Friday, February 20, 2009
A jaundiced eye
A couple of students read my blogs today and had the gall to tell me I was pessimistic. Interesting perception, not that I agree with it. I am totally optimistic that Americans can change the world if they so desire. I'm just not so sure they wish to do so. It is a totally different world today than it was when I was a youngster. We were willing to stand up and be responsible for our actions. We would never have voted for a socialist as our president. We would have taken on the challenge of a bad economy with an attitude that belied its difficulty. That was then, this is now. I may be pessimistic, or it might just be realism at its best. I tend to believe more in the latter than the former.
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2 comments:
While America was the big contender, the playing field of late has begun to even out. The former idea of running in guns a-blazing won't go anywhere now, especially since some of our enemies have just as advanced technology as we do. Therefore, the world is no longer America's playground- it's our time to learn to play well with others. Considering how our international reputation drastically changed since we elected a socialist president, that alone will make compromise with foreign powers easier, as we'll better understand their motives. That alone is one reason why people were so happy to elect someone who can identify with the popular majority on the world stage.
While being realistic is always important, there are positives to be found in everything. From reading your blog, it is rather pessimistic in that apparently Obama is completely void of any redeeming qualities. And yet, he has done exactly what the world of your youth prized. He called out America and asked us to take responsibility for our actions, to work hard through our current situation (however much he may have hindered the progress with the bailouts), and to stop acting "entitled". And that is realistic optimism we can all support.
That's a pretty optimistic thought, but actions speak louder than words ever will.
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