Many of my "millions" of blogging admirers out there in cyber space are aware that I am very opinionated (mostly, I dare say regarding things that don't really mean anything at all). But when it comes to politics I tend to let on slightly as to my position, but in the end find it no one's business which policies I agree or disagree with. I see so many people post their comments on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter...and more power to them. I guess I have always felt like my political beliefs were of a deeply personal relationship that I don't have to share with anyone. Like a secret love affair, without the irrisistable lust. But, when it came to people bashing our President (whom, yes, I did vote for - proud of it then and today) I couldn't help but get frustrated. Rome wasn't built in a day. I don't remember exactly who coined that statement, I think it was Julius Caesar, but nevertheless, what President Obama has done is monumental, drove from a fearless and restless fight to the finish, and has lessened the global hatred toward our country after eight years of conservative leadership. Sure, there are some things that I don't fully agree with, but for the most part "a change was needed, and a change was made." Don't know who said that either.
Either way, I am currently reading A Journey: My Political Life by Tony Blair. If you don't know who that is, I sincerely feel sorry for you and request that you immediately Google him. I'll cut some slack to those who were born in the 90's. I'll give you a hint - what President Obama is to America, Tony Blair was to England (in more ways than one - the Labour party and Obama's Democratic party mirror one another quite intricately) except for much longer and post-Conservative ruling for several decades. And if you want to know more you should watch "The Special Relationship" with Dennis Quaid (as President Clinton) and Michael Sheen (as Tony Blair). And up until recently, Blair has maintained quite an honorable and respected reputation politically and as a person. If you want to know more about "up until recently" google that too. In his book, which was just released here in the States, he says the following (from his chapter, High Expectations where he discusses in depth the night of and events surrounding his swearing in as Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1997):
"When Barack Obama fought and won his extraordinary campaign for the presidency back in 2008, I could tell exactly what he would have been thinking. At one level, the excitement and energy created by such hope vested in the candidate has the effect of buoying you up, driving you on, giving all that you touch something akin to magic. The country is on a high and you are up there with them.
At another, deeper level, however, you quickly realize that though you are the repository of that hope and have in part been the author of it, it now has a life of its own, a spirit of its own and that spirit is soaring far beyond your control. You want to capture it, tame it and harness it, because its very independence is, you know, leading the public to an impossible sense of expectation.
Expectations of this nature cannot be met. That's what you want to tell people. Often you do tell them. But the spirit can't be too constrained. And when finally it departs, leaving your followers with reality - a reality you have never denied and which you have even sought to bring to their attention - the danger is of disillusion, more painful because of what preceded it."
Such profound words from a source who has lived through exactly the description above. We all were so amped up (well, liberals at least) when President Obama was elected. I'll never forget that night, sitting on my couch with my mom and a friend, tears streaming down our faces at the historical event that just took place. The first black president, the first President since Clinton to rally for change and inspire people all over our country. We were stoked. Change has come, change has come. But after the dust settled from that night, the politics took place.
The actual decisions, fights and lobbying, shoulder rubbing and speech-making, and so on and so forth started to occur, and we all waited for something to happen. Republican, Democrat, Independents, whatever you call your party, we were all given a laudry list of resolutions and almost 2 years later we're all looking around saying "where is the change?" Whether it is the Bush tax cuts issue, the economy "shit-uation", the unemployment increases, immigration - whatever is, people aren't getting the results they thought they would hense his recent 52% dissaproval rating. But as I said above, "Rome wasn't built in a day." I think the American people were expecting a day or less. So I'm now realizing why Obama has been getting so much flack lately...the expectations were high, the promise was higher but what everyone seems to forget is that the groundwork is molded now, but the results take years.
That is all...
