Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.
Yesterday Barrack Obama became president of the United States. This is a fact. We cannot wish ourselves out of it, get around it, or discount it. It happened. What's more, yesterday the people of America voted for him as president. This is also a fact. Obama won both the popular and the electoral vote. Clearly, the people wanted him.
What in him did they want? This man, who is only debatably a citizen, who has been on the political scene only since '04, who has never adequately been examined for character, was voted to be president. Allow me to elaborate - We knew who McCain was. He has been in the political spotlight for years and years. His voting record goes back to before the first Bush. We know his character from what has been seen on the media, in his record, and in his speeches. Generally speaking, we know what he will do. Not so with Mr. Obama.
What do we know about Obama? His voting record is inconclusive - only four years of flip flops to look at. His past is almost virtually unsearched by media and private people alike. His citizenship is not even apparent. Why is he our president, when we don't even know who he is or what he will do? Why did we the people choose someone preaching a general message of "Change" for better or for worse?
Earlier in the history of our country, I guarentee that no unexamined man would ever have been president. In the time of Lincoln, or Jefferson, when races were close the people payed close attention to the candidates. They knew that the choice of A or B could lead to catastrophic crises. Now, however, we hear very little substance in the political debates. We hear sentimental stories about Joe the Plumber, about poor, homeless persons, and about how tomorrow will be brighter, but very few issues. We hear abstract allusions to economic programs, but nothing more than that. We hear plenty of ad hominem, but no true rebuttals of policy. Apparently, this show of sentimental stories was enough to convince the populace to vote for a candidate of whom they knew almost nothing, aside from flashy comercials and sweet words. Something in the American has changed.
If it was not substance that decided the election, then what? It was all about showmanship and providing the proper images to the people in order to woo the masses. The media, for ages on end, has been supplying the citizens with disenheartening messages about how our economy is failing, about how the war is failing, and about how our president lied. Naturally, if everything is wrong, you change. So, a candidate comes along who has a brilliant presence, a strong ability to convince, and the banner of "Change". No substance even needs to be mentioned. The people were so misinformed, so hopeless, and so materialistic that what had value was valueless. Obama's cheery smile and thumbs up won out over McCain's tired, raspy voice. Nothing more. Our nation pays so much attention to the appearance that substance did not matter.
Could America be this far gone? Could our souls be so weary that we have not the strength to consider right and wrong? If so, our nation is already damned. Could the people of America be so apathetic and materialistic that they cared more for a president with dimples than for a nation sinking into economic, moralistic, and internation crisis? If so, it is best to strike off and head for better shores; the nation is already doomed.
Yet outside every school the courageous flag with stars of white and stripes of red rises above the schools, houses, and facilities. Still its blue demands of us honor, its red sacrifice, and its white purity. There is hope still in America. This country and its laws still belong to its citizens. The country is ours, and we have not yet let it slip from our grasp into that of tyranny.
Then let us stand for every right, let us fight against every wrong, and let us struggle for every moral. The battle in our country is not a political one; the battle in our country is one of apathy attempting to extinguish the flame of virtue. So long as we can fight, the battle is not lost. Hope springs eternal while the strength of virtuous men bear hope onwards. No, America is not lost. America is merely dazed from the blows of its enemy. The enemy has moved in amidst the confusion, but he will be driven off. America will remain the titan of virtue.
What in him did they want? This man, who is only debatably a citizen, who has been on the political scene only since '04, who has never adequately been examined for character, was voted to be president. Allow me to elaborate - We knew who McCain was. He has been in the political spotlight for years and years. His voting record goes back to before the first Bush. We know his character from what has been seen on the media, in his record, and in his speeches. Generally speaking, we know what he will do. Not so with Mr. Obama.
What do we know about Obama? His voting record is inconclusive - only four years of flip flops to look at. His past is almost virtually unsearched by media and private people alike. His citizenship is not even apparent. Why is he our president, when we don't even know who he is or what he will do? Why did we the people choose someone preaching a general message of "Change" for better or for worse?
Earlier in the history of our country, I guarentee that no unexamined man would ever have been president. In the time of Lincoln, or Jefferson, when races were close the people payed close attention to the candidates. They knew that the choice of A or B could lead to catastrophic crises. Now, however, we hear very little substance in the political debates. We hear sentimental stories about Joe the Plumber, about poor, homeless persons, and about how tomorrow will be brighter, but very few issues. We hear abstract allusions to economic programs, but nothing more than that. We hear plenty of ad hominem, but no true rebuttals of policy. Apparently, this show of sentimental stories was enough to convince the populace to vote for a candidate of whom they knew almost nothing, aside from flashy comercials and sweet words. Something in the American has changed.
If it was not substance that decided the election, then what? It was all about showmanship and providing the proper images to the people in order to woo the masses. The media, for ages on end, has been supplying the citizens with disenheartening messages about how our economy is failing, about how the war is failing, and about how our president lied. Naturally, if everything is wrong, you change. So, a candidate comes along who has a brilliant presence, a strong ability to convince, and the banner of "Change". No substance even needs to be mentioned. The people were so misinformed, so hopeless, and so materialistic that what had value was valueless. Obama's cheery smile and thumbs up won out over McCain's tired, raspy voice. Nothing more. Our nation pays so much attention to the appearance that substance did not matter.
Could America be this far gone? Could our souls be so weary that we have not the strength to consider right and wrong? If so, our nation is already damned. Could the people of America be so apathetic and materialistic that they cared more for a president with dimples than for a nation sinking into economic, moralistic, and internation crisis? If so, it is best to strike off and head for better shores; the nation is already doomed.
Yet outside every school the courageous flag with stars of white and stripes of red rises above the schools, houses, and facilities. Still its blue demands of us honor, its red sacrifice, and its white purity. There is hope still in America. This country and its laws still belong to its citizens. The country is ours, and we have not yet let it slip from our grasp into that of tyranny.
Then let us stand for every right, let us fight against every wrong, and let us struggle for every moral. The battle in our country is not a political one; the battle in our country is one of apathy attempting to extinguish the flame of virtue. So long as we can fight, the battle is not lost. Hope springs eternal while the strength of virtuous men bear hope onwards. No, America is not lost. America is merely dazed from the blows of its enemy. The enemy has moved in amidst the confusion, but he will be driven off. America will remain the titan of virtue.
Labels: Darkness be Gone, Elections, Liberty, Musings, Threatening the Culture of Life
posted by Ambrose at 11/05/2008 02:37:00 PM
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