So, it's been a while since I posted a blog about the pathetic state of our nation, but the president's speech tonight made me realize that nothing is going to improve anytime soon, especially for my generation. Although there were points in which President Obama gave promises and plans for solving problems, such as earmark reform, the speech left me very unsatisfied. I think he made excuses for his mistakes and tried at every opportunity to blame either former president George W. Bush or the Republicans in Congress for our government's problems. It is about time Mr. Obama stands up and take some responsibility for his past year in office.
Over the past year, we have seen a loss in millions of jobs. Although our president promised unemployment would not go above 8%, he once again failed in carrying out a promise to the American people. This scares me, as it should scare everyone in my generation who are looking for careers in the near future. According to the "dials," which show approval from both Democrats and Republicans throughout the State of the Union, both sides were unhappy when Obama said we had turned the corner on the recession. It is still not clear whether we have, with many Americans still experiencing economic difficulties. We not only see a very high unemployment rate, but almost no efforts to lower it. Businesses and employers who are taxed more and more to pay for government programs are not as likely to hire new employees. This is simple economics. Young people, such as myself, should be nervous and angry at this administrations approach to the economy. Obama asked in his speech for a second stimulus. If the first one "fixed" the economy, why would we need a second? Maybe we should stop spending money to solve a spending problem. More debt will not get us out of the hole we are already in. And this is a hole which myself and the rest of Americans my age will have to dig us out of.
Something that surprised me about the speech was not something that was said, but rather something that wasn't really talked about. National Security. About a month ago, on Christmas hundreds of Americans' lives were nearly lost because a fanatic wanted to blow up an airplane. This man was caught and is being treated like a typical criminal. The Obama administration says "the system worked," but really, the system got lucky his bombs didn't go off. The newly elected Senator from Massachusetts, Scott Brown, said " In dealing with terrorists, our tax dollars should pay for weapons to stop them, not lawyers to defend them." I could not agree more. In order for our nation to remain safe, we have to use all means necessary in order to defeat our enemies. If we allow terrorists to harm Americans now, giving them the promise that they will be treated like an average American citizen, we open ourselves up to more threats and potential attacks from our enemies. Those in Congress say they want to keep America safe, well start acting rather than just talking. I look to my future and see America safe from foreign enemies where my children (when I have them a long time from now) will not be afraid to go outside.
There was a point in the speech which actually infuriated me. While President Obama was discussing campaign finance, he made a point to call out the Supreme Court on their ruling, which allows business to donate as much money as they want to candidates. He basically said that the Supreme Court had ruled incorrectly. Since when is it the president's job to control the Supreme Court's decisions? This is the same president who "didn't want to be the CEO of an auto company or bank." I'm waiting for his next speech saying he doesn't want to be in charge of the Supreme Court. Our founders should be rolling over in their graves because this man is taking his power too far. We don't want a supreme ruler, if we did, we wouldn't have rebelled against Great Britain.
Overall, this speech to me was terrible. I felt like we rewound the clocks to 2008 and Obama was running again. I expected him to be more moderate in his approach, but he stayed with the policies which have been enraging citizens across the country. He said he blames himself for not thoroughly explaining what his plans were. That's not true. He spent so much time on television and the radio that we know exactly what he wants. Our problem isn't that we are too stupid or ignorant to understand his policies, our problems are with the policies themselves. President Obama needs to stop explaining himself and revise his strategy into something the American people actually want, not just what he wants.
