An open letter to the President of the United States
Dear Mister President,
The odds of you actually reading this letter yourself are slim, I’m sure. But I still feel this urge to write to you, and hope that maybe, just maybe, you will see this.
When you ran for office just a few short years ago, your message was hope. It was a message of change. A message that if we elected you, you would change the course of our nation, get us out of this downward spiral, bring us to a better place. A message of coming together.
You chose members of your cabinet from both parties. You showed that you wanted to bridge the divide, work with both sides of the political aisle, and strive to make things better.
What happened?
You have been sabotaged. Sabotaged by three entities, really. The first, and easiest target, is the Republicans.
I do not recall the members of the other party actively calling for the ousting of the sitting President. Not like this. I don’t recall such vehemence, such opposition. I do not recall this kind of obstructionism. Let’s not do anything useful – let’s just sit on our hands, hope it makes the President look bad so we can get our own guy into the office.
The second target is the Democrats. They had control of the House and the Senate while you sat in the White House – and got NOTHING done. They have stood against you, they have pandered to the Republicans and to big business and bickered amongst themselves. They can’t agree on the color of the sky, I have no doubt – let alone actually pass a useful bill. We don’t need REAL health care reform OR sensible taxation OR jobs. We need our own job security!
Yes, I believe the political parties share that blame. But there is a third entity that has sabotaged you.
That would be you, President Obama.
You are the leader of the United States of America. You are our President. You should be choosing our direction. You should be leading us. You should be setting the tone. You should be showing us the way.
And so far – all you’ve done is show us how quickly you will back down. You’ve shown us that you will compromise to the point of nothing really useful getting done. You’ve gotten to the point where you are constantly reacting to Congress and the two parties and all the partisanship – and looking weak and easily swayed.
I do not believe that is who you are. I still believe in you. I still think you can do something, something AMAZING. I still think you can make the direction of our nation, and you can LEAD us, ALL of us.
And this is how:
Rise above the politics. Stop pandering to the parties and take the reigns. LEAD us. Lead the nation. Lead the congress. Show us the way.
Berate the partisanship. Express displeasure at the state of the people of this nation. If we are so great – how can 1 in 6 Americans live in poverty? In what way is that acceptable?
This is your chance. Yes, the election year is coming – and have you seen what is being run against you? Fear mongers. Haters. People who put their faith ahead of reason and logic, people who will only divide us further. And your silence, your inability to speak out for fear of political reprisal just gives them strength. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, the saying goes.
Before it is too late – before the government truly collapses, before the nation divides and we find ourselves in a class war or civil war – PLEASE take the initiative, rise above the politics, and show us WHY we elected you in 2008. Stop taking the middle road, stop trying to please everyone and take the position of authority you hold and LEAD THE WAY.
Unite us. You have the ability. Don’t let the dividers, the haters, the fear mongers break us apart and instigate a societal collapse. Give us hope again. Please.
With hope,
MJ Blehart
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