I read a book once that mentioned a man who said he wasn't very interested in politics because what they did in Washington didn't seem to effect his life on a day to day basis. But what did effect his life was what happened right there in his neighborhood. So, instead of asking the local government to put in a bench at a bus stop where he always saw a little old lady waiting for the bus, he built one, and put it there himself.
This analogy really stands out to me as the media is currently making a big deal about the first 100 days of the new Obama administration. At first I was sort of surprised to realize that he's been our new president for 100 days. Sure I voted for the guy and have vivid memories of thinking that being in downtown Oakland on my bike the night of the election was probably a bad idea, but since then, I have almost forgot that we've had a chance in administration.
Now how could this be? We went from good ol' W who many consider the worst president of all time to Obama who many have already crowned the second coming of whatever christ like figure you may believe in. But for me, I can't tell the difference. My life hasn't changed one bit. Is this because I generally don't find a lot of the political hooplah interesting? Maybe it is, I don't know.
I still wake up at the same time. My pay check still arrives on time in this "shitty" economic climate. And while I read the economy is terrible and certainly my minuscule retirement account is almost microscopic at this point, but I can still buy the same things I used to buy. I just bought plane tickets to Australia in this economy and I'm pretty excited about that.
And while I hope for the greater good Mr. Obama does great things, I actually take a bit of comfort in the fact that everything for me is pretty much the same. I like that fact that whoever is in office my everyday life isn't effected. I like living my life the way I choose to. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who disagree. I remember all of my crazy republican friends claiming they were moving to Canada if Obama won. (On a side note, can we think about that for a second? Republicans want to move to ultra liberal Canada to avoid a moderately liberal America?) Of course none of them did, and I'm sure if you asked them their lives are no different than they used to be either.
I can't think of a good way to sum this all up, so, that's it. Have a nice day and I hope the current administration doesn't make any decisions that change the way you live your daily life. Unless, I guess, you want them to?
4 comments:
Wouldn't Obama's health care plan affect your daily life?
If you could buy into the government health system (the same one members of congress enter) at an extremely affordable monthly premium, wouldn't that be a positive development?
If you're applying to any colleges (grad schools) right now, he's dramatically expanding the amount of Pell Grants and Direct Loans available to those who want to seek further education. You will be able to get more money at better rates. Won't that affect your life at all?
Yes to all of the above.
But, the overall topic of my entry was that in Obama's first 100 days I can tell no difference in my life than during the 8 years of the Bush administration.
It does, however, seem that there is more brush that needs to be cleared.
I hope you fall off your bike tonight.
Love,
I hope I fall off my bike in front of your car so I can sue you and make you love cyclists on the road even more!
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