We, the American people, are a group that make up one, single woman. We are beautiful, lazy, over-weight, multi-ethnic, and educated to a certain extent.  We are set in our ways and we are ALWAYS fashionable, in virtually every way. Understanding us is a difficult task, but the egotism that makes up the heart and soul of this country gives the appearance of simplicity.

The American people have had difficult past relationships with leaders and if we’re really going to look at the history of men that have courted her, we have to go back to the past and look at the reasons America was the hot chick, so many years ago.  Please excuse the length of this piece.

Martin Waldseemüller was a map maker.  He made a map known as “Universalis Cosmographia“.  On that map was a place called “America”.  This is the feminine derivative of Amerigo Vespucci, the famous Italian explorer.  Human kind has always anthropomorphized (and feminized) land.  The idea that that we look at our country in the same way, today, shouldn’t be a surprise.  Waldseemüller wouldn’t have guessed that giving the land a name from an explorer that had seen the American landscape would have been prophetic, but, unknowingly, he gave heritage and meaning to the land by naming America after Vespucci.  The operation of naming someone defines and dates that person in many ways, and with a Western European name came Western European ideals. America was to be the definition of the “West”, but only because of the affairs she’s been a part of.

With the European invasion on the North American continent, the need for proclamation followed.  First were the Spanish and French in the sixteenth century.  The colonies started at this time brought Western structure and trade. The education of our continent is a farce, I know, but these early concepts of laissez-faire economics, and the obvious advancements in capitalism later on, have become part of the molding of the economic brain that America has so proudly shown off.

Another beautiful side of America is its political institutions.  Revolution and development for human kind is a piece of America’s heart, and the history of America’s Revolution is deep and evident. As a child, my mother DRILLED into the definition of “integrity” – who you are, what you are doing, when no one is looking.  The discernment that comes along with integrity could be called the root of the problem in American politics today.  When considering the revolutionary past of America, you can’t help but look at issues that took the partially, independent colonies by storm – inappropriate taxation, an unruly “rule of law”, greed, and the lack of an expanding economy.  The eventual demise of the British Empire in the US territory scared the American heart and has created mistrust and a lack of discernment among her future suitors.

Religiously, America gained her salvation at the end of the Enlightenment.  This part of America’s heart and the reality of the people that form her, coexist in contrasting light with each other.  It’s THOUGHT that America’s religion stems from a traditional Protestant Christianity.  As time moves on and history unravels itself, we have come to know more and more about the original “teachers” (founders) and their intent.  The initial, historical thought is that Anglicanism/Socialism (quasi-Feudalism) was the demon and that fleeing from the enemy would allow people to worship as they please.  Now it is believed that the anticlerical attitude that took shape in England was brought to America.

Protestantism itself was protest, against received opinion and the exercise of authority.

- Paul Johnson – “A  History of the American People” (p40)

From the Puritans who sought to build an orthodox religious state, to Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin who reveled in the freedom of religious thought America gave them by exploring things like Deism and Unitarianism which were forbidden in the England from which their families came, America’s greatest strength and appeal has always been that it is a safe haven for God and God worship. (source)

This is all to say that America’s religious background has cultivated the discernment brought on by previous issues discussed.  America is a religious woman, just not to one, specific religion. (possible source)

Beyond childhood (the most formative time for a young girl), America has courted many men from many different backgrounds.  This is where the damage takes place.  Obviously, the faux-freedom of religion stained a beautiful girl’s face.  If you consider where and how moral decisions affect the face of America, our leaders would be the first to turn to, due to the responsibility placed in front of them.  Whether American leaders were elected from one party or another, the fact remains that a majority of America must elect them and, therefore, have approved that leader’s initial ideas and platform.  If that poor decision making takes place by that leader, America must wait until that leader’s time in office is up (in most cases).  The case for laying a foundation on which the responsibility lies on the leader is an important one.  The idea that America has knowingly elected Presidents on their presidential skills does not hold true.

As we look at mistakes on behalf of the men who have courted America, we see a trail of folly and deceit.  Going in an order from the most recent relationship disaster, here is a very brief list of instances in which America has grown to distrust her dates:

• George W. Bush – Lack of WMD in Iraq, the length of Operation Iraqi Freedom, failing to capture Osama Bin Laden, lack of progress on the declared War on Terror, and the elimination of many civil liberties on behalf of the War on Terrorism.
• Bill Clinton – Monica Lewinsky scandal,  the ensuing impeachment, but not removal from leadership, Travelgate, Whitewater, and Troopergate.
• George H.W. Bush -   The invasion of Panama and the pardon of Iran-Contra officials.
• Ronald Reagan – Iran-Contra conflict
• Jimmy Carter – Special counsel investigating campaign loans and pardons of attempted assassinator of Harry Truman.
• Gerald Ford – Pardon of Richard Nixon
• Richard Nixon – Watergate and Vietnam
• Lyndon Johnson – Vietnam and the lack of initiation on civil rights.
• John F. Kennedy – Bay of Pigs, Cuban Missile Crisis, and Alliance for Progress.
• Dwight D. Eisenhower – Lack of effective Cold War rhetoric and backed coups all over the world.
• Harry Truman – Dropped two atomic bombs on Japan and possibly appointed a KGB spy to the IMF.
• Franklin D. Roosevelt – Failure of Pearl Harbor preparation, suspension of civil liberties in times of war, and accused of not acting decisively enough to prevent or stop the Holocaust.
• Herbert Hoover – Failed to complete any type of economic reform for the Great Depression.
• Warren G. Harding – Teapot Dome affair and the appointment of many men for payments.
• Woodrow Wilson - Believed in segregation in higher education and the refusal to compromise on Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations.
• Theodore Roosevelt – Possibly set so many anti-trust laws into act that he might be responsible for the stock market crash of 1929 and felt that the white race was superior to all other races.
• William McKinley – The first American proponent of imperialism/globalization.
• Ulysses S. Grant – The Whiskey Ring and owned slaves.
• Andrew Johnson – Impeached for wrongly appointing colleagues into already occupied positions and owned slaves.
• Abraham Lincoln – appropriated powers no previous President had wielded: he used his war powers to proclaim a blockade, suspended the writ of habeas corpus, spent money before Congress appropriated it, and imprisoned 18,000 suspected Confederate sympathizers without trial.
• James Buchanan – Failed in opposing secession.
• Zachary Taylor – Owned slaves.
• James K. Polk – Owned slaves.
• John Tyler – Called “His Accidency” for inheriting the presidency and failing to do much of anything and owned slaves.
• William Henry Harrison – Owned slaves.
• Martin Van Buren – Owned a slave.
• Andrew Jackson – Indian Removal Act, Trail of Tears, involved in ethnic cleansing and owned slaves.
• James Monroe – Promoted imperialism and owned slaves.
• James Madison – War of 1812 and owned slaves.
• Thomas Jefferson – Marbury v. Madison, Indian Removal Act, supported extermination of Native Americans, dismissed women’s suffrage, Embargo Act of 1807, publically despised slavery, secretly slept with slaves, possibly fathered slave-children in secret, and owned slaves.
• John Adams – Suspension of civil liberties (Alien and Sedition Acts) and appointed judges of his liking prior to Jefferson taking office.
• George Washington – Lied about the cherry tree, torched Iroquois villages, never spoke out about slavery, took slaves as repayment at times, and owned slaves.

As you can see, with only a few men skipped, most of America’s lovers have come with many disappointments.  The dismayed citizens of our beautiful, buxom lady have endured a great deal of problems. These problems include lack of domestic oversight, criminality, slavery, and Amero-centric attitudes.  The men that have courted America have done a poor job and her father (justice) has been disappointed in the dates that she has been on.

If we look at Barack Obama as America’s new date, we HAVE to be realistic.  We have to understand that his intentions are different. Along with this, we have to be aware that no matter how well his intention may start, they will not be carried out the way America or Obama would like.

In his infancy as President and in the fresh, twitter pated relationship that has developed thus far, Obama has taken America out on the town and shown her to his friends.  She may be aging, but she is still attractive to the rest of the world.  Obama has revamped America into an interesting, and possibly progressive idealist beauty.  Since taking office, he’s dealt with a great deal (critics say too much) at one time and has had his work cut out for him.  One item to note is that he rarely publicly reminds America of her last love.  I find this key in understanding his current intentions and comparing these to those on the campaign trail.  He fought hard to remind America of the ill ways that her last love had cooked up.  The focus on progress and solutions has impressed many and has created a stirring amongst his followers and a new love for those unsure of him.

The loser in the latest election lost his purpose early and sided with an ideology that mimicked the previous love of America.  Now that the election is over and the fight is focused on agendas again, the opposition has become unsure of what may come with this young, handsome, educated, black man.  If you combine this equation of failure and polarization, the opposition has become fearful and has scrambled like rats on a sinking ship blown to pieces on the high seas.

Barack Obama has new ideas that will unite and divide, but as history has shown us (even in this article), America has been disappointed by nearly everyone of her suitors.  Few have impressed her.  What’s to say that Obama won’t?

Well, the only real way is to find out.  He is not a god, nor will he make decisions like one.  He may be more famous than Jesus and/or The Beatles, but the margin for error is great.

So the great question is “Why should America trust him with her heart?”

Many reasons.  One being that America doesn’t have much of a choice.  After being battered for so many years, it might be good for her to have a faith and trust in a man that proclaims that he will keep his word.  For her soul (our souls) we need to have some faith in someone to keep the trend of beautifying America.

Another reason is that America has taken up political arms and has declared she’s tired of the past.  America has a problem with dwelling on her past relationships and failures.  More than anything she’s tired of the representatives that she’s trusted.  This change appears to have marked a new, real step into a direction that reflects her mother’s (Europe) political, social, and economic values.

The last reason why America should give her current lover a chance is that America needs some healing. With a war, an occupation, a depression, disasters, corruption and general distrust of power, America needs a man just hold her and tell her everything WILL be ok.  The deep breath of peace and silence can do wonders for the soul. Part of this is let the grip of others’ problems, or others’ perceived problems loose and take some time to regroup.  I’m not talking about isolationism, but allowing others to take responsibility for uncontrollable situations outside of America.

I know the focus of this article has been more on the antithesis, rather than the thesis, but I felt that the thesis is simple and needs to be explained simply and understood simply.  America will not cease to exist with a Democrat in office (or a Republican, for that matter).  The sky will remain where it is and, as in most of history, another cycle will take shape. The simplicity of the thesis, at this point in Obama’s presidency, requires the fear to stay at bay.  Obama has only been in office for four months and no real examination can take place for months or even years.

It’s important to understand the nature of historical context in our modern day lives (drenched with an enormous political blogosphere).  But the awareness that has already started to take shape of Obama can’t be constituted by the uneducated layperson, nor should academics and opponents take much to heart.  Only time will tell, but until then, give the guy a chance. He may impress you.