The Day After the Day After

This is a response to an email I received that I thought I would share with the readers of my blog. I will ask the original writer if I can post his original thoughts so this might make more sense but I hope you understand the larger part of this writing.



The day after the day after I still hold the belief that no matter what party is in control in Washington, the difference to me is still negligible. Agreed, it isn't to say that it doesn't matter because how our government is run does impact and influence our opportunity for success or failure but, we as citizens are in control of our own fates/destiny. The day after the day after - that hasn't changed. We make the choices of who we put in office and we continue to put the same people back in positions to change and shape not only our future but those of our children. So we are to blame for the whole lot of them and not just the 1 who occupies the oval office.

For those of us that supported Obama, we still hold our optimism that it can't be status quo. The day after the day after, I have no trouble swallowing my choice. I still believe that there are people in the world that want the greater good for our country and our world. This election inspired people and brought more people to the polls. For the first time in a very long time, the apathy that has engulfed our country was overrun by an inspiration to bring about change and that was from both camps. The world stood still for the first time since 9/11 and watched America to see how we would deal with our latest crisis (both the financial crisis and the crisis of our position as being seen as a world leader and not a world bully). The day after the day after - the world's opinion of America changed for the better for the first time since our occupation of Iraq. (Yes, I support our troops wholeheartedly and for those that read my blog, you will know that I thank them and my children thank them every opportunity we get. But, I would rather the tax dollars that continue to bleed us dry supporting a country that should be rebuilding on it's own should be going to change our infrastructure and our school systems that are shaping our future leaders.)

One of the mantras of change was ending the partisan bickering of Washington. You show me a politician who hasn't shown his ass so to speak at some point in his career and said something stupid or been misquoted and I will show you a politician who isn't elected or is out of office. When you have republican congressional candidates running ads that tout their ability to work with Obama before the vote even took place, that shows a hope that there will be a reaching across the aisle so the day after the day after, I highly doubt that there won't be some bipartisanship that can achieve great things for our country.

The day after the day after - I am truly scared for all of our children. That has nothing to do with the person who is in the oval office but, more to do with the polarization our country still faces. We aren't a two party system as we once were - we aren't republicans and democrats - we are conservatives and liberals. The middle ground which most of us walk upon is lost by these polarizing forces who because they speak the loudest get the most attention. While a person's acquaintances do reflect on the person, the fact that a person can hold on to their own beliefs and still respect the beliefs off those who differ from them speaks more to me about his ability to see both sides of an argument and draw from both points of view to do what is best for our country and the world. At least his acquaintances are also real and not fictional characters like Joe the Plumber. Yes, I know many feel I'm a card carrying liberal but the truth be told I'm a middle of the road independent who strongly believes in right and wrong, ethics and morals but not those that one party or the other says is right for me, not those that my church or synagogue says is right for me but those that are based on my own belief system say are right for me.

What the hell was I thinking he asks - I was thinking this - all political figures have questionable associations - McCain was tied to John Hagee who being local we all know is a zealot which I've witnessed first hand having come from that school. You didn't mention Rashid Khalidi - a controversial man that both candidates had a relationship with. Not to mention, he chose a running mate whose husband belongs to an organization that wants to secede from the country. Those who live in glass houses shouldn't cast stones.

I was thinking that abortion - even late term abortion is a moral and ethical issue and not a political issue that I don't want my government to control. You fire shots at Obama as a socialist, Marxist, communist - yet telling someone what to do with their own body couldn't be any more of those things. When men acquire the ability to have children, lets discuss this topic further - until then it is my body and my choice and as I've stated in my blog, it wouldn't be a choice I would make but it is one I wouldn't deny another woman. Perhaps if someone was teaching our children sex education then we would decrease the amount of unwanted pregnancies that end in abortion. We say this should be a parental responsibility and while I agree, the sad truth is it just isn't happening. Our schools are overburdened and underfunded. Sex education at the public schools is left in the control of the state - not the federal government so no matter what the person in the oval office advocates for, the control still sits in Austin. With this current legislative policy, Texas teens lead the nation in birth rate with a staggering 25% of those giving birth not being the girl's first delivery. This is the policy that has been embraced by the Republican leadership in Austin - both Bush and Perry. Furthermore, with that control firmly resting in Austin the current policy is IF sex education is offered by a district, abstinence is taught to be the only choice and there is no alternative method provided. If you are really interested in the Bexar County numbers alone - I have those somewhere and am happy to share them but what jumped out at me (and will Ed I'm sure) is that there are 12 year olds in our city having babies - that is the age of our daughters. There are 14 year olds on their second child. If that doesn't scare us, then nothing will. Obviously, there is no parental unit providing the education on sex. Think about the potential for the explosion of STDs for this group as well and what that will do to our healthcare system as many of these are on our indigent population rolls. We pay for their birthing and their healthcare now as they sit at home and do nothing yet there are those hardworking Americans who can't afford healthcare that isn't provided by their employer. Neither of the candidates has the answer to the healthcare crisis in our country and until we as consummers demand better benefits from healthplans with lower premiums and more choice then we will be left with those most deserving of the services left out in the cold.

Look at our own education system in Texas - we have unfunded mandates that are passed every two years and that is by a Republican controlled legislature and Governor. Then we have no child left behind, a wonderful Republican initiative that has backfired and left more of our children struggling within an education system that teaches testing and not the skill sets to make successful young adults out of our children. So, what was I thinking - I was thinking it can't get worse than the last eight years. So that's what I was thinking.

The day after the day after I see the light at the end of the tunnel too - and it is a train. It is a train that is bringing hope to a country that for years - even during the Bush, Sr. and Clinton presidencies walked around in a fog and did nothing about our overspending and underfunding initiatives that has left us in this mess we are in now. I can't speak about the "peanut farmer's economy" as I was still playing with Barbies back when he was in office but I can say this - a lot of the fear that is running rampant through the dialogue that has been shared is based on inaccuracies promulgated by the far right. I strongly agree that hard work should be rewarded. I can tell you how to get a job from someone that has no money - join the nonprofit sector! "Sharing the wealth" is something even McCain wanted to do - look at the first link I provide later.

The day after the day after - I'm still confused at how there is so much misinformation still floating around. I could go on about the tax plans but, instead, I would like to provide you with a link to correct the misinformation that still persists about small business taxes and the tax plans of the two candidates.

Small Business Taxation
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/right_change_is_wrong.html
Pretty much gives info on every issue for both candidates since there was misinformation shared by both parties
www.factcheck.org
Partial-Birth Abortion - FYI this is not even a true medical term
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5168163

So, the day after the day after, I hold on to an optimism that for the first time in a long time the electorate is engaged and the world is watching. How our country shapes its' future isn't on the shoulders of Obama but on you and I. What we choose to do within our own piece of the world. We can either accept the new change and try moving forward and being a part of the team or we can sit back and be controlled by fear and misinformation as a certain party in our governmental system has wanted us to do for the last 8 years. We can mentor those young minds - not those in our own circles but those that couldn't be further from our own circles. We can reach out to the 3rd and 4th generation welfare recipients and show them there is a better way than expecting a handout but instead a hand up. Something has to change and it has to start somewhere other than Washington to take a firm grasp in our country and reshape the future path we are taking. As for me, I'm choosing to be a part of the solution and not a part of the problem. How about you?