Our President.

There is a discussion on the CNN group page of Facebook about Mr Obama being the world’s president. That can be taken several ways. What needs to be remembered is Mr. Obama was elected to be the president of the USA and that’s all. As president he is a world leader, not the leader of the world. Most of all he is only a man, albeit a man trying to lead one of the most powerful nations in the world.

He does not lead the world anymore than the USA does. Our ideals and polices can’t be forced down the throats of the world governments. Our beliefs are what have made us strong, but that does not mean they are right for everyone. The my way or the highway attitude has never worked in diplomacy and never will. We can offer support and aide but we can not force others nations to fit into the mold and become like us.

The job of fixing the economy and leading a military that is fighting a multi-front war is daunting enough for anyone. Let’s not endow him with super powers and expect him to fix the world as well.

We must remember that Mr. Obama is a man not a miracle worker. Let us give him a chance to do his job and not hold him to a standard no man can meet.

Symbols Of Power

Watching the inauguration of President Obama I was struck by the symbols of power that were all around him. From the monuments on the mall, to the capital building, to the bands and flags everything represents the power that is behind this man who is now our President.

Of all those symbols of power perhaps the greatest of all were all the people who were there to see the inauguration take place. The people are the true power behind the President. In truth they are the power behind the whole government, they are what makes it work. Our government is of the people and without the people it will not work.

We look to our leaders to guide us through these troubled times, yet they can not solve those problems by themselves. It is up to each of us to step up and do our part. To stop asking what the government is going to do to fix our broken world and instead ask what we can do to make things better.

We have evolved a strange symbiotic form of government. Our leaders can’t exist without the people and we the people must have our leaders to show us the way. The job of steering the ship of state requires either working together or it will run aground.

If the next four years are to be a time of change that change will have to be achieved by all of us doing our part. As another great leader once said “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”. If we stand together nothing can keep us down.

Road Trip

Do you remember going for a Sunday drive when you were young? The whole family would load into the station wagon and head off on a voyage of discovery. If you were lucky your folks might stop at one of those wonderful roadside attractions that I like to call tourist traps. These were distinguished by having some interesting attraction that you could only see if you walked through the gift shop.

Sea Shell City, The Reptile Gardens, Castle Rock, The Mystery Spot, The Dancing Waters, and The Underground Forest are just a few that come to mind. I’m sure there were places we drove to that were beautiful and educational, but nowhere near as interesting as the man eating clam at Sea Shell City or the view from the top of Castle Rock.

Of course there was the trip itself, playing car games like trying to spot the letters of the alphabet on billboards along the road, doing things to annoy your brother or sister, and having dad threaten to stop the car and “come back there”.