As much as I'd like to believe that a President Obama will move our country onto a new path, there's this lingering fear in me that our next leader will be challenged unlike any other in our recent history and some of those challenges might be more formidable than any mere mortal can handle.
We need to resolve right now that, assuming Barack Obama becomes our Commander In Chief and he doesn't morph into the Anti-Christ as the wackos predict, that we will not succumb to fear should things go terribly wrong.
There are a number of nagging things going on right now.
- We haven't had a terrorist attack within our borders since 9/11. I've felt firmly that the reason we've been safe from that horror has nothing to do with AT & T tapping our phones, removing our shoes at the airport, or building walls at our borders. I think the reason is simple. Osama Bin Laden or whoever is running the worst of the terrorist organizations have no motivation to terrorize us further with George Bush in office. He responded exactly as they wished to the first attack and another strike during his administration would possibly weaken him and cause intelligent people to take power. I somewhat expect that a new terrorist attack will take place after the new President takes office and it could be horrific especially if some rogue nuclear or biological weapon is used. I'm pretty certain that if the will on their part is there and we're not extremely lucky enough to stumble across the perpetrators ahead of time, we're mostly powerless to stop it.
- The economy may not recover even with a lessening of the huge expenditure in Iraq. I've read estimates that even if we decided tomorrow to pull all troops our of the Mideast, it would take years and billions of dollars just to move the vast resources out that we've sent in. All the economic solutions that have a chance of working take decades before they have any real effect. We've yet to hit bottom in the downfall we're in and that bottom could approach depression levels if natural disasters or attacks pile up atop the dynamics already in place.
- The health care crisis is exploding exponentially and unfortunately, despite Democrats firmly behind a retooling of the system, it will take years or possibly decades to set straight no matter which plan we choose. The costs both monetarily as well as socially (such as the huge insurance company workforce that will be displaced) of the changeover are immense and it will get worse instead of better in the short run.
- Nobody really knows how badly damaged our climate truly is and if and when it can be repaired but the prognosis is bleak based on the accepted science. Our lives are going to change and that change could be drastic including food shortages and pandemics caused by the expected warming. Anything we can do in this matter will most likely take decades to see the effects.
I could go on and on because of the precipice George Bush has placed us upon. Logic simply says to climb down slowly but one slip and it's a long way to the rocks below. Humans do slip from time to time especially if that unforeseen gust of wind comes along or the Earth trembles just a bit.
Now I have no idea if one or any of those things I listed will actually take place. Much of it is pure speculation based on red flags that should be apparent to anyone with an ounce of logic and years of watching human behavior. One thing I do know though is that humans are extremely resilient and none of those events are species ending.
The commitment I'd like out of Kossacks right now is this. Electing Democratic leadership does nothing more than place more progressive people into the seat of power who I'm certain will make better decisions than the fascists that have ruled for the past decade or so. It in no way ensures our stability or our security if we all just fall back in our lazy ways and believe that the government is going to solve all problems that come our way.
We are the government and the soul of this land, not just the handful of sacrificial lambs we put into the spotlight. I get a real great sense that things are looking up and Barack Obama will become a superb President but I also know that laziness and lack of sacrifice on our part can doom him to failure. If one or more of the events I've laid out above occurs, we can't get into this finger-pointing, fearful, and uninformed attitude that has paralyzed us over the last generation. We must insist that choices are not made out of emotion and that there will be possible sacrifice of our quality of life that we all must weather together. Our Constitutional guarantees during crisis can never again be tampered with.
This grand experiment in citizen involvement must continue and we must not allow the manipulators of our society to play on our terror and greed. When these chicken-hawk despots try as they will to manipulate us again we must stand up loudly and strongly even if it means alienating lifelong friends and family. A bit of shame ahead of time beats by a mile the damage that can occur if fear and ignorance go unchallenged.
A change of leaders is only the beginning. They are powerless if we are content with them doing all the work as we sit back and cheer for our favorite on American Idol.