a choice for change;
a choice for radical change.
However yesterday, they have shown that:
1) They didn't really want that change they voted for 730 days ago; or
2) They are not willing to change anything about their own lives in order to achieve that change that they originally claimed to want.
I watched Obama as he held a press conference today and although he was, as always, a composed and professional speaker, I could see the vast disappointment on his face as he talked about yesterday's results. It was as if he wanted to shout out something like, "SERIOUSLY?? You really thought that in two years I could make this happen ?? And you really thought that changing so many things in need of change would not affect you personally?"
I think about my voting record for the last 22 years and some of the choices I have made.....choices that now, I am embarrassed of. However the choice I made for CHANGE in 2008 is a choice that I still stand by and a choice that I believe America needs.
I now live in a society that takes care of everyone---the sick, the elderly, the unemployed. Of course it could always be better, but as someone who has watched healthcare issues RUIN PEOPLE and their livelihood (including my own in 2001), I have to believe there is something better for America than what people chose yesterday. There HAS to be.
(Note: I am sure, in fact I am QUITE sure, that there are people who will read this and completely disagree with everything I have said and that is ok. I am sorry that we cannot agree, but isn't that the great thing about the First Amendment?)
10 comments:
I agree with everything you have said in this post.
Your absolutely right Kelli :)!
Kelli, I so agree with everything you wrote.
I am German and grew up under the social system there...like you said it always could be better, but we did take care of the sick , elderly and unemployed and still do, although times have gotten tougher.
I have been living in the States for the past 12 years, and I am just stunned about what is happening here.
Why is it so hard to bring much needed change to this country?
I am so very disappointed in the choice which was made yesterday.
Like you said, there has to be something better for the US.
Thanks for putting into words how I feel.
Greeting from Texas where everbody was celebrating the wonderful election outcome......
Susanne
In Denmark, freedom of speech is "ytringsfrihed", which is a basic tenet that many Danish journalists defended in regards to the Muhammed cartoons.
However, ytringsfrihed is becoming a point of hypocrisy here in Denmark. Imagine what Danish TV would be like if American shows were blocked because DF found them "hateful"?
http://www.berlingske.dk/politik/pia-k.-vil-blokere-arabisk-tv
Any Western foreigner in Denmark who feels this doesn't apply to them should think about how they felt filling out the 28-page long familiesammenføring application, or putting up 60,000kr. to say we won't take goverment handouts, while we work and pay taxes and rarely get called in for job interviews unless we change our last names, all without the ability to vote, and have to demand annual pap smears and breast exams, because now we're in the Danish system, although we don't really have a voice, and can wait 9 months for medical appointments that aren't cancer-related, just like anyone else, while Danes can live off the welfare system for years without jumping through the hoops like we do, but in part, to our contributions.
Denmark isn't Utopia, and the way foreigners are regarded and treated here applies to all of us.
Alright, I'm done starting comments on your blog for the day. I appreciate your viewpoint, but don't agree - but I do appreciate you openly stating what you believe in.
Nice to see you take a political stand. People shy away from doing that like its a bad thing. I agree on this one too :)
I always watch the returns on Election Day/Night and for at least the past decade I have gotten so excited and full of pride that I am allowed to vote and that I live in a democratic country.
What continues to stun me is how people expect things to be fixed overnight. Health care, taxes, education, crime, you name it.
I can't believe Obama has only had 2 years to work on these things and people bitch because the change isn't happening fast enough. What I REALLY can't believe is the amount of retaliatory voting that took place-- people obviously voting a straight ticket out of spite and anger. It's one thing when a party leads an election or when there are trends. It's another matter entirely when a party annihilates the other party-- which is basically what happened this week.
I guess people have forgotten that change is a slow process. It's slow with people and it's slow with systems. 2 years hasn't been long enough for anything to even get started or finished.
I think Americans have NO patience! They voted Obama in office and wanted magic to happen overnight. They quickly forget everything that he inherited from the previous.
I am happy in California USA that a billionaire did not win as Governor telling people on welfare what to do. That scenario was almost unbelievable except it did happen. In Denmark there are people under 30 who are members of Parliament. They are not rich. We need election reform in USA.
Hej Nina Ø:
Yes, we are so happy the Republican billionaire in California didn't win. We are in California now and we were very worried. Because her main target was immigrants and foreigners. She wanted a law like they have in Arizona, where all foreigners and immigrants have to constantly carry their papers with them and could be forced to produce them at any time by the police. If she had been elected, we would have immediately left to return home to DK. The economic crisis appears to have permanently changed the USA for the worse.
I believe Americans vote for "change" for others not themselves. There in lies the problem.
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