It’s tough to please the masses when media outlets and astro-tuff sedition groups denounce the president as a fool with his head in the air.  Some of these groups have already declared victory in 2010 for the GOP and a 50/50 split for the 2012 election.

It will be a near impossible victory for Obama if he doesn’t start living up to his promises.  The hope of a 2009 Public Option Health Care Bill is still being decided in the Senate and there’s rumors of a 2010 Immigration Reform Bill.  Only time will tell…

Here’s a great analysis from CNN:

This is a three part series that takes a deep look into this topic of guns and religion and the role that they play in politics. The topic, itself, looks at American history, the Second Amendment, a Christian nation, and gun sales. The continuing parts of this post will be labeled in corresponding posts seen as “Part 2”, “Part 3”, etc., etc.

Click here to view the embedded video.

So, it depends on where you are, but I think it’s fair to say that the places where we are going to have to do the most work are the places where people feel most cynical about government. The people are mis-appre…I think they’re misunderstanding why the demographics in our, in this contest have broken out as they are. Because everybody just ascribes it to ‘white working-class don’t wanna work — don’t wanna vote for the black guy.’ That’s…there were intimations of that in an article in the Sunday New York Times today – kind of implies that it’s sort of a race thing.

Here’s how it is: in a lot of these communities in big industrial states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, people have been beaten down so long, and they feel so betrayed by government, and when they hear a pitch that is premised on not being cynical about government, then a part of them just doesn’t buy it. And when it’s delivered by — it’s true that when it’s delivered by a 46-year-old black man named Barack Obama (laugher), then that adds another layer of skepticism (laughter).

But — so the questions you’re most likely to get about me, ‘Well, what is this guy going to do for me? What’s the concrete thing?’ What they wanna hear is — so, we’ll give you talking points about what we’re proposing — close tax loopholes, roll back, you know, the tax cuts for the top 1 percent. Obama’s gonna give tax breaks to middle-class folks and we’re gonna provide health care for every American. So we’ll go down a series of talking points.

But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there’s not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. So it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

Um, now these are in some communities, you know. I think what you’ll find is, is that people of every background — there are gonna be a mix of people, you can go in the toughest neighborhoods, you know working-class lunch-pail folks, you’ll find Obama enthusiasts. And you can go into places where you think I’d be very strong and people will just be skeptical. The important thing is that you show up and you’re doing what you’re doing.

The portion selected was immediately picked up by Obama’s opposition, both from the right and the left.  Again, this was during the 2008 campaign where EVERYTHING is documented and scrutinized by all.  The response by the conservative media and conservative pundits was the usual disappointment (source).  The usual retaliation of such a blunt statement made deserves the reaction it received.  The statement minimized a great deal of the nation into a static, discriminatory cult of mindless drones and believe what is told to them by religious leaders.  The statement could be compared to a stereotype on every level.  He might as well have said, “Women are bad drivers.”  Brutal and obtuse, hu?

The lack of vision for the statement that is obvious and his apologetic attitude afterwords was warranted and admittedly in poor taste.  Obama is known to be a cooth orator and understand the importance of an effective speech.  The mistake may have been made on many accounts and we must accept the apology as it is, and was.

As a skeptic, I have to ask myself the question that I heard very little about when the media reported this misstep; “Is he correct in saying this?”

I have asked myself this for over a year now and it has put new thoughts into my head about our country.  Has this been a political blunder? Or is there truth to it?

Some history…

It’s been a volley of sort, going back and forth, on whether religion is a weapon of mass destruction or not.  The debate on religion and war, where violence and religion intersect, and why they clash could fill a book.  Why is it that the ethics of religion comes into question when politics that distances itself from any religion takes control?

I think it would have been silly not to predict a Democratic victory in the 2008 Presidential election.  The President is a person who is not above the law, so I think we can all say that anything that the he does, just shy of being a constitutional revisionist, is under the umbrella of the law.  In the past few months, there has been rumors that Barack Obama would go above or around the law to change law(s) to his liking.  To be specific, our Second Amendment is in question, which has protected the right to own guns in our country since its conception in minds of old, bright men.  In 1791, Congress ratified the amendment in which it says, “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

Part of early colonial life was based around religion, where little violence existed.  Few were hanged for their beliefs and even fewer were burned at the stake for their beliefs.  Many groups and a few colonies were set up on a certain type of Christianity was practiced.  The origins of the religious freedoms were based off the need for a more pure and properly educated Christianity.  At the cusp of The Enlightenment, liberalism seeped into colonial society in a very quiet fashion and soon a liberal Christianity took place with a competing scientific view.

This led to a reaction called “The Great Awakening”.  Johnathan Edwards led this Christian uprising which came to a high in the mid 1740′s.  The Awakening has been said to be the proto-revolutionary event.  It crossed all doctrinal lines and empowered many to take a stand against Europe.  After the American Revolution, John Adams said, “The Revolution was effected before the War commenced.  The Revolution was in the mind and hears of the people: and change in their religious sentiments of the duties and obligations.”  Popular enthusiasm came from The Enlightenment’s elitism and the zeal of Awakening (Paul John – A History of the American People – p.116).  This created the perfect setting for the Revolution.

Our country’s history glorifies the leaders (Deists) and creators that came not only from The Enlightenment, but also from the Great Awakening.  The moderates that they were, the founding fathers of this nation had the opportunity to capitalize on the rigorous hold that Europe had on the colonies.  The religious freedom sought after nearly one hundred earlier translated into political and secular freedom.

Less than twenty years later, the Second Amendment was signed.  The origin of “the right to bear arms” has been traced back to the 12th century in England.  The true popularity of the right came to light during the Protestant overthrow of the Catholic King James II.  At the end of the Glorious Revolution, William and Mary signed the English Bill of Rights that included the right to bear arms with the intent to give (even non-land owning citizens) the people the opportunity to oppose a national army or standing local militia.

In no particular order, early American settlers viewed the right to arms and/or the right to bear arms and state militias as important for one or more of these purposes:

• deterring undemocratic government;
• repelling invasion;
• suppressing insurrection;
• facilitating a natural right of self-defense;
• participating in law enforcement;
• slave control in slave states.

(source for this list and previous paragraph)

Colonists were resistant to Europe and the King because of the English Bill of Right’s declaration of the right to bear arms.  The contradicting English government had a difficult time containing the colonists and Revolution proceeded from there.

Though the Revolution itself was mildly fought with only 50,000 dead (the American Civil War topped 500,000), those who initiated the schism  had the backing of a religious establishment of nearly one hundred years old.  Puritan, Presbyterian, and conservative Catholicism in the 17th century could quite possibly be the reason that the Revolution took place.  Is it possible then to say that Barack Obama’s statement has truth to it?

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Other information:

U.S. Gun Laws: A History

This has been followed up by violence and death threats to liberal politicians.  I spoke to a friend about a month ago about the protests when they started and I predicted the violence would follow.  Health care is shaping up to be a something that the Right is willing to become violent over.  The lack of education on the current health care situation and the bill at hand only adds fuel to the poor lit fire.

This problem isn’t limited to the health care debate, as you may see in some of the footage below, but the issue of Obama’s birth certificate is emerging again.  This may not be as controversial, but nevertheless, those who buy into this waist of time.  These people have created faux birth certificates and out of this world facts (I’m almost thinking out of this universe).

This post is exposing these people and their lack of education and lack of civility and dignity in voicing their opinions.

Footage:

Click here to view the embedded video.

This is from a rally in Brighton, CO.  No violence, but lack of education on the bill is apparent.

Click here to view the embedded video.

A look at the paranoia in the conservative media.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This is a favorite of mine.  Why would they not want to answer questions about their own bill?

Click here to view the embedded video.

An NBC reporter exposes fake town hall protesters.

Debunking health care reform myths:

A quote by Gandhi, to keep things in perspective.

“I object to violence because when it appears to do good,
the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.”
-Gandhi

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.

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