Did you get a chance to hear Barack Obama’s Closing Argument speech? View it here at YouTube, or read it here at Politico. Regardless of who you are planning on voting for, you should read or listen to what he said.
I’m not here to tell you who to vote for. I’ve made up my mind and by now most people have too. However, I want to talk about a few things that Obama said in his speech that gave me hope for a better world at a time when I’d just about run out of hope.
In his speech Obama talked of Americans working together towards a common goal. On the surface this seems like such a simplistic idea, but it is a concept that is urgently needed now. For too long we have been a nation divided: blue states vs. red states; ethnic race vs. ethnic race; citizens vs. illegal alien; straight vs. gay; have vs. have not; the list goes on and on. We have become a nation filled with angry people and violence is on the rise because of it.
We have to stop and realize that we are all part of the same country, even the same planet. Here’s a quote from the speech: “There’s no shortage of anger and bluster and bitter partisanship out there. We don’t need more heat. We need more light. I’ve learned in my life that you can stand firm in your principles while still reaching out to those who might not always agree with you.” We need to agree to disagree. We need to remember that everyone, every single person is unique with their own view of the world and their own opinions.
We need to move in a new direction as a nation. We need to regain our belief that tomorrow can truly be a better day. We need hope. Here’s another quote: “Hope is not blind optimism. It’s not ignoring the enormity of the task before us or the roadblocks that stand in our path. … I know that hope has been the guiding force behind the most improbable changes this country has ever made. In the face of tyranny, it’s what led a band of colonists to rise up against an Empire. In the face of slavery, it’s what fueled the resistance of the slave and the abolitionist, and what allowed a president to chart a treacherous course to ensure that the nation would not continue half slave and half free. In the face of war and Depression, it’s what led the greatest of generations to free a continent and heal a nation. In the face of oppression, it’s what led young men and women to sit at lunch counters and brave fire hoses and march through the streets of Selma and Montgomery for freedom’s cause. That’s the power of hope — to imagine, and then work for, what had seemed impossible before.”
Regardless of which candidate winds up in the White House in 2009 and beyond I would like to hope that we can pull together and fix the big mess that this country is in. It will not be easy to dig our way out of the pit we’re in. Unless we roll up our sleeves and work together, nothing is going to change and things will only get worse.
My vote is for hope.
Showing posts with label 2008 election. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2008 election. Show all posts
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
A Short History Lesson
“Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” George Santayana, the Spanish born American Philosopher, Poet and Humanist who made important contributions to aesthetics, speculative philosophy and literary criticism.
History is a subject which does not seem to interest as many people as is should, especially young people. This concerns me because there is a lot that can be learned by looking back at past events and seeing what went right and what went wrong. To me, ignoring history is like ignoring experience. Perhaps you’ve heard the expression “experience is the best teacher.” With all this in mind, I'd like to take a look back in time:
In the 1970’s America was suffering through some tough economic times, jobs were being lost, President Nixon resigned, we had a gas crisis, inflation was rising, and we had the Iran hostage crisis (a short history of the 1970's). President Carter proposed some belt-tightening to America, and his suggestions might have worked. However, his opponent in 1980 was the very charismatic Ronald Reagan. America wanted good news, not bad. We didn’t want to take the hard road, we wanted everything nice and easy. So we elected President Reagan and got trickle-down economics – a great program for the rich, who got richer, but not so good for everyone else, who got poorer.
Here’s a political cartoon about our last four presidents:
So here we are in 2008 and we’ve got tough economic times, jobs are being lost, we've got a gas crisis, and prices for everything are rising. Wonder where that easy road is going to take us now?
History is a subject which does not seem to interest as many people as is should, especially young people. This concerns me because there is a lot that can be learned by looking back at past events and seeing what went right and what went wrong. To me, ignoring history is like ignoring experience. Perhaps you’ve heard the expression “experience is the best teacher.” With all this in mind, I'd like to take a look back in time:
In the 1970’s America was suffering through some tough economic times, jobs were being lost, President Nixon resigned, we had a gas crisis, inflation was rising, and we had the Iran hostage crisis (a short history of the 1970's). President Carter proposed some belt-tightening to America, and his suggestions might have worked. However, his opponent in 1980 was the very charismatic Ronald Reagan. America wanted good news, not bad. We didn’t want to take the hard road, we wanted everything nice and easy. So we elected President Reagan and got trickle-down economics – a great program for the rich, who got richer, but not so good for everyone else, who got poorer.
Here’s a political cartoon about our last four presidents:
So here we are in 2008 and we’ve got tough economic times, jobs are being lost, we've got a gas crisis, and prices for everything are rising. Wonder where that easy road is going to take us now?
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Spinning out of control
The Associated Press reported today that the Democratic and Republican candidates spent $94,000,000 dollars in August. That’s $94 MILLION dollars in one month. What did they spend over half of this money on? Advertising. Here’s a quote from that AP report:
“Their campaign finance reports, filed before Saturday's midnight deadline, shows that more than half of their $3-million-a-day spending rate was devoted to advertising that became increasingly negative during the month.”
Once again the American political process devolves to a mud-slinging process. The winner is the one with the best spin and the most convincing lies. I sometimes wonder how the rest of the world views us. I’d wager they are having a good laugh at us.
Considering the shape our economy is in I suppose that I should be glad that there is all this money flowing around. They are keeping advertising agencies, television stations, radio stations, and print media employees from loosing their jobs. They even have their own well-paid staffers. Obama has a monthly payroll of $2.8 million and McCain has a $1.2 million payroll. Glad to know that there are still some people with jobs. Maybe I should have gone to work for one of them.
What really worries me thought is that when it comes time to vote the average American won’t have a clue who they are really voting for. Instead they will vote for the one with the best advertising and the candidate with the best spin doctors that money can buy. This country is facing some very serious and potentially catastrophic problems. We should be asking the candidates hard questions about what they will do to fix these problems. Instead it’s all sound-bytes and spin.
For those who might be curious about the truth and lies in what our candidates are saying I recommend the following sites:
Lastly, if you would like to try your own hand – and maybe land a good job with a political candidate – at spin, check out this how-to site at eHow.
“Their campaign finance reports, filed before Saturday's midnight deadline, shows that more than half of their $3-million-a-day spending rate was devoted to advertising that became increasingly negative during the month.”
Once again the American political process devolves to a mud-slinging process. The winner is the one with the best spin and the most convincing lies. I sometimes wonder how the rest of the world views us. I’d wager they are having a good laugh at us.
Considering the shape our economy is in I suppose that I should be glad that there is all this money flowing around. They are keeping advertising agencies, television stations, radio stations, and print media employees from loosing their jobs. They even have their own well-paid staffers. Obama has a monthly payroll of $2.8 million and McCain has a $1.2 million payroll. Glad to know that there are still some people with jobs. Maybe I should have gone to work for one of them.
What really worries me thought is that when it comes time to vote the average American won’t have a clue who they are really voting for. Instead they will vote for the one with the best advertising and the candidate with the best spin doctors that money can buy. This country is facing some very serious and potentially catastrophic problems. We should be asking the candidates hard questions about what they will do to fix these problems. Instead it’s all sound-bytes and spin.
For those who might be curious about the truth and lies in what our candidates are saying I recommend the following sites:
- The Annenberg Political Fact Check, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania
- National Public Radio, Election 2008
- Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan guide to money’s influence on U.S. elections and public policy
- CNN Political Fact Check, located towards the bottom of the page
Lastly, if you would like to try your own hand – and maybe land a good job with a political candidate – at spin, check out this how-to site at eHow.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
2008 Presidential Candidates
Last week I wrote about how disinterested I am in the national elections this year. This got me to thinking about who the candidates are and what choices we really have. For good or bad, the only candidates with a real chance of actually winning are the Democratic and Republican (I did that alphabetically only with no intended implication of one being better than the other) candidates. However, they aren’t the only guys running for our highest office. I did some checking and was really surprised at how many people were vying for the job. Vote Smart has the full list, check it out here.
Because the popular vote does not determine the winner in the Presidential election (it’s all done by the Electoral College) it is pretty useless to vote for anyone other than one of the two main candidates. The absolute best person for the office could be running under some other party and they have virtually no chance of winning the election, even if they get the most [popular] votes.
How does someone win the election? All they need is 270 Electoral College votes. It’s that simple. And you thought your vote mattered! Eight years ago we had an election where the popular vote went to one person and the office went to the other. Check out this link to find out what the current standings are.
Still want to vote for one of the two main candidates? Not sure which one? Take the quiz at the Washington Post to see which one of them is closest to you on important issues.
Because the popular vote does not determine the winner in the Presidential election (it’s all done by the Electoral College) it is pretty useless to vote for anyone other than one of the two main candidates. The absolute best person for the office could be running under some other party and they have virtually no chance of winning the election, even if they get the most [popular] votes.
How does someone win the election? All they need is 270 Electoral College votes. It’s that simple. And you thought your vote mattered! Eight years ago we had an election where the popular vote went to one person and the office went to the other. Check out this link to find out what the current standings are.
Still want to vote for one of the two main candidates? Not sure which one? Take the quiz at the Washington Post to see which one of them is closest to you on important issues.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
2008 Elections
I came across this while surfing through some of my favorite blogs the other day. It's a new word recommendation for the dictionary:
Elec-tile Dysfunction: The inability to become aroused over any of the choices for President put forth by either of the two political parties in the 2008 election year.
This really resonated with me. Back in January I wrote a blog about the primary elections going on in my state and why I felt disenfranchised by the whole mess. Well, I still don't feel any better about the whole process. Our nation is going through a series of very difficult 'economic corrections' right now and I, like many folks, have little faith in my elected officials being able to do anything constructive about the situation.
The local area of politics, and maybe the state level, is the only place I'm interested in. It is the only place that I feel I have any real control over my future and any real say in the outcome of the election. As for the national election, I'm still trying to decide who my write-in name should be for president.
Signed,
Looking for suggestions
Elec-tile Dysfunction: The inability to become aroused over any of the choices for President put forth by either of the two political parties in the 2008 election year.
This really resonated with me. Back in January I wrote a blog about the primary elections going on in my state and why I felt disenfranchised by the whole mess. Well, I still don't feel any better about the whole process. Our nation is going through a series of very difficult 'economic corrections' right now and I, like many folks, have little faith in my elected officials being able to do anything constructive about the situation.
The local area of politics, and maybe the state level, is the only place I'm interested in. It is the only place that I feel I have any real control over my future and any real say in the outcome of the election. As for the national election, I'm still trying to decide who my write-in name should be for president.
Signed,
Looking for suggestions
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