Thoughts on the election
I did not vote for Obama yesterday. My main reason may surprise some of you. It was not because of his position on abortion, gay marriage or his liberal economic policies. I don't agree with any of those, but my primary reason was that he is from Illinois, specifically Chicago. Chicago politicians are corrupt. Period. Kick backs, bribes, nepotism...you name it, we do it. It's the "Chicago Way." Vote early and often (even if you are dead) is not just a funny line, it is a way of life around here. Don't believe me? Our last Governor is in jail, our current Governor is about to follow him, and Da Mayor has federal prosecutors on his tail. The old saying is that the people of Chicago ask three things from their mayor: that the pot holes are fixed, the garbage is picked up and the snow is plowed. If he does those three things we are willing to look the other way on corruption. That works great for the leader of the "greatest city on earth", but not so great for the leader of the free world. I'm not saying that Obama is corrupt, I'm just saying that all of his friends and mentors are. I don't trust that.
With that said, I'm not surprised that Obama won. He represents a change in direction and the people of our country want that (isn't that why Nixon and Carter won?) The question is do we want change for change sake or do we want things to get better? Our economy is in shambles. We have a small window of time to make this better or else things can get really bad. The way I look at it, there are more ways to mess this up then there are ways to make it better. My concern right now is that there is an unbalance of power in our country. All in the desire of change we now have a strongly left leaning President, House and Senate. There is no longer room for debate. Tradition tells us that when one of the two parties takes full control, ideology over-rides common sense. It is like putting a bowl of Halloween Candy on your step with a sign "Please take one". If you are lucky, the first kid will leave one!
Normally, these times of unbalance don't last long. Our country gets fed up pretty quickly and the pendulum swings back to equilibrium. It happened in 1994, it happened in 2006, it will probably happen again in 2010. During those times in the past the economy was stable and we could survive radical ideas (both from the right and the left). Unfortunately, we are not in the same position today. Our economy is unstable. Five-hundred point moves of the stock market are common place. There are talks of bail outs and major lay offs. Imagine what the drag on our economy would be if GM went out of business - it would have a domino effect across the nation. We would see other companies going out of business across GM supply chain and unemployment would skyrocket. This is not a doom scenario, this is a real possibility over the next nine months. How should we react?
I fear that the spirit of "finally getting our turn" will override common sense. That in the mad dash to make history we will not take the time to see what is best for our country and instead focus on what is the best for my party. When I was in college, I read John F Kennedy's "Profiles in Courage." There was one part of the book that really affected me. Kennedy describes true courage as voting for what will be best for your country, even if it goes against the people who sent you into office. Being willing to vote your conscious, even if it costs you your job. For example: voting against segregation in the south during the 1960's.
As I look across the political spectrum today, I do not see a lot of courage. Instead I see politicians tied into special interest groups, donors and parties. No one thinks for him or herself. Instead they are more concerned with what will it take to keep the money coming in to get me re-elected. A true lack of courage.
It is my prayer that our new President and Congress will stop and take some time to see what is best for our country, not just what everyone wants to hear. Big business is not the enemy. The rich are not the enemy. There are not two classes of citizens in this county, those who agree with us and those who are evil. We are all in this together. What happens to the rich will effect the poor and vice-versa...for both good and bad. We are Americans...all of us. It is time to remember that. It is time for courage.
With that said, I'm not surprised that Obama won. He represents a change in direction and the people of our country want that (isn't that why Nixon and Carter won?) The question is do we want change for change sake or do we want things to get better? Our economy is in shambles. We have a small window of time to make this better or else things can get really bad. The way I look at it, there are more ways to mess this up then there are ways to make it better. My concern right now is that there is an unbalance of power in our country. All in the desire of change we now have a strongly left leaning President, House and Senate. There is no longer room for debate. Tradition tells us that when one of the two parties takes full control, ideology over-rides common sense. It is like putting a bowl of Halloween Candy on your step with a sign "Please take one". If you are lucky, the first kid will leave one!
Normally, these times of unbalance don't last long. Our country gets fed up pretty quickly and the pendulum swings back to equilibrium. It happened in 1994, it happened in 2006, it will probably happen again in 2010. During those times in the past the economy was stable and we could survive radical ideas (both from the right and the left). Unfortunately, we are not in the same position today. Our economy is unstable. Five-hundred point moves of the stock market are common place. There are talks of bail outs and major lay offs. Imagine what the drag on our economy would be if GM went out of business - it would have a domino effect across the nation. We would see other companies going out of business across GM supply chain and unemployment would skyrocket. This is not a doom scenario, this is a real possibility over the next nine months. How should we react?
I fear that the spirit of "finally getting our turn" will override common sense. That in the mad dash to make history we will not take the time to see what is best for our country and instead focus on what is the best for my party. When I was in college, I read John F Kennedy's "Profiles in Courage." There was one part of the book that really affected me. Kennedy describes true courage as voting for what will be best for your country, even if it goes against the people who sent you into office. Being willing to vote your conscious, even if it costs you your job. For example: voting against segregation in the south during the 1960's.
As I look across the political spectrum today, I do not see a lot of courage. Instead I see politicians tied into special interest groups, donors and parties. No one thinks for him or herself. Instead they are more concerned with what will it take to keep the money coming in to get me re-elected. A true lack of courage.
It is my prayer that our new President and Congress will stop and take some time to see what is best for our country, not just what everyone wants to hear. Big business is not the enemy. The rich are not the enemy. There are not two classes of citizens in this county, those who agree with us and those who are evil. We are all in this together. What happens to the rich will effect the poor and vice-versa...for both good and bad. We are Americans...all of us. It is time to remember that. It is time for courage.
Labels: Election
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