thoughts of an optimistic realist

January 21, 2009

I have always been a political junkie. Perhaps because the only thing allowed on our television was a football game or the news. If I wished to converse with my dad about anything, it was going to have to be about politics. It was our only common ground. That coupled with the town I grew up in Im convinced was the seed. I grew up being the minority, seeing the plight of the ‘ghetto’ and attending an education system abandoned, witnessing the bitter effects of urbanization, gangs, and violence. In the midst I found a zest for culture and social reform. I found immense pleasure in going to my friends homes and having an authentic Colombian meal (yes, that’s a shout out to you Miss. Vicky Lee :) whose wonderful mother still FedEx’s me frozen chorizo and cheeses because of how much I love it!) I spent many nights babysitting my neighbors two Jewish boys and helping them with their Hebrew homework, my Saturday nights attending my friends Catholic mass and my Sunday mornings attending my own Presbyterian church. In high school I found great pleasure in our Human Relations committee, finding Holocaust victims and escorting them around classrooms to speak. We organized human rights day assemblies. We went around giving speeches on racism and stereotyping, trying to make a difference one person at a time.

Then I moved. Whew that was interesting. I went from a school system who was abandoned by its principle every few months because the school was in such array to a school that seriously could have starred in the movie Pleasantville. In Freeport's school system it was not uncommon to miss two hours of school a day because of regular bomb threats. We became very accustomed to the police sweeping in, and us filling out to the parking lots while the halls and lockers were examined. Lunch period was always a war zone, someone always threw something in attempt to get the entire cafeteria to break into hysterics. We were always under ‘lockdown’...which was a joke. Drug overdoses, stabbings, gang violence - you name it, we had it. And this was normal. All schools were like this, right? Wrong. Then I saw how towns with money lived. That threw my whole perspective of life and politics on its head. Every classroom had 5 computers and a TV. They didn’t have one TV on a metal cart for the whole school to share? They had text books they could take home? They didn’t have one class set of only 30 that 300 students would share? They weren’t 10+ years old, missing pages and outdated? They didn’t have classrooms held in closets, hallways, cafeterias and auditoriums? It angered me. I have experienced both sides of the spectrum and never really fit into either. I never lived in the ghetto with metal bars over my bedroom window nor did I get a BMW when I turned sixteen. What I did get was perspective of the economical and social unfairness of life and how easily inner city schools are forgotten. Without a doubt the foundation for my strong liberal views.

Somehow I still always assumed everyone kept up with the times. I remember in the Bush/Cheney vs. Kerry/Edwards election it became painfully clear to me how much my peers really couldn’t give a shit. I was bubbling over in excitement that I was 18 and could take part in my first election. I was a real member of society, participating in my first duty as a citizen. It became crystal clear in my freshman year sitting at Wagner (our dining hall) and I made the foolish error of bringing up the election. A girl I sat with told me she wanted Mr. Kerry Edwards to be our next president. After I finished snickering I had to explain that all those bumper stickers she was seeing that read ‘Kerry Edwards 04’ were for John Kerry, and John Edwards. And that ‘Mr. Kerry Edwards’ was no senator I had ever heard of.

On the night of the election Jenny (my only truly politically savvy friend) and I stayed up until the wee hours of the night watching the votes come in. It was close, really close. Upon realizing we had lost around 4 am we got in the car, listened to music and drove aimlessly around town bewildered and defeated. We knew the next four years would be bad, really bad. I feared what message had we just sent the world in re-electing President Bush? I had a HUGE pill to swallow called pride as I walked into every one of my classrooms on that Wednesday morning. Damn me for always being an opinionated, vocal son-of-a-gun.

Bush unfortunately lived up to almost everything I expected him to. He now has a resounding disapproval rating from within our borders and abroad. In some respects he had a successful administration. He came into office with two real goals, lower taxes and invade Iraq. I suppose one can deduce he was successful in that sense? The heart wrenching pitfall to his administration was his holding steadfast to the triumph of his own ideologies rather than the welfare of the people he was elected to protect. Cosmically, at one time something the people applauded him for.

While I was abroad one of the best experiences I took from it was asking the local people what they thought of the Iraqi War, American politics and President Bush. I was refused service or snubbed by some but overall found the people to be very gracious... and smelly! It became a running joke with those on the trip, if you lost track of me you had to go find where the locals were sitting and I would undoubtedly be amongst them having in depth conversations through broken English, German and hand signals. Some of which were formidable opponents and some were flat out ignorant. One drunken German began comparing Bush to Hitler. At this point in time I realized I was conversing with a grossly uneducated man either in the history of his own country or world affairs period, but it was clear that was not a battle worth forging ahead with. What I did find from most people I spoke to was an overall dissatisfaction or disappointment even with America’s fierce ignorance toward world affairs and our outward disregard for other cultures. They were receptive to us, it seemed because we had initially set ourselves aside from their stereotypes simply because well we were there, studying. And many found our groups intense inquisitiveness refreshing, which made for many rich train conversations. It saddened them that Bush was so obviously pro-Israeli in an immensely complicated struggle. They think we are a materialistic nation who is concerned with nothing beyond the success of ourselves. They thought we were a country of spoiled citizens who revolved around greed, we are the self proclaimed entitled nation. And I cant say I blame them. That is surely the message we have sent to the world.

I will say in President Bush’s defense, he did inherit our country on the cusp of an economic decline and in a post 9/11 world he was faced with many obstacles that were unprecedented. But, this is what either makes a great leader or a mediocre one. The ability to rise to a challenge, to possess adaptability. I have no doubt he did the best that he could, but in no way does that mean he did what was best for our country. The administrative powers gained entirely too much strength during his years. The war on terror was used as an excuse to throw all laws, regulations and rights out the door to reach the level of power the Bush Administration did. We used torture measures which would be considered abominable if committed against one of our soldiers. We cannot hold double standards. How was Guantanamo Bay seriously allowed to become what it has today? The people were manipulated into thinking somehow invading Iraq was our retaliation to Al Qaeda. Osama Bin Laden ..Saddam Hussein, one in the same right? Get those ‘weapons of mass destruction’! And I will admit I was partially guilty too. I was moved by the compelling evidence Colin Powell was presenting to the United Nations. How utterly embarrassing we never found them. (After reading what I have so far in an effort to move forward in this paragraph, I am choosing to stop. It is trite to people now even though my emotions are still so strong on the subject. Perhaps its because my life was so severely affected by that fatal day and I feel like appropriate measures were not taken in its aftermath. I have spent much of my time researching the topic ‘for fun’. I would sit sunbathing on Wrightsville beach reading the 1200 some page 9/11 Commission Report, while my friends caught up with the latest gossip magazines. I think in the corners on my mind I still seek justice. Which is frustrating because that’s the exact emotion that was exploited in the many many months after September 11th. On that note, Im through with this for now because to me... its still so personal.)

The fight we have ahead of us is monumental. Not an easy task. No one is underestimating that and no one is belittling it. I have no false hopes for our future, but I do have faith. Economically we are riding the line between recession and depression. Our unemployment rate of 7.2 percent isn’t going to plummet over night, giving everyone their jobs back. Demoralizing men like Madoff are still out there swindling millions with Ponzi schemes because of the deregulation of the financial industry. Our public education system isn’t going to stop allowing the children of our nation to slip through the cracks because of our pathetically low expectations. Healthcare isn’t suddenly going to give you what you thought you had been paying them for. People wont stop defaulting on their homes because of the banking industries deceptive bubble mortgage plans that preyed on the poor and uneducated. Social Security is still the worst investment every American has ever made. Congress is still filled with some crooked politicians voting for bills based on who funded their campaigns. The many decades long struggle between the Israeli’s and Palestinians will not resolve itself. Air raids in the Gaza strip and the plight of its refugees wont see peace tomorrow. Africa wont be liberated from tyranny or AIDS by sunrise. The green house effect is still running away with our planet. These are the thoughts of a optimistic realist who sees change on the horizon.

With an eighty percent approval rating, I am glad to say opposition is now few and far between. Yes this struggle is not going to be easy. No it will not happen over night. No we are not going to live in a perfect world, ever. I am not expecting Obama to spring the Garden of Eden in my backyard. The gift President Obama has given already is unity and hope. People are ready to make a change fundamentally, civilly, spiritually, politically, socially, economically and religiously. We are ready to throw out programs that don’t work. Why fund them? We are ready to revamp programs with good intentions and bad executions. Many of President Obama’s tactical moves thus far suggest to me that this administration will be different. His selection of Panetta to head the CIA alone speaks volumes to me. Those that make up the ‘pool of acceptable candidates’ from inside the intelligence community I fear, are irreparably corrupt and have completely tarnished the image of our intelligence agencies. When an entire branch of your government has failed you what sense does it make to continue to feed the limbs that have failed that branch? Cut your losses and start a new.

I feel like my entire spirit exponentially exploded with the delivery of that inaugural speech. The strides our country has made are truly remarkable, a testament of everything our great country stands for. Finally the self proclaimed ‘melting pot’ country of ours has lived up to the fundamentals we were built on: freedom, perseverance, change, love, hope, determination, adaptability, lastly and most importantly equality. Obama was sworn into office at our capital building, built by slaves. He will move into a house on Pennsylvania Avenue that was also built by slaves. His being the first to be sworn in on Abraham Lincolns bible since Lincoln is so symbolic, the completion of a dream of a President way to progressive for his time.

Undoubtedly the strongest part of his address was of that to the Muslim world. I could not cast a shadow on his delivery and I don’t dare try to.
“To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West: Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”

If you have yet to read either of his books, I highly suggest you do. I read his first book “Dreams from my Father” many many years ago. I bought it on whim in high school, having no idea who the author was or who he would become. I was on my break at work and walked over to target to kill time. Something about it caught my eye and then something about his story moved me. Years later I saw him on Oprah after he had become Illinois’ senator, putting a face to the name. I immediately dusted the book off my shelf and read it cover to cover again. I then went and bought his second book, “The Audacity of Hope” which was equally ground breaking. If you couldn’t watch the inauguration speech, I urge you to at least read the address. It will be quoted until the end of your days and beyond, I am sure of it.