Hope, Change and Compromise

First of all, congratulations to our President for winning re-election. Once again, President Barrack Obama has made history. Not only is he the first African American President but he is now the first African American President to be elected twice. Congratulation Mr. President.

Now, this President has faced divisiveness throughout his first term. There were congress people and some on the senate who were determined to see the President fail. So much so that they held the best interest of the American people hostage. There were elected officials who said from the very beginning of this president’s first term that their agenda was to make sure that Barrack Obama was a one term president. Well, they didn’t succeed. Through it all, the President prevailed. He accomplished some very important things for this country in the face of all that adversity and in the end he came out on top winning re-election. I believe this not only speaks to the President’s character but also to his willingness to listen to other views and compromise.

There are those now who have nothing but sour grapes. They want to continue to espouse things that are not true about our President, and continue to block anything he tries to do for the good of the American people. There are people who still, even after this overwhelming re-election, refuse to give credit where credit is definitely due. They refuse to see that if this President did all he did during his first term without people who were willing to compromise and who opposed him on everything; completely blind and uncaring about what was good for this country, imagine what he can accomplish with a congress who is willing to compromise, listen to the experts, and work with the President to keep the momentum going and bring this country back to where it was before we had eight years of war mongering and excessive spending and tax breaks for the rich that came from having an “Oil Man” as president.  

You can say whatever you want about Barrack, it doesn’t make it true. What is true about this man is that he was raised by a single mother, a situation which many in this country are all too familiar with. He worked hard; got the grades he needed and went to law school, and not just any law school but the best in the country. He was head of the Harvard Law Review. As a legal student myself, I understand the gravity of this accomplishment. He could have gone into the practice of law and reaped the rewards of all his hard work. Instead, he worked for his community, doing pro-bono work (free) for people who couldn’t afford legal assistance. This is a man who understands that to a man whom much is given, much is expected and he rose to the occasion his whole life to meet and exceed those expectations. He understands and appreciates the gifts he’s been given and he has used them to the best of his abilities to improve the lives of others. You only have to look at his kind eyes when he speaks about things he is passionate about, look at his eyes when he is looking at his children, or his beautiful wife. This is a man who is alive, vibrating with a spirit that is determined, filled with the hope that things can change, that people can be convinced to compromise for the good of all, that there is always room for improvement and that man, while ever flawed, should and can make the world a better place for all of us living here on this big chunk of rock we call planet earth.

It is time for those who have so vehemently opposed this president to come together, open their eyes, stop ignoring the facts, listen to the experts in the various fields of science, economics, and education and instead of holding the country down, help to put the country completely back on its feet. We were all knocked down after 9/11. It’s time for the divisors and dividers to stop their negative rhetoric and get down to the business of really fixing the many challenges we have ahead of us. This takes compromise, intelligent listening, the ability to be able to see and understand all sides if the issues, and the willingness to admit that they are not always right. My hope and vision is that this is possible. That everyone can come together for the good of this country and the world. In Judaism, there is an expression, “When you save one life, you save the world.” It’s time to stop looking at and dwelling on the negative things of the past and move forward to save the world one life at a time, for our life in the present and for the future of all of us.   

God bless America, God bless the world. Mazel Tov Mr President!