The Politics of Positive

I like to try and blog as often as I can. I have found that it helps clear my mind of the political issues that bother and in a small way allow my opinions to be voiced at least to a small audience. I feel most of my blogs have been somewhat negative or angry towards the new Democratic leadership in Washington, D.C.

I am a positive person and although President Obama was not my first choice and there are plenty of other problems to complain about, I am going to choose to be positive.

The economy is not in good shape in any way, there are two wars being fought overseas, and Washington almost looks just as partisan as it was before the election. The only difference in Washington now is that before it was Democrats and Republicans fighting now it is Democrats fighting the even more liberal wing of the Democratic party.

However, America has been tested before and has always made it through. There has and there always will be critics of our country but their skepticism does not mean we will not succeed.

Depending on what you listen to and what you read you can hear some comments about the decline of the US as a whole. There is a belief that every empire falls whether its the Roman, the British or the United States. I believe the problems in this world are big but not big enough that they are unsolvable or that will bring this country down.

There was a time in this world, back in the late 1700's, when people doubted the success of democracy in America. The world had never seen a fully functioning democracy before and surely it would not work in the former British colonies. The events of this past Tuesday didn't just show the world the inauguration of President Obama it showed the success of America vis-a-vis the success of American democracy.

As I said earlier, I didn't vote for President Obama, but I didn't riot in the streets in protest either. You saw a smooth transition of power and not President Bush trying to cling onto power or declare himself leader for life like in some countries. I have always been a fan of watching inaugurations and yes I watched far more TV on Tuesday then I did actual work. Inaugurations show us what's great about America. We can have disagreements, we can have elections, we can keep peace, and we can keep our democracy.

If the early states were able to survive on their own, if we could beat the British empire (at the time the world's best military), if we survived a brutal Civil War still early on in our nations life, if we survived the Great Depression, if we survived two world wars, if we survived presidential scandals and assassinations, if we survived discrimination and segregation, who is to say we can't and won't survive our current crisis?

You can't stick a fork in the United States, because we're not done. The economy is cyclical as history proves and we will recover. Our recovery might not come this quarter or this year but it will happen. Tomorrow will be a better day