I've got something to get off of my chest. I am really tired of hearing people complain about the new presidential administration. Obama has been the President for less than a month and already people are complaining. He's not working fast enough, he's being too nice to republicans, he's not being bipartisan, he hasn't changed anything. Are you serious? Really, America, really? We have the worst president in modern history for the last eight years and it takes everyone 7 years before they start to complain about him. But, we expect this new guy to fix it in less than a month? I'm sorry, I'm not buying it.
Obama was very straightforward from the get go that transformation would not happen overnight. I guess he probably should have said it won't happen over a month either. The country's problems are multiple and all of them are extremely complicated. He has to walk a fine line between courting bipartisan support while also doing the things that he believes are necessary to get this country back on track, namely following more democratic principals. He's not going to please everyone, but he can't just write off the republicans. Clearly he has to be moderate.
We can all agree, this country is in big trouble. Everyday more and more jobs are lost, the housing market is pretty much dead, the deficit is unbelievable, our reliance on oil is inexcusable, we have two ongoing wars, and the planet is warming causing more and more natural catastrophes. These problems will take years, if not decades to solve (or in many cases simply adjust to). The 90's are over. The early 00's are over. The world has changed and this country must change with it. We cannot assume that we can do so quickly. It will take time, patience and resolve, but more than that it will take unity. The country has to unite. And like it or not Obama is the leader of this country. If we are truly going to change this country's direction we have to unite behind him. But, we cannot simply think that it's Obama's job to change everything. We need to understand that WE have to change things. Yes, Obama is a figure of change and I don't doubt that he will do everything he can to change this country. But, the American people need to understand we have a role in this. Our role is far more significant in creating this change than Obama's. We can't just sit back and continue to complain. The government now supports change, but the people it represents have to do the work. So instead of complaining think about what you can do to help facilitate these necissary transformations; stop being divisive and unhelpful and think about what you can do for your country.
This nation has missed out on 8 years of world changes because the last administration refused to believe that the country needed any modifications. If nothing else Obama has already done more than they did in those 8 years; he's acknowledged this need and has asked the American people to join him in helping us catch up with the rest of the world and become a leader once more. The first step is to stop complaining and do something.
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I think America's cardinal sin is that we have no idea what change actually means. We're so terrified of progress (see: analogue/digital change-over that's taken us over a decade) that we've forgotten that it takes time and effort.
I think the best thing the administration can do at this point is buy a helluva lot of pastel colored paint and start repainting random buildings. That way 90% of lazy Americans will be satisfied with the 'bright, shiny, no effort involved change' they've come to expect while everyone with half a brain can start working on real problems.
As far as people complaining about Obama in general, I think they're the same people who don't watch the news or who had incredibly unrealistic expectations. Obama's done more in less than a month than Bush did in the better part of a year. People are impossible to please.
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