I'm standing on my Ajax Rock today, looking backwards and forwards.
There have been a few times in our history when certain men have been called as president because the set of circumstances and times called for their special talents. I think of FDR who told the country, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." If ever a people needed to hear those words, it was the desperate people living through the Great Depression. Having FDR at the helm lifted them up and gave them hope, and the country was able to move forward. When FDR signed the GI Bill in 1944, he basically created the foundation for a middle-class in this country. The GI Bill was a genuine attempt to thwart a looming social and economic crisis. Yes, Franklin D. Roosevelt was indeed a Man of the Hour for America.
Then when I was 14 years old, I recognized another Man of the Hour in John F. Kennedy. All that talk about the pope taking over the country I knew, even at that young age, was not what it was about. Within the next few years, the social unrest of the 60's became quite serious with a long-dragged out war which was killing and maiming too many people, a civil rights movement which was long overdue, and the threat of nuclear war hanging over our heads. As a teenager, this was very scary and I felt quite powerless. But I recognized in JFK another Man of the Hour, a man equipped to deal with problems in a rational, intelligent way rather than an egotistical or hot-headed way, and who would not stick his head in the sand. Yeah. A president smarter than most of us!
And this year, after 8 years of the disaster this country and government have become (and I never used to equate the two), Barack Obama is our Man of the Hour. We really do need serious CHANGE in Washington and Obama, like Kennedy, is smarter than most of us. I know many people don't like and even fear change, preferring the pile of warm crap they're already sitting in, but I believe most of this country knows that once again, we don't need or want someone who's worked his way to president via the Peter Principle. When a Man of the Hour shows up, the people recognize him, and this Tuesday, they will elect Barack Obama as our Man of the Hour in this new millenium.
And for an excellent read, check this out: Give him the @#!% ball
P.S. Those of you who read this entry and don't agree are reminded that this entry is MINE and I get to speak my mind on my own blog. I've suffered 8 long years with your guy, and this really matters to me. I am not in the mood for spamming or trashing me or my candidate so just move on and find your own rock on which to express your opinion and don't crash my party. ≈
7 comments:
Amen, my sister. We need energy, vision, a steady hand and cool head, someone who understands these modern times far, far better than I do. We need the most extraordinary talent we can find, someone who will challenge each and every one of us to take our country back. And we need healing.
For me it has been 8 years of working with families and young people broken and scattered like lost puzzle pieces in the street and government that is willing to tell me how to help them (abstinence-only!) but pays as little as possible while justifying $700 billion for an illegal war. If America won't invest in her children then why should I continue to care?
Think social services is a handout? Try the cost of crime on the rise.
-Johnny O
And imagine our Zach without the safety net of his family. Mental health care in shambles, a measly disability payment of less than $600 a month, and a government that says the family can "help," as long as we don't give him shelter, food or clothing. No wonder so many people live on the street, and we have Ronald Reagan to thank for that. So much for compassionate conservatism.
I was just writing about how thanks to Peggy Noonan's writing skills Reagan presented himself as a Man of the Hour when what he did was start many of the problems, both social and financial, that we have today. What possessed him to throw the mentally ill out into the streets? =0
His plan to deinstitutionalize the mentally ill wherein the money didn't follow the patients turned out of institutions. The 20% of patients remaining in institutions got 80% of the money, with only 20% of the money going with the patients to community mental health centers. It caused the streets and jails to be the treatment centers for millions of people with mental illnesses.
Lois- you said it. Thanks.
Everyone go on back over to John's bigringcircus blog! It's hard to beat Juancho's moxie, passion and writing skills! Catch it before he gets back to trail riding topics only! ;)
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