The Trifecta Catchup. Here are some thoughts
on three current issues. Each,
especially the last one, probably merits a longer address, but in the case of
this challenged blogger, less is probably more.
First,
I find myself in the awkward position of applauding Hillary Clinton. My disdain for Hillary runs nearly as deep as
what I hold for Obama, but right is right.
As the recent YouTube video shows, when confronted by a Black Lives
Matter advocate backstage at one of her events, Clinton engaged in a brief conversation
about the goals and methods of the BLM movement. During the conversation, Clinton spends a
couple of minutes pointing out to the BLM representative that no politician can
change peoples’ hearts. She correctly
stated that we can institute laws, regulations, and policies that strive
towards equality and dignity for all; but that peoples’ hearts (by and large) would not be changed by
political movements, personalities, or concerns. Now I have never considered Hillary to be a
great orator. I do believe that the
woman is fairly intelligent in an esoteric fashion, but one should never
mistake her as a gifted speaker or conversationalist. Having said that, my words cannot begin to
give sufficient credit to the manner in which Clinton replied to the BLM person
during this part of the conversation.
With an efficiency of words that is remarkable for a politician, she
went straight to the heart of the matter and pointed out the futility of trying
to eliminate prejudice in this way. One
can only hope that this startling verbal effectiveness was only a passing
moment and that the fever will pass quickly; returning her to the bumbling,
devious, and politically-challenged candidate that she is and always has been.
It
has dawned on me recently that I have been living for the past couple of
decades with a misperception. I have
believed, and often stated, that a President receives too much credit when
times are good and too much blame when times are bad. The President’s ability to affect our lives,
given the limits our governmental system, dictates that aside from the bully
pulpit, their ability to institute serious change in our society and lives is
incremental at best. Obama has proven me
wrong. My perception that the President
can only implement positive change in
incremental fashion remains intact.
Executive actions, by their nature, are oftentimes temporary; what one
President does, the next President can undo.
Only through the fundamental and difficult labor of legislation can a
President effect lasting and substantial change to our nation. However, Obama has convinced me that I was
incorrect on the opposite side of my theory.
The damage he has wrought to this nation, through the principal use of
executive action, is no doubt lasting and substantial. I can only hope it is not permanent. I do not include Obamacare in this
indictment; even thought it was part legislative and part executive
action. I have always believed that elections
have consequences. I believe that if
voters choose to be frivolous and uninformed in their selections and support,
that those choices will come back to haunt us.
Where I was mistaken was in thinking that the checks and balances built
into our government would somehow prevent a single bad President from wreaking
damage that would last long beyond their term(s). Obama has totally destroyed this notion. As a combination of his incompetence, his
obstinate ideological approach to governing, his narcissistic nature, the
weakness of the Republicans in Congress, the excessive tolerance of the
American people, and his brazen disregard for statesmanship and legal standing,
Obama has single-handily damaged this country to a degree that will require
decades to overcome.
And
finally, to close out my diatribe, I would like to briefly note the decay of
civility in our society. I have lived a
blessed life and the good Lord has been generous with me and my family. I have not demanded much and been given more than
I ever expected, or deserved. As this
sprawling nation and immense planet goes, I live in a fairly small bubble and
am pretty well insulated from what might be considered national trends. Having said
that, however, I cannot help but be dismayed by the signs I encounter in my
everyday life that indicate to me that our society is in decay. I see it in the way our leaders behave; their
lack of respect and common consideration for each other and their
constituents. I see it in the way that
contractors and skilled craftsmen do their work; compromising on the quality,
having no pride in their product, and depersonalizing the services they
provide. I see it in the customer
service industry; the way a clerk or waitress will oftentimes view you as an
insect, rather than a paying customer. I
see it in our morals and our ethics; promoting all manner of behavior,
regardless of outrageousness, in the name of tolerance and sacrificing personal
dedication to principle in the name of doing “just what the law/job/people/etc. requires”. We all know that our children are
woefully unprepared by our education system to graduate into responsible and
productive citizens; and yet we continue to abstain our responsibilities as
parents and focus instead on sports and extracurricular activities. We are all becoming weary of fighting the
good fight and are increasingly drawn into our personal orbits of existence;
becoming comfortable with the blinders that shut out all but that which is in
our immediate vicinity. Perhaps this is
the natural evolution of our culture and I am simply stuck in the past; but I
would like to think that we are instead immersed in some type of funk from
which we will someday awaken. It takes a
wiser man, or woman, than me to figure out that awakening, but I do know this
for certain: If we continue to sit uninformed and surrender our rights and
responsibilities as human beings and Americans, we will deserve the
consequences those inactions will bring.
If we do not become part of the solution; we are inextricably part of
the problem.
