Where Do We Go From Here

A little over a year into this administration, President Obama is finally delivering on his campaign promises to provide healthcare for all Americans and he is warning his naysayers that comprehensive immigration reform is next on his short list. There's no question that this will provide for an equally divisive debate in America if not a harsher one. Since signing the new healthcare legislation into law, America's Tea Partiers, "Palinites", and just plain sore losers in the Republican Party have shown their true colors. From impulsive cursing on primetime television by the "moral party" to death threats, emotions have run rampant this month among both parties.

Television news shows are praising the President for what he has accomplished. As I listen to those opposing what seems to be every issue that President Obama attempts to address, I find it difficult to trace the real theme that the "party of no" is clinging to. Is it big government that they are so afraid of? I think there is more. After all, when big government was working for them for the past eight years they didn't seem to have a problem with it. I listened to one interview in which two Republicans on the panel claimed that given the choice, they would do away with social security and find their own ways to invest that money. Are comments like this really going to win them votes in November and in 2012?

I fully believe that President Bush would have signed any legislation brought before him by his party regarding healthcare, but they didn't ask. They instead sat on the sidelines while an astronomical amount of taxpayers' money was spent on a war that a majority of Americans didn't believe in. Was President Bush listening to the people? It was said on Larry King Live this week that a President who refuses to listen to the people is sure to be a one termer, and yet Americans allowed a second term for President Bush.

It's true that our nation came under attack in 2001, and we did the right thing to address that. Since then, however, we have fought a War on Terror that has stripped us of our own liberties. Our government has behaved shamefully in its treatment of prisoners. Cititzens in our own country have died becuase of the lack of access to quality healthcare, while we have spent an obscene amount of money to provide for democracy abroad. Still Sarah Palin has a huge following of Americans following her across the nation ranting about big government and what it does with their tax dollars.

I think it is time for Americans to get behind this President who is in fact getting things done for this country. It is refreshing to many of us to see what has happened this past week at our nation's Capitol. I hope that as the President tackles big issues in the future like immigration reform, repealing "Don't ask, Don't tell", marriage equality, and many other issues that in fact do matter to many of us, that we will stand behind this President who has shown that he wants to provide for a government that works for all of us. All we see on television now are the opponents of the President, but huge amounts of us voted for this change and I think it's time that we own it. Let's support President Obama in providing America with "change we can believe in" and let us not forget what it felt like to take our country back from the oppressiveness that has shadowed over us for the past eight years. The fact is that it is patriotic to defend our President and we need to join together as he tries to build a new framework for a successful nation. Repair of the old system has proven to be not good enough and will be an utter waste of time that will be better spent on getting things done for the common good of our nation's people. Peace!