Sadly, if I say this to some progressives/liberals, they accuse me of not supporting the president and they claim I do not understand negotiation or political strategy, or even how chess is played. It’s bad enough to be attacked by the trolls on the Right, but lately there have been a few on the Left who have become rather troll like themselves. Their love for the man has blinded them and affected their ability to reason. They simply refuse to believe you can question some of the president's policy decisions and still support him.
We all worked hard to get the president elected and then re-elected. But, I really don’t believe this means we give him a blank slate. I think it is our responsibility to question not only the president but any progressive/liberal that does not appear to actually be the voice of the people who elected them.
We need to channel the passion of all citizens into areas where we can be effective to create the change we want to see. Whether it is in gun control, Social Security/Medicare benefits, or even more recently CISPA that has already passed through the House. We need to unite to fight these injustices. Sitting back and deluding ourselves that it’s all strategy is wrong.
Have we forgotten when Bush and company were running amok They governed unchecked by their own constituents who like lemmings followed them off the cliff. When we questioned their actions, we were accused of being unpatriotic at the least. How quickly could you forget, “If you’re not with us, you’re against us.” How many were silent for fear of being thought of as un-American?
There is no reason once an election is over to assume elected officials of any political philosophy have actually heard the will of the people. There is no reason to send them to Washington to do a back room deal then allow them to sell it as if it were the best they could get or that it is all some grand strategy.
This is not a time to meekly accept what we’re told and blindly trust without question what is going on around us. The time has come for us to collectively come together and be heard.
"The President is merely the most important among a large number of public servants. He should be supported or opposed exactly to the degree which is warranted by his good conduct or bad conduct, his efficiency or inefficiency in rendering loyal, able, and disinterested service to the Nation as a whole. Therefore it is absolutely necessary that there should be full liberty to tell the truth about his acts, and this means that it is exactly necessary to blame him when he does wrong as to praise him when he does right. Any other attitude in an American citizen is both base and servile. To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public. Nothing but the truth should be spoken about him or any one else. But it is even more important to tell the truth, pleasant or unpleasant, about him than about any one else."
ReplyDelete-- Theodore Roosevelt, Kansas City Star, May 7, 1918
Bryon, sometimes a point has been made that cannot be improved a great deal. TR had a knack for doing just that...
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