Wish him well

A dear friend shared his concern for my political soul on the day after the election: "....now that the dust has settled, and your state seemed to put a dagger into Romney (who I actually voted for!)...will the world end? Surprisingly, the sun rose today where I live, and, though I didn't vote for him....I wish the chief executive of my nation the best, and pull for his success, don't you?" 

 

Well, do we wish the president success? 

 

I wish the nation well and I hope that the president will govern wisely and justly. I do not understand why this president did not triangulate in 2011 as did Bill Clinton after the 1994 elections. This is a centrist country, we love the middle. But I think this president governs from the far left. 

 

Do I pull for President Obama's success? I guess that depends on what he proposes. For example, George McGovern was said to be "ready to go to Hanoi on his hands and knees" to get peace if elected president. No, I couldn't support that.

 

I'm quite concerned about this Administration's views on firearms.  Why are they so opposed to so many forms of private gun ownership? Obamacare is a nightmare in the making; a good friend who's a physician - who voted for Obama in 2008 - believes it is a terrible mistake and will wreck her ability to provide quality care for her patients.  I am concerned about the cavalier approach we've taken to killing Americans with drones.  As they said in old Western movies, "some varmints need killin'", but I need some explanations when we unleash lethal firepower on an American citizen, away from the battlefield, without benefit of trial. I'm still trying to understand why Bush's military tribunals for foreign enemies were bad, but blasting an American (even a vile and disgusting one) into pink mist is ok with the left now. 

 

In a more workaday way, what really concerns me is the social change I see among many people who support this president.  Rush Limbaugh (liberals, insert derisive chuckle here) said if it's a choice between Santa Claus and work, which will most people choose? I've seen high school kids who have no working role model in their homes, who just don't think much about work after high school. I've heard teens speak about how they knocked up a girl so she'll get public assistance and they can live with her. Then there are the students who drop off their free lunch form, while drinking their daily $5 Starbucks coffee and listening to a new IPhone 5 or $300 Beats headphones. 

 

I see a scary attitudinal shift: work itself isn't valued. I heard teenagers mock the idea that Mitt Romney wanted them to have good jobs: Who wants a job?

 

My grandpa lived through the Depression - he worked in a coal mine from the age of 12 and was involved in the UMW in eastern Kentucky in the late 1930's - a bloody fight for workers' rights. He died in 1983 but I remember he told me, if we had hard times again, people would just take what they want, not stand in soup lines and bread lines.

 

God help us if he was right. 

 

So do I wish the president success? Yes, but in the same way I would wish a wayward friend success. I would hope he turns away from his vices and do that which honors his family. I would wish he'd get out of  a shady business and do well in a cleaner line of work.  And I would hope he will cut down on the spending that is destroying his home and live within his means, so that his children have a chance for a decent future.

Good luck and God bless you, Mr. President. I am praying for you. And for our country.

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