Tuesday, April 20, 2010

stopping short


this could be the new catch phrase of the administration. since apparently "yes we can" got lost in translation along the way. let's make a list of issues where obama has "stopped short," of his initial promises shall we?

1. civil rights (most notably, gay rights)
2. the war
3. the environment
4. gun control
5. health care
6. alternative energy
7. tax cuts for seniors

i really could go on, but indubitably, i would cramp.

the latest opprobrium to equality on the obama front? he is issuing an order which will grant "partners of federal employees access to financial benefits such as relocation fees for moves." this comes a day after he was publicly taunted for his refusal to uphold campaign promises relating to gay rights such as the repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" law. instead of making legislation that protects and/or clarifies equality, he is choosing to "stop! short" of repealing this archaic discriminatory rule.

i would like to point out that the punctuation in that last sentence was intentional, for i feel he is choosing to simply stop. he has stopped in his commitment to the american people to pursue equality in washington, equality for our environment, equality for our children's education, equality for our health care, in marriage, for our seniors, and for our soldiers.

all i will ever ask of our leaders is egalitarity. everything else falls into place with fair and equal practices. all of the social issues that separate our society can be solved by fairness.

i try to keep my religious convictions out of my political views and expect no less of anyone who enjoys the freedoms allocated to them from our democracy. i will, however point out just this once that as a christian, i feel the problems in our entire universe would be no more if people felt compelled to live by the ten commandments. police would be out of a job if these mitzvahs were treated with the respect God's word deserves. no murder, lieing, stealing, cheating, jealousy? i think i just described an utopian society (or at least a john lennon song).

while i am no liberal, i was looking forward to this liberal president fixing some of our social issues while he suppressed our economy. a black guy, i thought. YES! now we will all have equal treatment under the law!

make no mistake fiends, i am a libertarian. i don't want you, my apocryphal readers, to misunderstand. i am for a very limited federal government. but more than that, i am for honesty. this is my country and these are my people. if you make them a promise, you better follow through on that promise. if you intentionally break those promises, you have lost any esteem i may have extended you in respect to your office.

where is the transparency i long for in washington? come back to me ben and tj! john adams, where have you gone? i am left in this mockery of america praying for electoral sagacity.

shame on you again mr. president.

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