Obama Persists!

And good for him! I am amazed, how he manages to hold up with apparent good humor and good spirits, even optimism, in the face of the political obstacles that continue to confront him--indeed, seem to multiply by the hour and day. I thought his speech last night was excellent. He went head-on for the major issues, was not afraid to accept responsibility, nor to hold others accountable where appropriate. I was at once astounded and gratified to hear him publicly scold the Supreme Court for their dreadful decision last week, to open the floodgates of corporate money into the political system. Not that it wasn't already the major factor in our political life. The venerables were forced to sit like little children in front of their teacher in the classroom. No doubt we will be hearing from Scalia...

So, yes! Persistence is the quality of the day. I choose to believe that this young man has his heart in the right place, along with a head that can grasp realities with analytic discernment, and address them with thoughtful patience and awareness of the circumstances, and an eye to their eventual outcome. I do not, however, believe him to be a magician, witch doctor, or Messiah. He needs help. He needs support. He needs thoughtful--not knee-jerk, ideological--criticism and collaboration. He challenged the Congress to work with him for the benefit of a deeply wounded, deeply divided country.

The glove was thrown down last night--and not only to the Congress. It was thrown down at the feet of the American people who elected this still new President, as well as the feet of their other elected representatives.

I wonder, now, if all of us will recognize the challenge and stoop to pick up the glove that has been thrown. If we fail to do so, if we continue to squabble and obstruct, if we continue to whine and whimper like unruly children, or stamp our feet when we don't get our way, we will surely hobble this President we elected amid so much fanfare, and with so much hope. If we are to get out of this current mess we're in, we must, each of us, learn to see further than our little selves, our imagined needs, our assertive and yet fragile egos. This absurd struggle for power succeeds, eventually, only in rendering us impotent.

So, can we persist? Can we, at this late date, summon up the will to find our common purpose and to work toward our common good? Can we yet learn to sacrifice some of our own sacred cows? If not, I believe this America is destined to become irrelevant as the rest of the world moves on.