Wednesday, November 5, 2008

President Elect

I do not agree with the political philosophies and policies of our new president elect, Barack Obama. I do not agree with penalizing success. I do not agree with forcing American citizens to share their wealth (thereby robbing the rich of the chance to part with it freely and the poor of gratitude). I do not agree with expanding government involvement in every aspect of our lives (meddling in education, healthcare, and business will only make things more inefficient, complicate our lives, and provide more opportunity for corruption). I do not agree that legal abortion is in the best interest of American women.

That being said, I think that the United States had some victories last night. The fact that the American people chose a black man to serve in its highest political office is evidence that we have, for the most part, overcome a terrible part of our past. (If nothing else, it means that we won't have to hear as much spew from Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.) I hope that the election of a black president by a white majority will help heal the relationship between white Americans and Americans of other races.

I also believe that appointing Barack Obama to serve as president will instantaneously improve damaged relationships with foreign powers. He has not been painted as an imperialist or a warmonger by the foreign media. He is eloquent and carries himself with dignity (although he needs a sense of humor).

So, although he won't be taking the country in the direction I would have liked, I will audaciously hope that he takes it in a good direction. It will be interesting to see what he is able to accomplish in the next four years and whether he is still as popular as he is now.

6 comments:

Rebekah said...

yeah. i agree. and even though i don't agree with what he promotes, i think that the office of president of the united states deserves some respect, which is something people never gave it when bush was in office. i hope people show a little respect, since he is our president now. it doesn't mean we have to agree with everything, but i think it is horrible how people treated bush and i don't think that anyone in that position deserves that kind of treatment. if nothing else, people should respect the office itself.

Brandon and Emily said...

Well said Miles!!! I agree totally

Jen R. said...

well said.

Jen R. said...

dang it, someone else already said that. I hate it when that happens. How embarassing!

NanRomn said...

Wow. I must have done something right. My kids are such great people!!! Thanks for the great attitude and perspective, Miles.

Dave said...

One thing about Obama that impresses me is that he says that he likes to hear differing viewpoints before making a decision. He says he will surround himself with people who challenge his ideas. I believe that this is an important aspect of a good leader. I get the impression that he is intelligent enough to not do anything stupid. Of course, he is still largely unknown.

While I also disagree with many of his policies, I think he may be able to accomplish some good things. I worry about his liberal voting record. However, I think he is open minded. I am cautiously optimistic that he will be a good president. He has a fascinating story and I am intrigued to see how successful his adminstration will be. Time will tell.