James Pence Videos
NATIONAL TURNING POINT –IT'S UP TO US!
Opinion by Ron Leach
I had the fortune to be present
at what could be a turning point for this country; the inauguration
of Barack Obama. I was impressed with the ceremony and with the high
spirited, optimistic and respectful crowd. I was heartened by the tone
of our new President's inaugural speech. Many sense that this could
be the a defining positive transition for our country, and I believe
it must be a transformational turning point if we are going to be the
nation which our founding principles compel us towards.
Our prior most recent major
turning point as a nation was the inauguration of Ronald Reagan. However
this turning point, despite the promise of a "new morning in America",
was the turning point that led the United States to the current crisis
that threatens the very future of our nation. In 1980, the country selected
the front man for the powerful and the powerful's interests. He hit
his marks and played to the cameras while he ushered the incremental
reversal of the post war rise of the middle class. FDR's social
contract which helped lift and provided economic security to our nation
was slandered and the safe guards to our national social fabric shredded.
Greed became good, self interest became paramount, and true fiscal conservatism
was abandoned under a sea of red ink while "trickle down economics"
became the cover for the systematic and socially destabilizing aggregation
of wealth into the hands of the few. The weak, disenfranchised, and
most vulnerable among us became scapegoat. Regard for our fellow man
became weakness while religion became hijacked by a narrow radical minority
as an instrument of extremist ideology and intolerance rather than an
instrument of progressive compassion rooted in the teachings of Jesus.
For nearly thirty years our country ignored our growing dependence on
imported oil and the national security implications. "Liberal"
(correctly defined as: favoring gradual reform, especially political
reforms that extend democracy, distribute wealth more evenly, and protect
the personal freedom of the individual) became a dirty word. The inauguration
of Ronald Reagan set us on a course that has brought us to the point
where the very survival of the United States can be questioned and the
"shining city on the hill" has become the greatest perceived
threat to peace in the minds of the wider world. We pray that the inauguration
of Barack Obama is a turning point that sets a new course for our country
that leads us away from the brink; a return to the principals that are
the foundation on which representative democracy is built; however,
it could easily be just a brief pause preceding a final plunge towards
national irrelevance and fundamental collapse. We will make that determination
via our active engagement or passivity.
Even amid these times of broad
national crisis, there continues to be individuals' intent on placing
their narrow ideology and self interest ahead of country. I have
heard an elder staunch conservative who, while he openly proclaims his
disappointment in the Bush administration, voices his hope that "the
Obama administration will fall flat on its face"; narrow ideology
trumping the critical needs of our country. Immediately after the new
President left for his new home, Rush Limbaugh could be heard on greater
than 600 radio stations nation wide as he picked apart just about everything
about the inaugural ceremony and denounced President Obama's speech
as one of the worst in history. The President's middle name was bleeped
out over and over again while Rush contended that it was done by the
"left wing media". The inaugural oath gaff, i.e. when Chief
Justice Roberts miss-stated the oath, was played over and over to make
it seem that President Obama had stumbled and imply incompetence. Yet,
the radical right has notably chosen to ignore President Bush's consistent
massacre of the English language for the last 9 years. The fact that
this bias and partisan agenda is not laughable to their primary audience
is concerning. But their audience is not looking for objectivity.
They tune in to Limbaugh's "EIB" network, and others pushing
the radical right's well orchestrated agenda, for their daily reaffirmation
of beliefs based in hate, divisiveness, and intolerance delivered under
the cover of conservative ideology and an exclusive brand of faux patriotism.
These views and radical partisanship can only flourish in a vacuum devoid
of open thought and exchange of ideas that is the right wing propaganda
machine. There is a continued strength of this well funded, focused,
and disciplined machine; despite being thoroughly discredited by the
culminating collapse of the past year. This is what brings a sobering
doubt to what otherwise should be a monumental joyous celebration of
the triumph of American democracy that has been the election of President
Barack Obama. Despite all that must be done for the preservation of
this great nation, this "turning point" could be thwarted
by the concerted and tireless self serving few who will unblinkingly
place their narrow calculated self interest before the good of our nation.
If the country is to be saved
(and I do not believe "saved" is too strong of a word), we
the people must unite against this narrow radical right agenda. We must
protest broadcasts of right wing hate and we must boycott sponsors of
hate radio and ideology driven partisan "news" coverage. Take
away the huge rewards offered to spokespersons for the far right such
as Ann Coulter and see how long it is before they jump ship and start
writing tell all books about the vast right wing conspiracy they were
part of. We must counter e-mail chain forwards of right wing propaganda
and we must start objecting when the flying monkeys of the radical fringe
spew out the lies they have been brainwashed into believing. And we
must do it in a respectful civil manner, thus contributing to the change
in tone we seek in our politics. Civility will often shock the radial
right true believers into brief moments of independent thought.
The radical right has found
great success by repeating their dogma incessantly until it is accepted
without subjection to critical thought. Our message of non-partisanship
and pragmatic solutions carries the yoke of overcoming inherent narrow
self interest, prejudices, ignorance, a crowded message market place
coupled with diminished attention, as well as the deep roots set by
the past thirty years of radical right message discipline and repetition.
The truth, facts, and pragmatic non-partisan solutions, can carry their
appropriate weight in the minds of the electorate only if our voices
can consistently and tirelessly deliver the message to all with equal
or greater conviction and consistency than the agents of intolerance
and self interest have shown for the past three decades. Only through
our relentless efforts will many of our election wary representatives
consistently muster the fortitude necessary to look beyond the always
present near term election and shelter of political expedience oft sought.
"Our time of standing
pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions
- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves
up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America."
- President Barack Obama
It isn't up to President Obama
to set the country on a new course alone. We have to get involved.
Ron Leach
Hardinsburg, KY
Recent Comments