Today being the 45th anniversary where a lone-gunman, took the life of President John F. Kennedy, and as a spiritual person, I do believe he is looking down from a heavenly plain at a fractured nation. He along with his brother Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., the late presidents of this country namely Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, Abraham Lincoln and other past leaders of this country are calling us all into some semblance of service.
In his charge to all of us alive at that time during his inaugural address, the late President Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country” and this directly ties into endless debates taking place as to how President-elect Barack Obama will govern once sworn in as our 44th President of the United States.
I hear the concerns of liberals who are angered that he will govern more towards the center and from the conservatives who are equally angered citing he will govern from the left, but the late President Kennedy, would say to all of us, get the job done to heal this nation. I do believe the late President John F. Kennedy would say, your concerns are petty compared to the dangers that do face we the people. Let everyone remember that he stared down a singular threat in Nikita S. Khrushchev where President-elect Barack Obama will be staring down multi-threats to this nation.
On this cold-fall-day where the temperature is in the twenties here in New York, there are folks packing up their belongings and being forced from their homes. Do they care how our 44th president will govern? Are they reading various blogs where many are pounding out their concerns? While the Internet has replaced newspapers where many get their information, these folks are using newsprint to carefully wrap their belongings that are as fragile as their spirits right now.
On this cold-fall-day as many go to their supermarkets to plan on what items to purchase for Thanksgiving Day, there are many who cannot even purchase a gallon of milk. Do they really care how President-elect Barack Obama will govern? I do not think so. They just want that gallon of milk.
As some run out of oil to heat their homes on this cold fall day, those huddled within their homes who cannot afford to heat their homes, do not really care how President-elect Barack Obama will govern. They need help now.
Who are we as writers, bloggers and various pundits to deny our fellow citizens this help?
The millions of workers who will be affected should the auto industry implode within itself and go bankrupt do not really care how President-elect Obama will govern. They need help now. To those auto executives, you have been told what is expected of you and that is to present a detailed plan to congress, now get that job done. Get rid of those fancy jets and take a pay cut to where you are only being paid minimum wage since you have failed all of us so miserably.
These auto executives stated they needed to fly these corporate jets for their safety and to them, our soldiers are dying each day and what of their safety? On the campaign trail our Vice President-elect Joe Biden traveled by Amtrak and he is now second in line to the highest office of this land. Think of the many threats the Secret Service are dealing with which are directed at our president-elect. Your concerns are small in comparison.
Some have voiced their concerns on various blogs President-elect Obama’s choice in Senator Clinton for Secretary of State and while I too have questioned it, at this moment in time, I will trust in his decision. She is a tough woman and as America faces many dangers abroad, we do need that her brand of toughness in dealing with these dangers. At times a kumbaya touch does not suffice as one looks to the recent incidents of piracy taking place off of the coast of Somalia.
I have written of Venezuela in the past, and in reading reports lately, I am concerned with Russia’s influence over that nation at this point. I want a strong Secretary of State and one who is as tough as nails addressing these concerns. I will be writing soon a column detailing my concerns of Venezuela. President Hugo Chavez, meet our new Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. She has been picked by our president-elect and I stand behind her.
Each day, President-elect Obama receives a daily intelligence briefing which is classified and while many some opine of the dangers that do face us as a nation, they are doing so from the outside. Can any of us even fathom what is being presented to him?
The tough economic times we are all facing as a nation are akin to a beast so few of us have seen in our life times. I can envision this beast in my mind’s eye and I tremble. This beast’s grip is around our throats as he shoves us all up against a proverbial wall. Many experts do not even know the full extent of how it will affect us all and that scares me to death. When the news broke yesterday that President-elect Obama had selected Timothy Geithner as his Treasury Secretary, the Dow soared. It was a brief moment of respite as many continue to hold their breaths daily on how this economic beast will consume us all.
I am literally praying that this new economic warrior amongst the other warriors who will be selected by President-elect Obama are able to fight this beast back in due time. I know the initial battles will not be felt instantaneously, but we must win this war against this economic beast.
As some continue to pick apart President-elect Obama’s choices or how he will lead, perhaps we should remember how millions of Americans are suffering. Some arguments are comparatively small when it comes to our nation climbing out of this ditch and getting out of it in one piece. This economic beast is just waiting to kick us back down.
On this day, we must remember the words of our late President John F. Kennedy who challenged us all in his inaugural address. I am of the opinion that January 20th, 2009 cannot come fast enough to end this long national nightmare.
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