It's Time For a Change

It's a little over a year into Obama's presidency, and I must admit to being surprised and dismayed by the national mood, most notably the rhetoric from the right. I understand that Obama is not their guy, but is it really necessary to vilify him and undermine everything that he does? Is it necessary to hate him, just because you disagree with him? That’s what conservatives seem to be doing. They are inciting hatred of Obama.
I understand feeling frustrated by the policies of the President. The Bush Administration frustrated liberals for eight long years. Bush and Company stole an election to gain the Presidency. They instituted policies that went against everything we stood for. They started two wars, one on false pretenses. They lied to our faces, oozed arrogance in their dealings with other countries, and generally made a mockery of America.
But we didn’t hate Bush. We made fun of him (it’s not like he made it hard). We rallied against his attitudes and policies. We condemned his short sightedness. But I really don’t think that we hated him. He seemed like a nice enough guy, just not the guy we wanted running our country. He seemed like the kind of guy you could go out and have a beer with (or do a little blow with, if that’s your thing—it’s not mine), but he was, in our estimation, too simple-minded to be in charge of the most powerful country on the planet. The President needs the ability to distinguish between shades of grey, and Bush was most definitely a black and white kinda guy.
But we put up with him, and when 2008 rolled around we got our guy into office. Obama is as imperfect as any human, and I haven’t agreed with everything he’s done since taking office, but I believe that he is heading us in the right direction. He’s shown respect to the leaders of the world, rather than acting like a superior. He’s done his best to keep our economic crisis from worsening. He’s made a giant, albeit imperfect, step towards universal health care in this country. You may not agree with these decisions, but I’ll take a President who is trying to save a country (our own) over someone trying to invade one (or two).
And yet conservatives genuinely seem to hate him. The Tea Party types call him a communist (he’s not). They insist he wasn’t born in America (he was). They insist he’s going to take away their freedoms (this is just ridiculous). It’s as if the fear-based culture encouraged by the Bush Administration has infected the populace, and now anything that doesn’t fall in line with someone’s view of the world is something not just to be disagreed with, but hated with wholehearted sincerity. It’s as if there’s no middle ground anymore, no agreeing to disagree and maintaining a healthy respect for one another. It’s frightening.
Worst of all, this is an attitude that is not just shared, but encouraged by the conservatives in government. It’s one thing for an uneducated layman to insist that Obama is going to make fishing illegal. It’s another to have hate, lies, and misinformation being spread by those in charge of things. They should know better.
It is not the job of Republicans to agree with Obama. It is, however, their job to work with him in an effort to make this country a better place. And they’re not doing their job. They are sitting on the sidelines, spewing hatred, and refusing to join in. They have taken their ball and gone home.
So they didn’t like the health care bill. Fine. But they don’t have the right to whine and complain about Obama passing it anyway when they made no real effort to change it for (what they perceived to be) the better. Many Republicans rallied against Obama’s stimulus plan, fought it tooth and nail, and then the hypocrites took the money offered by it anyway. Why? Because they didn’t truly oppose it. They understood its necessity. But by opposing it they can say to their constituents come election time that they fought it. The fact that it actually ended up helping many communities will surely be overlooked, somehow.
And this is what disturbs me about the current Republican regime. They aren’t trying to help this country; they’re trying to help themselves. They have been obstinate opponents of Obama’s every move not because they disagree with him, but because they’re afraid he will succeed, despite the fact that his succeeding would help this country. They want him to fall flat on his face so that they can regain power and things can return to “normal.” It has nothing to do with a better America, and everything to do with power. It’s self-serving bullshit, and it’s despicable.
Think about it. Whether you agree with those in power or not, wouldn’t you rather have your party working to find some middle ground on important issues, rather than causing it to erode? If there’s no middle ground then there are only two options: you get what you want or they do. That’s not what checks and balances are for. It is not the job of the minority party to work against the majority party. It’s their job to work with them. And that’s where Republicans have failed mightily.
You don’t have to like Obama. But he’s not Hitler. He’s not Pol Pot. He is a man trying his best to do what he believes is right, just like Bush was. You don’t have to agree with him. But you shouldn’t have to hate him, either, and you sure as hell should be willing to work with him.
So I urge the conservatives of this nation to take a good look at the actions of those who control your party. Do you really want your party run by a schoolyard clique? If the answer is no, then let those guys know that it’s time for a change of attitude. If the answer is yes, then god help us all.