It's great to hear Obama and Democrats talk about the need to come together as one nation at this time. It is wonderful that they are so eager to put the past behind us and work together. I am also glad they are suddenly using words like loyalty and national unity. I stayed up late to Obama's entire speech live and, though I have no idea who the man is, I was encouraged that he appealed to the entire country, even those who did not vote for him. It sounded vaguely familiar.
"Today, I want to speak to every person who voted for my opponent. To make this nation stronger and better, I will need your support, and I will work to earn it. I will do all I can do to deserve your trust...We have one country, one Constitution and one future that binds us. And when we come together and work together, there is no limit to the greatness of America." - George W. Bush, 2004
I think we should listen to Obama and the Bush of 2004, even if the majority of the country did not listen to Bush in 2004. I don't think we should put a negative spin on everything Obama does. I don't think we should make outrageous claims about him - suspecting evil in nearly every decision he makes. I don't think we should bask in the nation's problems just to give us a chance to swoop in and criticize Obama and to provide an election platform for 2012. I don't think the media should scrutinize Obama's every move and take him to task for everything he does. I don't think we should blame EVERYTHING on Obama. I don't think we should make fun of how he looks, how he talks, or how many silly, irrelevant mistakes he makes when speaking (and yes, he does make them...)
On the other hand, I think we should support him to the extent possible. I think we should pray for his (and our) success. I think we should hope for the best. I think we should be reasonable in our assessments of his Presidency. I think we should refrain from using Obama's political failures as ammunition for our political gain. I think we should be understanding toward him and his supporters. I think we should be patient when he institutes something new. I think we should wait to pass judgment on him. I think we should actually read the Constitution before we accuse him of acting unconstitutionally. I think we should separate the things he can and can't control and only hold him accountable for the former. I think we should take pride in the democratic process that gave him the opportunity to be our President. I think we should be civil and fair. If we have criticism, I think we should make it constructive. If we have fears, I think we should combat them - to the extent possible - with facts and reason. I think we should take pride in America, despite how Obama is performing. We should ignore Obama's campaign message over the last two years, which was to bash PRESIDENT Bush - yes, the man holding the "office of the President". I think we should judge Obama by what he accomplishes and not by his approval rating. I think we should assume that, as President and Commander-in-Chief, he knows a lot more about our national security and international relations than we do. I think we should understand that he can't fix everything. I think we should point out the good things he does, even if he does some bad things. I think we should respect him and the office of the President. I think we should take accountability for some of our own mistakes, instead of taking the easy way out and blaming Obama for our problems. Above all, I think we should consider him OUR President, even if we didn't vote for him, even if we can't stand him, and even if we belong to a different party. We should let bipartisanship govern. We should be true patriots! We should be Americans!
To act otherwise, would be to continue the failed policies of the Democratic party over the last 8 years. I vote for CHANGE! This is change I can believe in. This is transcendent. It's easy to seek unity when one is in power; it's so much harder to swallow pride and seek unity in defeat. We can do it. The principles we believe in demand that we do it. Let us choose to overcome the hate, divisiveness, and slander of the last 8 years! Let us be better than that. Can we do this?
YES WE CAN!!!
1 comment:
Wow, Garrett - I am actually surprised to hear you say all that! Thank you for being open to giving him a chance! All I hear is negativity towards him by conservatives. I agree that we should give him our trust until he proves otherwise. He IS our president-elect and I think many are doing themselves a disservice by judging so quickly... especially those who did not take the time to learn WHO he is during the campaign.
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