". . . little shall I grace my cause

In speaking for myself. Yet, by your gracious patience,

I will a round unvarnish'd tale deliver . . ."

(William Shakespeare's Othello, I.iii.88-90)

Sunday, September 13, 2009

America is speaking, Mr. President. Are you listening?

Earlier this week President Obama referred to Americans who oppose his government-expanding and overspending policies as liars and obstructionists. Yesterday a disputed number of those so-called liars assembled in Washington, D.C. (the estimates range anywhere from tens of thousands to several million). American Thinker has published the observations of several demonstrators, along with a link to a time-lapse YouTube video showing the progress of the 3-4 hour march in just one or two minutes. It is worth noting that there was no violence and no disturbing of the peace, nor was there a big name figurehead spearheading the event. It was instead the result of the vision and execution of everyday citizens across the country, people like you and me, who are tired of being ignored. Similar demonstrations were held in other cities around the nation. Lots and lots of people are trying to speak to this President. The question is, is he listening? And will he truly try to understand instead of assigning to the demonstrators straw man positions that do not represent their true worries and fears?

I don't know if he has yet had any reaction to the march. It would not surprise me if he completely ignored it. To comment on it at all would probably, in his mind, grant it legitimacy and additional media attention. But whether he listens or not, the "Tea Party" Americans are not going to go away, be quiet, or give up. One thing I can give Mr. Obama credit for: I think he may have awakened the proverbial sleeping giant. The question is, does he even care whether or not he and his party retain power? If so, there may yet be hope of putting the brakes on cap and trade and socialized medicine and more harm to the economy, not to mention the ongoing compromising of national security. But my fear is that he and his posse may be willing to fall on their swords if it means furthering their agenda. Perhaps they are thinking that if the power grab is big and successful enough, they will ultimately be able to reclaim control even if they temporarily lose it. If so, they aren't going to listen to the giant, no matter how loudly he stomps.
And that means that this giant better not go back to sleep anytime soon. Because even if he succeeds in ridding himself of the current administration in a few years, he may have to face the effects for a long time to come, in which case he needs to keep on stomping to have any hope of reversing the damage that has been done.

1 comment:

Jane said...

http://www.examiner.com/x-6356-Wichita-Independent-Examiner~y2009m9d13-Axelrod-faces-the-nation-says-March-on-Washington-not-representative-of-majority

I'd say this is probably pretty indicative of what the administration thinks.