Everyone Woke Up Angry
So I wake up this morning, check my e-mail, and then log onto Twitter. And what do I see, but multiple posts of people being more than a little angry at Obama. Angry about the death of the Public Option and angry about the escalation in Afghanistan.
Hey, guys?
Our system of government is more complicated than this. Obama did what he could for the Public Option. The mere fact that it’s only been one year since he took office, yet we’re already seeing this legislation in both houses? This should be impressive. This is in itself a win. The only thing Obama could do is to leave this to the Senate, which yes, is dropping the ball to an almost magnificent degree. They all said again and again that they wouldn’t vote for the bill without a public option. Clearly, they were bluffing and are reducing their credibility. I am not happy about this. Indeed, I am directly affected by this. But let’s not lose sight of the fact that Obama is our President, not our magically benevolent and liberal dictator. The man has to work in tandem with two branches of government. Frankly, we are safer this way. Yes, it would be nice if he could swoop in and get this shit through, but Christ, that is not how America works. Did everyone wake up and forget how American government works?
Let me ask you this: did you do everything you could to get this bill passed? Did you donate? Did you call? Did you write? Did you go to demonstrations (if there even were demonstrations)? Probably not. I didn’t. I could have done more. We all could have done more. The fact is, we have to vote for Obama every day. We have to do this by being the most active and participatory American citizen we can possibly be. That’s how the guy got elected and that is the only way he’s going to be able to get the policy changes he promised us. Our system is slow. It is slow and it is fraught with red tape and with personality conflicts and bullshit amendments and sex scandals and political capital and clout and you-scratch-my-back-I’ll-scratch-yours. It is this way because we let it be this way. Because our lives are tiring and stressful and equally full of bullshit - and all of these things take our minds off of what’s going on upstairs. It’s natural. We’re not bad people because of this, but the mere act of being alive is really very exhausting. So we don’t want to have to think about this even larger life-and-death crap.
We want to be able to vote for the right representative, senator, President, etc. who we think we can leave in charge to do what we want them to do. And then we can go back and worry about all the other shit. Well, there are other entities who get more involved than we do. They’re pushing these people to do the job their way. And beyond that even, a lot of Senators are voting just so they can make it look like Obama is failing. And there you are, the person who voted for Obama, sitting back thinking your job is done. And you’re angry. The Republicans are trying to make it look like he’s failing and you are helping them. Instead of recognizing that it’s failing because there are many, many personalities involved, you’re blaming it on the one personality who no longer has a say.
I’m sorry, but that’s wrong. It is wrong to take that attitude and further the idea that Obama has somehow turned out to be a different person. He hasn’t failed us. You’re failing him. To see Obama as the end-all, be-all of our government is to fail him. Fox News paints him as a dictator and we cry out about how evil and stupid they are, but then we turn around and blame him for the economy, or the war, or the hobbled health care reform and that is the same. They’re claiming he controls everything and you’re claiming he controls everything. The Founding Fathers structured our government so that no one person could control anything. Everything sucks right now for our own protection. So that we couldn’t be fooled by a charismatic personality. In all of human history, has it ever behooved people to have one of those all-powerful, charismatic personalities running things? If we had someone as effective as you’re demanding that Obama be, that would be mind-bogglingly dangerous. We don’t give people that kind of power on purpose. The idea of a god-like Obama is attractive, but let’s keep in mind that gods are also mercurial and vengeful. We are far better off with this well-intentioned human man who has to play nice with others than we would ever be with the kind of legendary hero-god who would be able to do all the things a lot of leftists seem to think Obama should have the power to accomplish.
Let’s also keep in mind the fact that Afghanistan is not Vietnam. I don’t know about you, but I understand next to nothing about what we’re trying to accomplish there and how we’re trying to accomplish it. This isn’t Communism we’re fighting, it’s terrorism. We’re trying to hobble one of the most insidious and faceless enemies the world has ever dealt with. Gone are the days of treaties and conventions and rules. We no longer know who we’re fighting and we don’t even fully understand why they’re fighting us or what they stand to gain. This is not a territorial dispute. This is not two world leaders playing real-life Risk. This is anarchy and religious fanaticism. I defy to anyone to say with absolute authority what the correct plan of action is. It may very well be to raise the number of troops. It may very well be to pull out right now. I have no fucking idea. Do you? And if you don’t have any real idea, based on facts and insider knowledge, then how about refraining from snatching that Nobel Peace Prize out of Obama’s hands just for the moment? How about giving it some time and acknowledging that we don’t have a better answer and that shit is complex.
It’s not that the state of things isn’t disappointing right now. I would like to think we don’t have to endanger another 30,000 lives. I would like to think that we could keep the Public Option in play. But what I don’t like is to make snap judgements about a man I respect who is probably taking 10 years off his life just to try to make all of ours better. And at the end of the day, I still think that’s what Obama is doing.
Hope, change, si se puede.
