Recently, I was taken aback by a comment made by democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama. While speaking to a record crowd in Portland, Oregon, Obama quipped,
"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK."
The context of this message, as delivered to an environmentally conscious voter, was supposed to be a call for the United States to lead by example on such platforms as global warming and the development of alternative energy sources. His comment, however politically charged it was, delved deeper into the sentiment that many people feel towards the United States in the final days of the Bush Presidency.
Regardless of the context of Obama’s comment to his record setting crowd in Portland, his candor strongly suggests that the United States cannot have their proverbial cake and eat it too. Simply stated, Americans cannot enjoy success in the modern world if other nations are envious of American achievements.
His comments are not just in advocacy of eco-conservation but in view of how the world sees the United States when Americans succeed. Americans, in Obama’s view, cannot possess signs of great fortune when outsiders do not have the same great fortune. We cannot have the cars we want, the food we like, or the comfortableness we enjoy because a member of another country will see this behavior as greedy, unjustified, or, for lack of a better word, conspicuous.
Unfortunately, this view of the United States has leached into the minds of domestic thinkers as well. As with any negative ideal, if given long enough pause, it will root like a cancer, destroying all cognitive thought and any common sense one may have had prior. The shear absurdity of ruing your country because of her successes is tantamount to ruing your family for the size house you inhabit. Yet many dwell on this principle and suggest that the United States is a lesser country because we do not live like third world denizens intent on carrying buckets upon our heads and wearing loin cloths to the office.
Global warming may be the marker for heightened political correctness in America but it is simply a justification, a virtual pin-the-tail on the donkey game of anti-national sentiment being played in America today. Many believe with certainty that humans are capable of climate change through carbon emissions while others debate the veracity of these beliefs. Whether or not global warming exists in the realm of modern day politicking is irrelevant when using it in juxtaposition with the assertion that all other counties detest the United States because we consume the most natural resources and create the largest carbon footprints. Come on people. Surly you aren’t that gullible. Foreigners loathe the United States because of our successes, plain and simple.
The tide in America today is turning toward inner loathing because we have been brain-washed to believe we should feel guilty for succeeding. I venture a guess that this premise is not taught at any business school anywhere, foreign or domestic. We have citizens who believe that America is vile, her principles are corrupt, and her efforts are heartless. These values are taught every evening from six thirty to seven o’clock by most news people coast to cost; a self-fulfilling prophesy wreaking havoc on weak-minded thinkers incapable of fighting back with logical, counterintuitive arguments of their own.
Barack Obama’s comments to his Portland crowd are nothing more than a politician pandering to a crowd of people. All politicians engage in this behavior. His comments were intended to resonate with the overwhelming sentiment felt through out the crowd, and they presumably did. I cannot fault him for his message anymore than I can fault John McCain for any of his messages. But I can say this. Obama’s comments indicate he too has been brain-washed by the same contingency attempting to brain-wash all Americans with the message that if you succeed, you are a greedy and mean-spirited American hell-bent on destroying the world and all her natural resources through a debatable and scientifically unproven process called global warming. Think about it, and then respond. Our country just may depend upon it.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Sunshine and Sidewalks
Everyday, after work, my oldest daughter and I will take a walk and reflect on the events of the day. We walk because we have to, we talk, I supposed, because we want to, all the while, Sampson, our 100 pound Boxer paces gingerly around the block. Our talks have become one of my favorite moments because it allows me to see inside the mind of a 10 year-old girl, a place, even in my youth, I could not identify.
Our talks range in topic as routine as the daily grind and as technical as the effects of the invisible hand on a free market economy. We discuss politics, religion, life and death, and homework, whatever topic seems to lend itself to the sunshine and sidewalks we encounter while trekking in through our small place in the world. When the sidewalk ends, we check our conversations at the door much like a coat at a fancy restaurant. If there is further discussion, it is understood that it will be revisited the following evening.
In order to bridge the gap between a 30 something father and a 10-year-old daughter, especially when we venture into the realm of the more difficult topics, I have found it necessary to use analogies. Analogies allow me to explain advanced topics and reach understanding in areas that for the most part would go unsaid otherwise. Here are a few of my favorites:
Parenting is like coaching. If you don’t follow the coach’s rules, philosophies, and directions, you will probably end up sitting on the bench. It is a parent’s responsibility to be a good coach for their children. Therefore, if you don’t perform your home responsibilities well and right the first time, you probably won’t be going over to little Jenny’s house after school. Just like a coach is responsible for the team, I am responsible for you. Your success is my success. Parenting is like coaching.
We have a piggy bank at home that counts the change as it goes into the bank. It really is a neat little device. Each and every coin deposited adds to the total and it has become fun to discuss how we will spend the contents. Life is kind of like this little piggy bank. The more you put into your life, the daily smiles, the good attitudes, the hard work at school all add to the value of your life. All of life’s enriching experiences add to your ability to affect good in others and their opinions of you. But be careful not to break the bank too soon as you will not have enough capital to reach your original goals. Life is like a piggy bank.
Republicans and Democrats are like two of your friends who don’t like each other. Both want you to like them the best and they may even ask you to choose sides from time to time. You like both friends for different reasons and you are not willing to give up either friendship. At the end of the day, both children are still you friends even though they do not get along with each other. Republicans and Democrats are like two of your friends who don’t like each other. Their also both Americans.
It is hard to remember them all and honestly, some work better than others. What is important, however, is that you teach your children subject matter that is relevant in the world today in a manner in which they can understand. This is as good for the child as it is for the parent. It is my sincere hope that when my children are raised, they will remember our talks when alcohol is offered at a party or when a lit cigarette is passed their way. They might drawl on an analogy or a simple conversation and make the choice to “get back on defense.”
When my daughter was much younger we would recite the following poem each night at bedtime. I still know it by heart:
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Shel Silverstein
There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.
Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.
Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.
What a wonderful analogy for life and death. The world is full of great analogies if you just take the time to look and listen…most of the time…to a child on a walk after work while toting a 100 pound beast peeing on every tree, bush, or shrub we so eloquently pass. Just a thought.
Our talks range in topic as routine as the daily grind and as technical as the effects of the invisible hand on a free market economy. We discuss politics, religion, life and death, and homework, whatever topic seems to lend itself to the sunshine and sidewalks we encounter while trekking in through our small place in the world. When the sidewalk ends, we check our conversations at the door much like a coat at a fancy restaurant. If there is further discussion, it is understood that it will be revisited the following evening.
In order to bridge the gap between a 30 something father and a 10-year-old daughter, especially when we venture into the realm of the more difficult topics, I have found it necessary to use analogies. Analogies allow me to explain advanced topics and reach understanding in areas that for the most part would go unsaid otherwise. Here are a few of my favorites:
Parenting is like coaching. If you don’t follow the coach’s rules, philosophies, and directions, you will probably end up sitting on the bench. It is a parent’s responsibility to be a good coach for their children. Therefore, if you don’t perform your home responsibilities well and right the first time, you probably won’t be going over to little Jenny’s house after school. Just like a coach is responsible for the team, I am responsible for you. Your success is my success. Parenting is like coaching.
We have a piggy bank at home that counts the change as it goes into the bank. It really is a neat little device. Each and every coin deposited adds to the total and it has become fun to discuss how we will spend the contents. Life is kind of like this little piggy bank. The more you put into your life, the daily smiles, the good attitudes, the hard work at school all add to the value of your life. All of life’s enriching experiences add to your ability to affect good in others and their opinions of you. But be careful not to break the bank too soon as you will not have enough capital to reach your original goals. Life is like a piggy bank.
Republicans and Democrats are like two of your friends who don’t like each other. Both want you to like them the best and they may even ask you to choose sides from time to time. You like both friends for different reasons and you are not willing to give up either friendship. At the end of the day, both children are still you friends even though they do not get along with each other. Republicans and Democrats are like two of your friends who don’t like each other. Their also both Americans.
It is hard to remember them all and honestly, some work better than others. What is important, however, is that you teach your children subject matter that is relevant in the world today in a manner in which they can understand. This is as good for the child as it is for the parent. It is my sincere hope that when my children are raised, they will remember our talks when alcohol is offered at a party or when a lit cigarette is passed their way. They might drawl on an analogy or a simple conversation and make the choice to “get back on defense.”
When my daughter was much younger we would recite the following poem each night at bedtime. I still know it by heart:
Where the Sidewalk Ends
Shel Silverstein
There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.
Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.
Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.
What a wonderful analogy for life and death. The world is full of great analogies if you just take the time to look and listen…most of the time…to a child on a walk after work while toting a 100 pound beast peeing on every tree, bush, or shrub we so eloquently pass. Just a thought.
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