SOTU Thoughts

Tuesday night, President Obama delivered the 5th State of the Union (SOTU) Address of his administration.  It focused heavily on domestic issues, especially the economy, how to create jobs, and how to help the middle class.  Most internationally-related issues were given less mention, as it seems President Obama has had a lot of trouble dealing with domestic issues over the past year.

I took note when Barack Obama spoke of the activities of common-day Americans at the very start of his speech, (mentioning specifically teacher, entrepreneur, autoworker, and farmer) to emphasize that "you", we, the American people, are the State of the Union.

Throughout his speech, President Obama talked about how the United States is a place where people work hard and succeed by seizing opportunities, such as when he said, "Opportunity is who we are."

It was a little bit after he said that when I noticed Vice President Biden made some kind of gesturing toward someone sitting out in the crowd that gave me pause (see number 1 on this webpage).

Then there was his remarks about climate change: "...the debate is settled.  Climate change is a fact."  I often hear something like this said by people who believe climate change (caused by human activity) is real and is leading to doomsday scenario, and want to take drastic action.  Certainly evidence out there suggests that something is going on.  But I think it should lead to more discussion in healthy tone, rather than these "putting one's foot down to stamp out dissent" kind of remarks, while we work to care for our environment in meaningful ways.

Immigration reform is definitely an important issue that needs addressing sooner rather than later in a substantial way.  I was a little surprised that President Obama didn't spend more time discussing this.  The transcript of the speech only has one paragraph on it, and then he moved right away onto discussing more about creating jobs.

Then I was in for a bit of a surprise when President Obama told the story of Misty Demars.  The television displayed her name at the bottom of the screen, and then her hometown: Oak Park, IL.  Apparently, I had missed the story in The Wednesday Journal that said she would be a featured guest at the speech in regards to his call to Congress to extend unemployment insurance.  While that is certainly a good way to help people out of a job, I think it would ultimately do better to foster an economy that can give people good-paying jobs so they can support their families and livelihoods.

President Obama then told the story of John Soranno, the owner of Punch Pizza in the Minneapolis area, and his employee Nick Chute--nice pun on "dough", by the way.  John had raised the wages of his employees to $10.  Quite frankly, that's the way business should be in this country.  Business owners should be able to grow business by serving people in good ways, and then be able to reap profits whereby they can pay their workers more, not being forced by government law to raise them if it doesn't make sense for their own business.

Subsequently, President Obama then moved on to the major issues of healthcare reform, singling out Republicans for not being supportive of it, and looking down on their efforts to repeal it without creating a different plan.  It's unfortunate this situation exists, that Republican members of Congress recognize flaws in the plan, and are desperate to stop it, and then demonized for it.  President Obama and the Democrats shoved the ACA through Congress back in 2009/2010, instead of bringing people from both sides of the aisle together to sort through the fine details of how to effectively reform healthcare so everyone can have good insurance coverage, especially without causing others to lose theirs.  Yes, the Republicans are trying to stop it because they feel like they're being pushed aside while it steams ahead, but they definitely have to start working on a better plan, if only President Obama would create a more open environment.

Next up was foreign policy.  I found it curious that President Obama said of Israel, "America will always be at their side", because the chapter on President Obama's relationship with Jews in the book The Amateur, by Edward Klein, made it clear that the President has not done a very good job fostering good relations with Israel.

Before moving on to discussing Iran, President Obama used that phrase "Let me be clear", that it seems we have to watch out for.

President Obama doesn't want Congress to issue new sanctions against Iran to derail peace talks, but this made me think back to something Charlie Dyer said on the Moody program The Land and the Book during the "in the news" portion of the program: it's important to take a strong stance against Iran now before they gain too much strength in developing nuclear weaponry.

There was some inspirational points at the end.  It was something to hear a chant of "USA, USA!" break out in the chamber when President Obama mentioned the athletes representing the United States in the upcoming Winter Olympiad in Sochi.

And then there was Cory Remsburg.  His story truly embodies the struggle we undertake to achieve great things, with determined endurance no matter the obstacles.  His efforts to live life are something to spur all of us on in our endeavors.  He certainly deserved the lengthy standing ovation, he and all those who have lived life so bravely after so courageously serving our country.

All in all, President Obama certainly said a lot of things in his speech that sounded good.  But his tone seemed to suggest that everyone should make American great according to his plans, in the way he urged Congress to take action, and then said he would take action on his own to achieve what he wants to do.  There was no sense that he really wants to engage in healthy dialogue leading to decent initiatives.  (This opinion piece in the Chicago Tribune offers some good arguments in this regard.)

Following the SOTU Address was the Republican response by Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA).  She addressed some of the concerns I had about the SOTU speech.  She said that the President made a lot of promises that sound good, but won't make any one's lives better, especially in hindering policies that the President has proposed.  Her remarks were all about the people empowering themselves to achieve their potential, not about the government taking action to shape people's lives.  I liked how she had a very measured, kindly-looking demeanor throughout her remarks.

Honestly, there were a lot of issues brought up in this speech that I'm not really sure how they are to be best addressed.  And given my lack of expertise regarding the intricacies of them, I can't really comment on them too much.  Of course, there are those who would say that politics, as expressed in the SOTU and its Republican response, is all talk, which is true in many ways.  The real substance is manifested in the action that people in the United States take to live their lives meaningfully--that's where the real State of the Union lies, as Representative McMorris Rodgers, and President Obama, put it so well.  It's the people of this country that make all the difference.  That's what our governmental system is founded on: "government of the people, by the people, for the people".  So in spite of all the difficult circumstances our country is in right now, I'm confident that will see great days ahead as the people take charge of this country, not just one self-centered person like in countries with dictatorships.

And through it all, I recall to mind the words that appear above the Speaker's platform in the House chamber, where President Obama spoke Tuesday night, the words of our national motto: "In God We Trust".  And I join with the prayer Representative McMorris Rodgers offered: "A prayer...for our larger American family.  That, with the guidance of God, we may prove worthy of His blessings of life...liberty...and the pursuit of happiness.  For when we embrace these gifts, we are each doing our part to form a more perfect union."  Abiding in Him, we achieve true greatness.