Why I'm Thankful for President Obama
Got your attention, didn't I?
Let's rewind the clock to about 4 1/2 years ago during the primaries. As I recall it, the main contenders were Hillary and Barack for the Democrats and Mitt and John for the Republicans and the oddball Paul Ryan doing his own thing. At this point in time, everyone seemed peeved with Bush (and rightly so) for all the TARP and the housing bubble popping and the never ending war on terror among many others. I confess I did vote for him the second time (wasn't old enough the first time- but then again, Gore!? Kerry!? Really!?!) I digress...
At this point in my life my main concerns regarding the presidency were few and simple: protect our constitutional freedoms with priority going to our right to live and defend ourselves. Simple enough. A quick sweep over each candidate's positions showed that the Democrat contenders were both pro-abortion. That doesn't protect the right to live, so no thank you. The Republicans were not my ideal pick for candidates but at least they were willing to stand up for our constitutional right to live, including the unborn. And Ron Paul? Well, I didn't know what to make of him then but I pretty much assumed the White House was going to a Republican or Democrat so why bother digging any deeper?
Then McCain announced his running mate- Sarah Palin:) Alright, love her or hate her, to me it was a sign that the Republicans were re-emerging with their century-old suffragist stance (most suffragettes were Republican) which I take to be the true form of feminism. And unlike McCain, Palin wasn't afraid to rev up the crowds and get people excited to vote, which the Republicans BADLY needed at this point. But apparently even Palin wasn't enough to tip the scales and that November America voted in Obama. After all, Obama was simply dazzling people with his strong talking points and sweeping gestures of good will and bipartisanship and taking care of our financial and economic woes? I'll be honest, looking back at his campaign speeches, Obama sounded pretty decent (minus the whole most pro-abortion senator stance thing).
I was pretty downhearted about this, who isn't when the candidate they were rooting for loses? But I didn't think it was anything more than politics as usual so I got over it.
Then Inauguration Day arrived and the exchange of office was performed and right there we saw the beginnings of a rift in our nation- do you recall the group of Obama supporters in the crowd singing "Na na na na Hey Hey Hey Goodbye"? I do. That's not something we do at these events. That's not something our Presidents ought to condone. And it is the President, more than anyone else who sets the national tone. And what did Obama do? He smiled and waved. That was his opportunity to help heal the rift and he blew it.
And you're wondering, I'm sure, at this point why I'm thankful for President Obama. Well hang on, it's coming...
I'm thankful for President Obama because his time in office has woken America up. It's woken me up. Being an American citizen was no longer a passive identity that we are born or naturalized into. It is much more than that and this realization took me on a journey, sometimes just through reading books on all aspects of America as a nation- its Constitution, about the founders, about other Presidents throughout history, about our wars, about our economic policies, about our natural rights versus entitlements, about the essence of what America stands for and what it represents or ought to represent, what are the constitutional roles of the federal government versus the roles of the states, and most importantly the Christian's role in all this... Other times it took me into fierce debates with people on Ravelry or Facebook or Xanga or in person.
And all this while I kept watching current events, reading or watching news stories online and gauging the President and our various other elected officials against what I understood the Constitution and Bill of Rights and our other national documents have to say about their roles and responsibilities. But it wasn't just me doing this, more and more and more, as I listened to people on the radio or in their blogs or wherever else I went, I was hearing people become more and more interested in how things should be done and comparing that with how things were being done. And we saw the fruit of that concern in 2010 when the nation sent a referendum to Congress in the form of a newly elected Republican House.
Look, I don't know what tomorrow will bring. Obama may get his second term or Romney will start his first. What I do know is that Americans are now awake and aware and vigilant. I do know that more Americans are informed and concerned than they were 4 years ago. I guess we find things more precious when we're in danger of losing them, and if that is why Obama was ultimately elected in 2008, then I praise God for this storm because He's going to bring something beautiful from it.
Let's rewind the clock to about 4 1/2 years ago during the primaries. As I recall it, the main contenders were Hillary and Barack for the Democrats and Mitt and John for the Republicans and the oddball Paul Ryan doing his own thing. At this point in time, everyone seemed peeved with Bush (and rightly so) for all the TARP and the housing bubble popping and the never ending war on terror among many others. I confess I did vote for him the second time (wasn't old enough the first time- but then again, Gore!? Kerry!? Really!?!) I digress...
At this point in my life my main concerns regarding the presidency were few and simple: protect our constitutional freedoms with priority going to our right to live and defend ourselves. Simple enough. A quick sweep over each candidate's positions showed that the Democrat contenders were both pro-abortion. That doesn't protect the right to live, so no thank you. The Republicans were not my ideal pick for candidates but at least they were willing to stand up for our constitutional right to live, including the unborn. And Ron Paul? Well, I didn't know what to make of him then but I pretty much assumed the White House was going to a Republican or Democrat so why bother digging any deeper?
Then McCain announced his running mate- Sarah Palin:) Alright, love her or hate her, to me it was a sign that the Republicans were re-emerging with their century-old suffragist stance (most suffragettes were Republican) which I take to be the true form of feminism. And unlike McCain, Palin wasn't afraid to rev up the crowds and get people excited to vote, which the Republicans BADLY needed at this point. But apparently even Palin wasn't enough to tip the scales and that November America voted in Obama. After all, Obama was simply dazzling people with his strong talking points and sweeping gestures of good will and bipartisanship and taking care of our financial and economic woes? I'll be honest, looking back at his campaign speeches, Obama sounded pretty decent (minus the whole most pro-abortion senator stance thing).
I was pretty downhearted about this, who isn't when the candidate they were rooting for loses? But I didn't think it was anything more than politics as usual so I got over it.
Then Inauguration Day arrived and the exchange of office was performed and right there we saw the beginnings of a rift in our nation- do you recall the group of Obama supporters in the crowd singing "Na na na na Hey Hey Hey Goodbye"? I do. That's not something we do at these events. That's not something our Presidents ought to condone. And it is the President, more than anyone else who sets the national tone. And what did Obama do? He smiled and waved. That was his opportunity to help heal the rift and he blew it.
And you're wondering, I'm sure, at this point why I'm thankful for President Obama. Well hang on, it's coming...
I'm thankful for President Obama because his time in office has woken America up. It's woken me up. Being an American citizen was no longer a passive identity that we are born or naturalized into. It is much more than that and this realization took me on a journey, sometimes just through reading books on all aspects of America as a nation- its Constitution, about the founders, about other Presidents throughout history, about our wars, about our economic policies, about our natural rights versus entitlements, about the essence of what America stands for and what it represents or ought to represent, what are the constitutional roles of the federal government versus the roles of the states, and most importantly the Christian's role in all this... Other times it took me into fierce debates with people on Ravelry or Facebook or Xanga or in person.
And all this while I kept watching current events, reading or watching news stories online and gauging the President and our various other elected officials against what I understood the Constitution and Bill of Rights and our other national documents have to say about their roles and responsibilities. But it wasn't just me doing this, more and more and more, as I listened to people on the radio or in their blogs or wherever else I went, I was hearing people become more and more interested in how things should be done and comparing that with how things were being done. And we saw the fruit of that concern in 2010 when the nation sent a referendum to Congress in the form of a newly elected Republican House.
Look, I don't know what tomorrow will bring. Obama may get his second term or Romney will start his first. What I do know is that Americans are now awake and aware and vigilant. I do know that more Americans are informed and concerned than they were 4 years ago. I guess we find things more precious when we're in danger of losing them, and if that is why Obama was ultimately elected in 2008, then I praise God for this storm because He's going to bring something beautiful from it.