Truth be told: Frustrating change is what defines us as a nation
Ami Fields-Meyer
Political Columnist
I’m Ami and I’ll be writing a column about politics every few weeks in this section of The Roar. I write a political blog called Truth Be Told (tbtpolitics.com) and post new pieces several times a week.
A four-year-old got angry and dragged her ruby-red crayon all over my computer screen. That’s what the map on my MacBook Pro looked like on Election Night: a fresh coat of crimson Crayola. And, as four-year-olds are known to do, she colored outside of the lines. It’s messy, it’s uncalled for, and I’m feeling a complex combination of overwhelming emotions.
I’m angry that Republicans have retaken the House. I’m worried that the poor will be left to fend for themselves, that special-interest groups will determine the fate of our economy, that Congress will decide to regulate who can love whom, and that energy reform will manifest itself in the form of tax breaks for pollution-prone companies. I’m baffled by such an abrupt shift in popular ideology and loss of faith in new policies that haven’t yet had the chance to prove or disprove themselves. I’m concerned that my new speaker, John Boehner, is getting a little too much sun.
I’m terrified. I’m on the edge of my seat. I’m bellowing vitriolic insults at a Sony flat-screen television. But in the face of such severe inner-ire, there’s something that I must concede.
If there’s one thing that I learned on Tuesday night–regardless of the magnitude of my outrage–it’s that we live in an incredible country, the likes of which the world has rarely seen. The “city on a hill” phenomenon–the idea of American exceptionalism in its traditional context–is not what I’m pointing to. I’m not saying that economically or socially, culturally or educationally, commercially or religiously, America is any more “exceptional” than the next country. What’s incredible, however, is that the same ethos of cyclical change that ushered in the would-be era of liberal influence in 2008, became its roadblock tonight. And that, even an angry-off liberal must admit, is exceptional.
There are countries in this world that have held the same leaders (or whose leaders have held them) for decades–generations. A steady capacity for change, in all its ambiguity and disappointing two-sidedness, is a remarkable achievement.
Taking a good, hard look at the shifts in influence from the beginning of the Clinton era to the dawn of the Gingrich era to the beginning of the Bush era to the dawn of the Pelosi era to the beginning of the Obama era to the dawn of what may prove to be the Boehner era, one realizes what American freedom really means.
There’s been no violence, there’s been no bloodshed, and in an undisputed, clear-cut manner, the tables have very dramatically turned. The elasticity of the potential for power to shift in the United States is a present-day embodiment of Constitutional freedom and proof that Lincoln’s government “of the people, by the people, for the people” has not perished from the earth.
“Frustrated” doesn’t begin to describe it. I’m worried about the economy, just as I’m anxious about the well-being of the environment. I’m worried about the future of welfare and Social Security. I’m worried about racial profiling. I’m worried about a second subprime mortgage crisis. But paramount above that extraordinary frustration, there’s only one thing that I can coherently verbalize: God bless America.
Another Milken Student • Nov 9, 2010 at 11:21 pm
While Ami may be afraid of Republicans taking back the house, I exhaled a breath I’ve been holding since Obama was elected. Barack Obama’s presidency did not represent to me the equality and opportunity available in America, but rather, epitomized the worst possible byproduct of universal suffrage: an inappropriate leader elected by ignorant masses. By electing a president with next to no federal political experience, especially when compared to his opponent, John McCain, who boasted nearly 30 years of service as both a senator and representative, the American people demonstrated their inability to understand the problems of their own nation. Barack Obama, was elected because he represented the change that he preached, and Americans believed they needed. He was a young black man, the opposite of President Bush, who most believed was the root of the economic crisis, so it was only natural to believe he could only bring change to our nation for the better. Americans were unable to understand that a radically new face would not be the solution to America’s problems, but rather, a strong, determined leader with clear goals and a track record to prove his competency would most likely lead America safely through the tough time in its history . A failed stimulus package in our wake, a national debt higher than ever, and social healthcare looming over us in the future, its pretty obvious why Obama’s approval rating fell all the way from 65% and is now struggling to stay above 40%. American’s are starting to realize that Obama isn’t the president they thought he would be. If its frustrating to see four year olds draw red on the map, it was terrifying to see ignorant adults paint the white house blue. Americans realized that they had made a mistake by granting power to the Democrats, and I see the Republican ascension to power as a formal recognition of the voter’s folly.
Yet Another Milken Student • Nov 15, 2010 at 3:11 pm
How quickly the integrity of the majority is cast aside when public opinion shifts in the opposite direction of the commentator. It could behoove Another Milken Student to recall a similar dip in popularity when Bill Clinton was president and during which time he lost both the House and the Senate. While Another Milken Student argues this is due to the voter’s realization of folly (an unlikely but possible answer) it is more closely related to the usual effect of having a leader who’s main area of focus is legislative action rather than vague, naive ideological speechmaking. Popularity tends to increase when speeches and promises are simpler (as during the 2008 presidental race) but dwindle when real change is at hand. I would urge Another Milken Student to think before drawing conclusions from rising debt caused not only from action in the last two years but from the last two presidents as well.