Friday, September 11, 2009

This September 11

Eight years ago I was a freshman in high school. On September 11, like every other day, I went to my first period class. Then, about 8:50 or so I walked to my 2nd period class, which happened to be English. I got there just in time to see my worldview come crashing down along with thousands of American lives.

The President at the time decided that this couldn't happen again, and took action, with the support of Congress and politicians from both sides of the aisle. And for a while, the nation was with him. But then it got difficult, and started taking too long, and suddenly it was a terrible idea. Suddenly, it seemed like the nation turned against the President and it was now time to bash him and his decisions.

Respect was lost for the President, and hating him became the "thing to do", and he was continually blasted over every decision that he made. The media made sure every misspeak, every hesitation during a speech, every slight error he made was blown out of proportion and the public knew he was completely inept and unsuited for this job.

Now, do I think everything he did was right? Was every decision he made the best? No. I disagreed with several things he did, especially toward the end of his presidency. But to blast him? To berate him? I like to make jokes, and poke fun at things. But blatantly disrespecting someone like the President? Especially during such a critical time in American history? What happened to the unity we experienced after 9/11? The leader of our country deserves a certain amount of respect. Especially one elected twice. Apparantly, he did something right, at least during the first four years. The outpouring of downright hatred for our President was unpatriotic, unAmerican, and downright disturbing.

Now you're saying, "But that's over now! So what?" Well, my point is, it wasn't cool then, it ain't cool now. I am not a fan of Barack Obama. I think nationalized healthcare is a bad idea. I don't particularly like his stance on abortion, or his overturning of funding for embryonic stem cell research. Nor do I much like his foreign policy, and for that matter most aspects of his domestic. But he is my President, the leader of this country, and should get the respect he deserves. Disagree with him, dislike him, but don't disrespect him.

But neither should you idolize him. He's just a man, and men make mistakes. Just because he comes up with a policy doesn't mean it's gonna be great. Just as the media hung on to all of Bush's mistakes, they've glazed over Obama's. A politician is only as good as the media makes him. The media has turned Obama into a savior, who will lead America out of the depths of Bush's failures. But one man can't save an entire country, just as one man can't destroy one. It's time we stopped looking for the one person who can change things, and start looking to help change things ourselves. Maybe we should be trying to get back the unity we had as a country 8 years ago. That'd be a big enough change for now.

But what do I know. I don't even like politics.