As I read this article today, I grew increasingly frustrated with the narrative that the Republicans are peddling these days. I have heard it all over, from the news channels to the radio, and then this article, that somehow this new administration is trying to implement "socialistic" agendas and is trying to punish the "payers of taxes and creators of wealth." It really doesn't make any sense to me and I think its a completely disingenuous representation of the responsible leadership that this country chose overwhelmingly in November.
It would seem that the web the Republicans are weaving these days relies heavily on the belief that the government is the least reliable means to solve any problem, and that the market and individuals will undoubtedly make the decisions that will bring about the correct, market driven solutions. While I think that is true most of the time, this crisis has highlighted that the market can't be relied on exclusively. "No, no no!" the Rushites protest, "the government caused all of these problems through regulation and forcing banks to give out bad loans to people who couldn't afford them!" Right. As the frosty credit markets can show us, not even the federal government can tell the banks who to lend to, even when the money they are supposed to be lending came from the government itself - for the express purpose of lending, no less!
Government isn't the problem, and it isn't the solution. Government is merely a means to an otherwise impossible to coordinate end. And thats where my criticism of this article comes into play. President Obama, as the leader of the executive branch of the government, is in a position to wake the nation up from the haze it has been under for quite some time now (I am not going to lay all of the blame on the Bush administration, we have been asleep at the wheel far longer than that) and he is rightfully doing so. The era of irresponisbility that has gotten us to this point must end and end quickly. We need someone like him to not tell us, in effect, that we are Americans and that nothing we do is bad or wrong (as his predecessor seemed all too happy to do ), but rather that we are Americans and that carries a special burden of sacrifice coupled with unbridled opportunity.
We did not abandon our belief that despite our imperfections, America is the solution—not the problem—to every challenge facing the people in this country and, in many cases, the world... And we believe that our president’s job is to cheer [America] on not talk her down.
It is precisely this type of thinking that has landed us here. We now have a president that lays bold challenges before us, not challenges to go out and spend, but rather go out and serve: to engage in our communities rather than sink away into our overpriced homes. "America" is not a solution or a problem. It is a nation... a nation capable of erring, yet also capable of unequaled opporunity and freedom. Its a great nation, but not an infallable one. I think those who would accuse President Obama of "remaking the nation in his own image" are forgetting this fact. Through more just tax policies, proper oversight and accountability for government, and needed investments in the future, President Obama is trying to seek out "a more perfect Union" so that future generations may reap the benefits of liberty and prosperity that recent ones have abused and taken for granted.
