Lost Opportunities

I grieve the lost opportunities that came with President Obama's rise - and fall. How can a man that was able to speak right out of the hearts of the people so suddenly get so out of touch? How can so much hope and excitement dissipate so fast? 

Today, the day after the mid-term elections, President Obama in his response to the press mentioned the height of craze of two years ago as he tried to convince us that we are all on a learning curve and that change is a process, not an overnight miracle. But the craze was not crazy, but real. So many of us want change, not incremental, but at the core. We believe too many bad weeds need uprooting, a purge of major proportion is in order. Wall street has to be given perspective and has to serve once more the people. Corporate power needs to be reigned in. Free enterprise does not mean free reign to those with money, power and influence, and no conscience. Corporate entities are not people and should never have been allowed to hold such status. Shame on those conservative courts. Shame on those that exploit.

I do not care much for the color red or blue, too primary, too simplistic for my taste. I like nuanced tones a whole lot better. Like so many I have not been able to identify with either party. We do need more options, but not the Tea Party. We need to step forward in time not backward. 

While I am not for abortions, I am most certainly not about to tell another woman what she can or can not do with her own body. Do we really want to revert to backrooms with coat hangers? We have to embrace science and not deny the well proven facts. Omitting to teach science and history according to facts rather then philosophy ought to be a crime and should be considered a terrible indoctrination.

I am a product of the sixties, which were the seventies in Europe, I have been anti-establishment since my teens. Voting Democratic by default I am suddenly accused of wanting government hand outs and worse having a socialist agenda intent on the equitable redistribution of wealth. Hilarious, if there were not as much at stake. By the way, I do own my home free and clear and pay off my credit cards monthly and so far managed to stay debt free.

A discussion on what ought to be under government control and what not might very well be in order. Locally we got our train and some bemoan that it is not a profit making enterprise. No wonder I say with the restrictive hours and destinations of it's service, but coming from Switzerland I do not believe train service has to be a profitable business, primarily it ought to benefit the people, the community and the environment. The decrease in carbon emanating commuter vehicles with the benefits of a lower carbon foot print, better air and less congested roads ought to be plenty of incentive to support travel by rail. I fear for our trains under our new Republican Governor.

Worse I fear the American mindset that loathes a powerful, intelligent, well educated and well spoken woman like Nancy Pelosi or President Barack Obama, but embraces personalities like Christine O'Donnell and Sarah Palin with their cocky, cutesy, even sexy, certainly folksy, but seriously uninformed states of minds. 

With shattered hopes and a country reverting back to old worn out ways, it is tempting to become a cynic, turn away from the ugliness of politics as usual, turn off the TV with it's toxic commercials and simply stop caring. But care we must! Conversations must be had. We do not have the luxury to ignore each other, we live too close, too dense, too dependent on each other. So I invite your views on the state of affairs post mid-term elections, please.