I find myself trying to understand how the people of this nation can be so far apart on basic issues regarding the condition of our country. It baffles me that so many people have chosen to support, and re-elect, a man who has demonstrated such disregard for truth in even the smallest matters... a man who promised transparency, yet has excelled in hiding or spinning things.
I need help understanding this, and getting answers from his supporters. I'm asking all of my liberal, moderate and otherwise non-conservative friends to help me understand by answering the following questions. This note is not intended to be trite or sarcastic... I'm seeking real input.
1. How many times has President Obama allowed a bill to stay on his desk for a 5-day waiting period before he signed it into law? This was a promise he made in the 2008 election cycle and I find no evidence that he has done this at all.
2. Is Gitmo still open?
3. In his first term, did President Obama cut the deficit in half, as promised? If not, what is the status of that deficit?
4. How many former lobbyists are currently, or have been, in Obama's cabinet or on his staff? He made a promise in the 2008 election cycle to hire none of these types of people, yet sources indicate the contrary.
5. What's the current unemployment rate and how many months has it been over 8% in the last 4 years?
6. What percent of our GDP is our current national debt?
7. How many days, in 2012 alone, was President Obama out of the White House... including his "chair" that's supposedly occupied?
8. How many times does "separation of church and state" appear in the U.S. Constitution?
9. How many times does "Congress shall make no law" appear in the U.S. Constitution?
10. Which amendment to, or portion of, the U.S. Constitution gives the federal government the authority to mandate health insurance for every citizen?
11. How many more months or years will pass before President Obama admits that his administration knew about the attacks on Bengazi while they were happening and yet they chose to do nothing?
12. Is 10% of $1,000,000 more or less than 10% of $50,000?
13. Have you ever heard of Greece or Spain?
14. Where is the funding going to come from that will pay for Obamacare and the other social programs that the Federal Government wants to run?
15. Do you know what H.R. 3590 was and what it did? **This one is VERY important!!**
16. Can you name one program that the government runs more efficiently than its private sector counterpart?
17. Can you tell me what "enumerated" means and how it applies to our Federal Government?
18. How many times has the Senate passed a budget in the last 4 years?
19. Have you ever worked for a person who runs a company and makes $20,000 per year? If so, what kind of business was it?
20. What percentage of U.S. spending is currently borrowed from other countries, like China?
If we really dig deep for answers, the root of our problems come from extreme levels of partisanship. But how do the extremes (i.e. liberals and tea party conservatives) get elected? They get elected because the people who nominated them vote with damaging emotions, such as anger, fear, greed, and hate.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the greatest leaders, those who are best suited for national positions, do not run for office because of the terrible vetting process and incredible amount of money to win an election.
Compounding the problem is that, once the primary elections arrive, most voters base their decisions on short sound bites, one-sided debates, negative advertisements, abstract language, or half-truths and lies covering social media.
I haven't even mentioned the lobbyists.
In summary, the unfortunate (and natural) path of human nature is toward self-destruction. This is true of people just as it is of nations. We have the capacity to save ourselves but we probably won't do anything until something really extreme occurs. Similarly, most human beings have the capacity to find meaning and purpose in their lives but they instead they lose themselves in a constant barrage of distraction and illusion.
I'll have more to say on this in an upcoming blog post. Thanks for provoking thought, as always, Ken...
Kent
Kent: the short soundbite comment is spot on. Anybody heard of the "War on Women" lately?
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