Despite all the hooplah about prom night at the joint session or which party is being true to the Constitution -- the big story last night was the contrast between views of the future articulated by the speech givers. Forget Republicans and Democrats and simply ask: Which attitude towards the future is best?
President Obama's message was simple: Does the future inspire us, challenging us to grow individually and as a nation, and step up to challenges previously thought impossible?
Congressman Ryan's message was equally straightforward: Does the future frighten us, forcing us to grab what we can for ourselves right now, run home, lock our doors, and yearn for a simpler time free of the burdens of the modern world.
"Win the future" or "fear the future" -- that was the choice Americans heard last night.
And each one of these choices is brought on, again, by starkly contrasting visions of the economic problem that has forced us to this moment of decision -- this moment of action. What will we do, which actions will we take in relation to the future based on this historic economic problem as defined by each speaker?
For President Obama, the key problem we face is that American has not invested enough in education, innovation and infrastructure to put our economy on footing with other nations that have. It is the classic problem of competition. In his speech last night, President Obama defined this generation's "Sputnik moment" in terms of seeing China and India leap ahead of in the budding green energy sector because they made key investments in education, innovation, and infrastructure.
For Congressman Ryan, the key problem we face is that America has borrowed too much money to shore up the economy during the recession. For Ryan, because the Federal government has borrowed so much money, it has put us on footing with other nations that have already defaulted on their national debt. If we do not pay down this debt, today -- our credit card bill moment, so to speak -- then the country will be forced into a hard period of austerity, meaning radically higher taxes.
"Sputnik" moment vs. bankruptcy -- inspiration vs. fear.
Finally, both speeches offered a very clear contrast between the kind of America we would get if we reacted to the economic problem they defined and stepped into their vision of the future.
For President Obama, a future brought on by investments education, innovation and infrastructure, would be faster, smarter, and more convenient. We would go to work on high speed rail, our children would be the best at science and math, and America would be the leader in the key industries driving the world economy: new energy and high tech. Ambitions are high, wealth has been restored.
For Congressman Ryan, a future brought on by defunding most of the Federal government would be simpler, more family oriented, and more in line with nineteenth-century ideals. It is a vision of small towns filled with white picket fences, where children are happy at home and able to enjoy the simple goodness of a life unfettered by inter-generational compacts. Taxes are low, horizons are near.
If Americans can cut through all the false claims about the Constitution and distractions about inter-party civility brought on by the last year of politics, last night presented one of the clearest contrasts not so much between the parties, but between attitudes towards the future -- the strongest contrast we have seen in decades.
Are we a nation that fears or embraces the future? Do we see ourselves in 50 years through the lens of a Norman Rockwell painting or a James Cameron film? Do we embrace or run from the future?
Hard to imagine a more useful contrast or a more productive evening of political theater.
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Pearl Korn: In Memoriam: Christina Zisa
Trying to crawl back to a past that you think was comfy, sweet and wonderful is not possible. Not that it was ever comfy, sweet and wonderful for everybody just like the present day is not. In fact, those times in the past were extremely bad for many people, but, generally is was pretty good for middle-age white men.
Please, people, quit living in fear and shirking from the future. Not only embrace it, run toward it.
As an aside, a friend in her mid-70's told me yesterday that she understood that her age group rode the top of the wave as far as affluent times. They did; but, there is no reason why the wave should not crest again.
Being responsible with the money you have is not some old fashioned, disreputable notion. The government needs to live within its means. We have spent TRILLIONS and have little to show for it. Having a balanced budget doesn't benefit "middle-aged white men" any more than any other group.
If being responsible with your money is some outdated notion, then being outdated may not be so bad.
But, if you wish......
No one has claimed that they want to be irresponsible with the money they have. There are valid disagreements about how to go about solving our current financial situation. In the past, big programs like WPA (under FDR), interstate highway system (under Eishenhower), STAR wars program (under Reagan) have helped fuel the country's economy out of a recession/depression. Therefore, it has been generally accepted that putting people back to work (even through the use of big government programs) has worked to solve economic woes. This solution has been used by both Republican and Democratic administrations.
Furthermore, continuing the tax decrease on the wealthiest 2% of Americans is ridiculous. During the wonderful times of the past, the tax rate after a certain amount of income has been very high - up to 90% during WWII when equal sacrifice was considered important. If there is anything needed now, it is equal sacrifice - something the wealthy have managed to avoid. By the way, my 25 year old son had a $32 tax increase on his last monthly check (he only nets $900 a month now) so to say that taxes were not increased under the Republican compromise is ridiculous. I realize that this was the loss of "Making Work Pay" tax credit but it still hurts some of us (oh yeah, those of us who work) the hardest. Of course, that doesn't include the idle rich.
Thank you for this thoughtfully written and crisply phrased article. I am proud to count myself among those determined not to fear the future, but to win it.
Republicans are telling us that we've already lost the economic war with China and we need to retreat and start acting like a third world banana republic. They say we need to declare bankruptcy now.
Obama says we have yet begun to fight.
In Churchill's words, "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
I would appreciate that.
F&F!
It's just that simple.
I for one want Hope, but I fear that there are too many on the right that prefer Fear. The right must always have an enemy to fight. It is a part of their core. To many on the right, the only reason for a government is to protect the country from the Others/Enemies. Fear is like a drug, it gets the adrenalin flowing. That adrenalin keeps you on alert to be "Ever Vigilante ", which is also a syndrome that too many soldiers suffer from.
I for one, and I believe many others want, and will work, toward Hope. But there are many others in our nation that want Fear. Mostly because it's easier to control people when they are scared.
I believe I have the honor of being
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Guantanamo, the Middle East, climate change, Social Security, immigration reform and the ‘hot’ issue of gun control. More than anything, Obama laid out the philosophical framework of what he plans to make out of his remaining two years of his first term in office, also being used as the platform for his re-election campaign.
So you have to decide which form of twisted view America should take and then decide to send or keep sending that party back to Washington.
Or do you.
One party states, rebuild, retool and educate America, a grow America idea. This party states putting home vales at a real level and cutting the out of pocket money, real money not debt money you can keep, unemployment to employment using the millions out of work to help rebuild the towns they are living in, changing free trade to equal trade and putting Americans to work not another countries labor at slave wages, giving high school grads and those who don't make at a change to serve for five years, while they mature with half that time education at their ability level and half the time working in the USA where needed plus getting on the real job training, add new power plants both green and atomic, coal and gas, commuter cars that average over sixty miles per gallon, new truck engines, space program and a future.