall Street regulate itself! Once again, the American taxpayer is stuck with the bill for the mess created…a whopping $700 billion this time ...and counting.
And guess who is running for President as America heads into financial ruin? It is John McCain. After all these years promoting deregulation, now he is calling for regulation of those Wall Street scoundrels, as if he had invented the word. I don’t know, should we trust him? It is funny how history just keeps repeating itself with the same ol’ bad actors.
I am voting for a new play and a new cast.
FOOD for THOUGHT...
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