In his farewell speech, President Obama challenged us to get out of our bubbles of people who look and think like us and let ourselves be challenged by other opinions. I would like to accept this challenge right here on this blog.
I have heard from people I've spoken to, that I am not alone in my fears for our future under President Trump. I do not think that everything he says is incorrect, and I admire his tenacity and his ability to live life on his own terms. I am in awe of his capacity to set a goal and make it so. But I am afraid that he will do more harm than good as President.
I am afraid that he will lead this already unstable world into a major war.
I am afraid during his administration the rich will get richer, leaving those who are not rich to struggle or become destitute.
I am afraid that Trump, whose appeal is his willingness to circumvent the ways of business as usual, will violate boundaries and safeguards that keep the country and the world relatively stable.
I fear that Trump, between his political inexperience and his tendency to blaze new and possibly unsafe trails, will be manipulated by the political machines of foreign countries, namely, but not limited to, Russia.
I am afraid that in doing away with environmental regulation in an effort to support business, our already fragile environment will be ruined to the detriment of us all.
I am afraid that Trump will support the causes of his socially conservative supporters because they are his supporters, leaving women, minorities, and people of unconventional sexuality to lose their hard-earned rights.
I am afraid that in his rush to repeal the imperfect Affordable Health Care Act, we will inadvertently reduce the availability of affordable health care to us.
Mostly, I am afraid that our recently past election campaigns have been deliberately polarized to gain news ratings. In doing so, people have become so staunchly Republican or so staunchly Democrat, that we've forgotten to be Americans first. We minimize common ground shared by politicians so we can watch a fight.
Whatever we face, whether war, environmental disaster, economic collapse, healthcare crisis, political oppression, or foreign takeover, we will face it together no matter what our political leanings. I would rather we all work together rationally towards peace, environmental stability, economic success, good health, freedom, and the successful future of the United States and the world.
I am inviting everyone who reads this to share it with everyone you know, despite their point of view. I would like to establish an online community of people of all opinions who want to work together for the common good.
If I state a fact that you think is incorrect, please let me know why I am wrong. Tell me where you got your information.
If your opinion differs from mine, explain your point of view.
Expressing opinions does not amount to action. If we are against any given legislation, what can we do about it? This is a forum for action. Invite people who are politically savvy. If you are able, invite posts from politicians. How do we get the attention of our legislators? How do we invite Barrack Obama to express his insights to us? Hillary Clinton? Donald Trump?!
Here's the one thing I want to emphasize. Obama was correct when we said that we all love this country. We may not agree on particular issues, but we should listen to each other, not talk past each other. This blog will not be a Trump bashing site or a conservative rant. I see it as a place for rational, respectful conversation without name-calling or sarcasm. It is a place to expand our views, gain understanding of opposing views, and hopefully it will be a launch pad for positive political participation.
Please post your views and invite others to do the same.
He's our president for the next four years whether we like it or not.
ReplyDeleteThis is true. We need to take things where they are.
DeleteThis post is really amazing Donna! Very well written and its what a lot of people are thinking/feeling
ReplyDeleteThank you! Please try to drum up some readership.
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ReplyDeleteWSJ opinion piece today "Mr. Obama’s has not been a successful presidency. In foreign affairs his two terms, added to George W. Bush’s two terms, produced 16 years of unsuccess—an entire generation. Richard Haass, head of the Council on Foreign Relations, put it gently in conversation this week: Mr. Bush tried to do too much, which was unrealistic; Mr. Obama attempted too little, its own, perhaps more consequential unrealism.
ReplyDeleteIn domestic matters he put all his chips on health care and bullied it through without a single Republican vote, leaving his party fully owning it and the other with no investment in saving it. His relationship with Congress started out at impasse, proceeded to fraught and ended in estrangement. He saw this all as the other side’s fault. In his dealings with the Hill he was often imperious, sometimes a snot. He allowed executive agencies such as the IRS to ruin their public reputations and stonewall scandal after scandal. His most famous words as president came not in formal addresses but extemporaneous misjudgments—“red line,” ISIS as the “jayvee team”—plus an attempt to mislead: “If you like your plan, you can keep your plan.”
He left his party weaker, in terms of public offices held, than at any point since the 1920s.
He spent an unprecedented amount of time campaigning against, and assailing in the bitterest terms, his successor. Donald Trump was “uniquely unqualified,” “temperamentally unfit.” America chose him anyway. They were choosing Mr. Obama’s exact opposite, just as in choosing Sen. Obama in 2008 they went with the opposite of Mr. Bush. When they want the opposite of what you are, they are not registering approval.
Yet Mr. Obama’s approval ratings are at a respectable 55%. I think I know some of why.
Barack Obama had dignity in his personal sphere. He carried himself with confidence, like someone with self-respect. You gathered, as you watched over eight years, that he did what a man does, taking care of his family, his wife and children. He didn’t talk about it but he modeled it, represented it in his actions. This, in an increasingly less parented country, was valuable. I didn’t give enough weight to it until after that night at the college.
I put it here to remind everyone, mostly myself, that you can strongly oppose someone politically, really think you’re seeing bad things there, but have a responsibility to see and note what good there is.
We’re losing that ability, in our enclaves.
He has said that he’s touched a rising generation. To some significant degree I have a feeling that will probably prove true. "
you can strongly oppose someone politically, really think you’re seeing bad things there, but have a responsibility to see and note what good there is.
DeleteAbsolutely...we've gotten so caught up in vilifying political opponents and unconditionally supporting allies, we've lost objectivity in evaluating issues. In the end, it's the issues that will make life good or bad, not the person sitting in office.
President Obama demonstrated the core values that I believe will come to define his legacy: grace, honor, focus, empathy, and respect. Perhaps Michelle Obama said it best: “being President doesn’t change who you are, it reveals who you are.”
DeleteVery nice Donna, can't wait to read more.
ReplyDeleteThank you for starting this blog. We need a productive conversation instead of insults, bashing and fake news on both sides of the aisle.This blog is a great start!
ReplyDeleteThank you for joining me! Please share with everyone and anyone.
DeleteGreat blog very inciteful
ReplyDeleteThank you Cheryl. There's more to come. Please share on Facebook.
DeleteGreat blog post Donna. I will say that this election has made Mike and I realize how important it is to get involved in politics. We've never done more then voted, never wrote or called our legislators, nothing. It's definitely inspired us to care more and be more involved. Cory Booker 2020!
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