Politics have never been my strong suit. I find it all depressing -the way the focal point of our government is based on mistakes, shortcomings and scandals. As an educated person, I want to be honest. I would not be able to tell you the main focus of each president’s administration, but I can tell you with whom he has slept, what error in pronunciation of a big word he has made, every jab taken at his family and every skeleton he has in his closet. It is embarrassing.
Although I am not a passionate political person, it seems that someone needs to speak up about the past topics discussed in this paper. While I do, subconsciously, tend to be an idealist, I understand that there is no way to please everyone. I believe that some of the critiques of the government are imperative in order to change and, hopefully, stop corruption by our leaders.
I am not saying to sit back and watch our government spiral downward, if that is the case. What I do not agree with, however, is how it seems that some people sit, wait and watch for the first slip-up by any administration and then over-vocalize it and repeat themselves over and over.
Last year The Merciad carried a column written about the hundreds of mistakes President Obama had made as president…75 days into office. Two weeks ago an article was written comparing Obama to President Bush, calling Obama a hypocrite and basically defending the viewpoint of him being a terrible president.
I have a newsflash for every die-hard Republican and Democrat; there are going to be hundreds of mistakes — big mistakes — made by whomever is elected into office.
It seems suspect to me that there are so many negatives things that are being said, but are the right articles being read? Although the goal and pride of being a journalist is objectivity, most know that is not the case. Fox News, CNN, The New York Times and many others all have a political stance and that is why they have such dedicated readerships. If you want to find Obama criticism, you know where to go to find just that.
Health care in the United States has been a global debate for some time. I searched to see what the president was saying about this debate and what was being done to help the many citizens that need it. I found, on www.whitehouse.gov, “The President signed the Children’s Health Insurance Reauthorization Act on February 4, 2009, which provides quality health care to 11 million kids – 4 million who were previously uninsured.”
“The President’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act protects health coverage for 7 million Americans who lose their jobs through a 65 percent COBRA subsidy to make coverage affordable. The Recovery Act also invests $19 billion in computerized medical records that will help to reduce costs and improve quality while ensuring patients’ privacy.”
Most of you already know this information, but what I found to be interesting was President Obama’s quote on the matter. “I suffer no illusions that this will be an easy process. It will be hard…”
Of course there are mistakes and flaws in this plan, but he has taken on the task, and as an American, I find it imperative to support our president and believe in the sincerity of his words. Changing a country cannot be done in the blink of an eye. It is going to take years. Wouldn’t it be a nice change if, instead of just sitting back and criticizing or talking about what you would do differently, to actually get behind the leader of our country and show some understanding.
You may not agree with me and that is OK. You may think I am naïve and hopeful and that is OK, too. Whatever you decide to think or do, that is your prerogative, which is the beauty of this country. But remember, when you are so vehemently degrading the position of our government, it is that government that gives you the right to bash it.