Change & Hope In America

Change & Hope In America
By Reed Nelson, March 2009

Let me state, for the record:
I am from one of the most conservative congressional districts in the US. The same congressman that was elected when I was in elementary school still serves today. That is a shame and a sham. So is Ted Kennedy [but I hope he beats brain cancer]. So are GHWBush, Clinton, GWBush… the globalist presidents who have collectively let the world wreck our economy with “free” trade policies. Of course, we did a good job of wrecking the world financial system on our own. I may have conservative roots, but I am no conservative. I am no liberal either. I am my own man. And I am really not happy about the lunacy that has gripped this country. I hope it is only temporary, but hope has been hijacked by our new president for now. I hate government intervention into my personal affairs. I can’t stand human rights abuse. I like guns. I think big business is just awesome. I drive a hybrid car. I compost. I own two rain barrels. I reuse. And I have been doing this for MUCH longer than it has ever been fashionable to do so, because I thought I was [gasp] being conservative. Don’t even THINK about trying to pigeonhole me.


I hope Obama kicks butt. I hope he is hope. But the fact is he is just a man. And when he uttered the phrase “hard work” in his inaugural speech I silently cheered and envisioned many of the people that voted for him looking bewildered at the same time. I can see it so clearly. “Surely he didn’t say ‘work,’ did he Johnny?”
“No Danny-boy, I don’t think so. Do you have any spare change?”
Thank God Barack Obama is a hard worker. Thank God he is actually a religious man. But wait, so was GWBush and that was a problem. The Dems don’t care now. Their guy is in office. But is it their guy? Work? Patriotism? Responsibility?
“Johnny, he just said responsibility… fire up another blunt and give it to me… quickly Johnny!”
“Danny-boy, calm down! We may need to start stretching our pennies!”
That’s right, Johnny and Danny. Happy days are not here again. Get to work and off my street corner. The last time I offered you food you would not take it… you only wanted money. I wonder why. But I am hard and jaded. I am a little ashamed of that sometimes.

Obama is a much better speaker than me…
“Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life.”
“For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.”
“… it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.”
“But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true.”
“What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility…”

Listen to Obama, just don’t listen to celebrities… no matter what the message may be. You can get more truth from real people… or garbage cans if you wish. Most of the America I know works. Celebrities do NOT work. Let’s get that straight right now. They live in a fantasy world you and I can scarcely imagine. Where wants are ALWAYS met. Where there are no needs left that can’t be bought or explained away. Where you don’t really matter unless they say you do.

America is by far the most generous and charitable nation on this planet. We should be. We are the richest. The only charity I give to right now goes to an El Salvadorian boy. That is the spirit of America. To me, the talk of pledging and giving that is going on right now is insulting. It insinuates that we have not been charitable enough. This is nonsense.

So back to Obama. He has, so far, appointed a couple of conservatives or moderates to key/cabinet positions. And where are all of the African-Americans? Well, most of the people completely enamored with Obama did not know of his peaceful history with opposite thinkers while he was president of the Harvard Law Review. They also did not know his “don’t tell me what to do” stands against the entrenched African-American elected of the Chicago political landscape. Heck, good ole Barry may be more of a maverick than McCain! Yet, with all of his stands against the expectations of the extreme, Obama seems to be able to maintain relations, to keep from alienating people. He is very skilled in this regard… very impressive. GWBush said he was a “uniter,” and turned out to be a divider. Much of this had to do with his refusal to be transparent and inability to effectively communicate.

I think Obama could be a great president. All of the things he has done or is doing so far are not exactly what is expected… but he is still not ticking most people off. While he campaigned on the nebulous ideas of hope and change and made these ideals his own, he is now bringing more concrete words and ideals into play. Justice. Patriotism. Work. Transparency. Ethics. I will say that fiscal conservatives know that paying for all this spending is going to be a rough road. I have heard many people I know in their 60’s say things like “Thank God I’ll be dead by the time we have to pay for this.”

I hope the dogma of the political left and right don’t kill his idealism. I really hope he does well. I am certain there are many democrats I know that would never have said that about GWBush. Am I better than them? Yes I am. Much better, in fact. These people are shameful and despicable versions of America gone wrong. I can’t imagine the poison these people feed their families, friends, and children. I am no fan of far right dogma either. People like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter do have a place in this world. Limbaugh is a brilliant satirist, and very entertaining given the correct ear. While I am kind to free speech, I think Coulter is just irritating and divisive, as are many of her conservative colleagues. At least they counter the noisy left fairly well, without yelling quite so much as ranting along the way. These people are nowhere near as smart as the true American conservatives and the real liberals I know. They are just more verbose and have a bigger microphone. And for those that wished W to fail and those who now wish Obama to fail??? For God’s sake… don’t these people realize that presidential failures become America’s failure?

I can tell you this. Hard times are ahead if we can’t kill dogma, and fast. Really hard times. If you are someone who falls in line behind your “party” quickly, you need a reality check. If you are someone who no longer has a party, you are not alone. This is the time for America to succeed or to fail. How we treat each other and what we demand of our government will determine our future.

Me? I have been disenfranchised for years now. I belong to nothing, and nothing represents me to my liking. This is how REAL change begins and how revolutions happen. I am not alone in the way I feel. There are some highly unstable people who feel the way I feel. If you aren’t scared, you should be.

Meanwhile, I am not participating in the recession. I was already living within my means. If you are participating, I hope you learned something. If not, you know what they say about history…