02-24-2009 Entry

Being no surprise at all, I have decided to comment on President Obama's speech to the Congress that occurred tonight.

I would like to comment on the partisan makeup of American politics. It is better than a unipolar system, where one party has complete control over the country and no opposition is present to stop the party from oppressing on the people. On the flip side, a political system with numerous parties can create chaos in politics. When the country is in dire need of immediate action, a system with more than two parties cannot get anything done quickly, which can lead to many more problems down the road. Yet I am not saying that the system of two (dominant) political parties that we have here in America is perfect. Skirmishes arise, where the party with the majority can instill its will without any consideration to suggestions from the other party. This is not the purpose of having opposing parties. The party in majority MUST back off of high gear and take into consideration suggestions from the minority party. The absolutism of a party is primarily what I want to talk about hear in this introduction.

Every four years, each of the major political parties (Republican and Democrat) come together at a National Convention, where they not only nominate a member of their party to run for president, they create a platform of beliefs and principles by which their members are to uphold when they are at work, whether it be the Congress or the Oval Office. When, in the uncommon event, a party member votes or acts in opposition to a belief or principle set down in the platform, that member is almost for certain to be criticized for their actions, whether it be right or wrong for the nation. This threat forces many members to uphold the platform, whether they the individual believe in it or not. This is NOT right. A platform must not be a rigid set of beliefs and principles. Flexibility must be allowed, so that the elected official acts correctly for the nation, not the party. We are no where near this. Tonight, while I was watching the speech, and in recent years with President Bush, the party that was not in the White House would often not clap, nor stand to comments made by the President, whether they were right or wrong. A clear split of opinion was evident. Politicians must act for what's best for America, and not base their actions on a party platform.

Now I will move on (finally) to the speech by the President. A few key ideas I got out of the speech that I thought were good and important were as follows. For one, President Obama proposed that the Congress act immediately to pass legislation that would update the outdated regulatory system. Many of the regulations were created at a time much different, and were appropriate for the time being. Yet as we see they remain to be the rules of the road. Changes to these must be made.

Then President Obama proposed and advocated for a push for the growth of renewable resources. We have relied on foreign oil for too long, and have dragged our feet in creating energy that is both clean and renewable. America developed solar technology, yet we fall behind to other nations such as Germany or Japan when it comes to using it. We must not wait any longer. The oil will not last forever, and continued use of it will only lead to more environmental problems down the road.

The last key point that I will talk about tonight will be President Obama's push for the growth of higher education. At one time, America led the world in people with degrees, and now we trail in that category. More public funding must be redirected to higher education, so that more people can obtain degrees. More and more jobs require more than a high school diploma, yet less than half of Americans possess more than that high school diploma. I, for one, am a strong supporter of education, because with education comes tolerance of others, and increased knowledge and appreciation of more topics. Many people today do not understand the culture of the Islam religion, and usually correlate Islam with terrorism. In reality, Islam is a religion of peace, like Christianity and Judaism. Only a very small number of Muslims have taken the Qu'ran's words to imply that a Jihad against the Western world must take place to stop the oppression. Few people actually understand that Christianity, Judaism and Islam are so intertwined, whether it come down to monotheism, or the role of Jesus Christ, the Savior for Christians, and a prophet for Muslims. A better education of other cultures raises tolerance, and in the end would help promote peace between people of all religions and cultures.

I'll end there tonight, for if I were to go on any further, I might as well publish it as a book and appear on the Colbert Report. Remember peace be with you all, and keep an optimistic outlook on life. For all you Christians, tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. Have a peaceful one. :)

-F.B.