SOTU - Two Days Later

You know, I really like Obama. I kind of want to hang out with the Obamas at the White House and have a nice meal of burgers and fries with them, sneaking an occasional tidbit to Bo now and then. This, what is about to happen, is not a personal grudge.

But I was annoyed by his State of the Union address. Annoyed because he seems to have forgotten that there are reasonable adults in this country who are intelligent and will refuse to fall into jingoistic nonsense. Once upon a time, candidate Obama had bold, brash ideas. Now he tows the ideologically neutral line, mentioning only things we should be able to agree on, and pisses me off.

“Our troops come from every corner of this country – they are black, white, Latino, Asian and Native American. They are Christian and Hindu, Jewish and Muslim. And, yes, we know that some of them are gay. Starting this year, no American will be forbidden from serving the country they love because of who they love.“

I’m relieved, seriously I am, that the rights of our gay and lesbian citizens are starting to be recognized, albeit in small steps and not fully and completely. But what about people who are not part of those mainstream religions? The Taoists, the atheists, the agnostics, Native American religions, pagans, and all the rest? Do they not deserve to be part of the military? Are we going to take away citizenship rights one by one because someone's religion doesn't match the mainstream religion?

“We may have differences in policy, but we all believe in the rights enshrined in our Constitution. We may have different opinions, but we believe in the same promise that says this is a place where you can make it if you try. We may have different backgrounds, but we believe in the same dream that says this is a country where anything's possible. No matter who you are. No matter where you come from.”

If there was a place in the speech where I felt it was most appropriate for someone to yell “you lie,” I really feel like that place was here. We don’t agree about the rights enshrined in our Constitution. The old Obama, candidate Obama, the one who I voted for, he would have not made this oversimplifying, pandering statement. The fact that my father and I could not have a reasonable discussion about what “freedom of religion” and “right to bear arms” indicates that to me as fully as the vitriol spouted off on Fox News and CNN every night. Ever try to explain the electoral college to someone? The rights that we all agree on? We really don't agree on at all. Frankly, I know a great number of people who disagree about the legitimacy of the document itself.

I, for one, do not believe that for every child born in this country, anything’s possible. I hate it when we spout this lie to our children. Our children should be able to trust the adults in our lives, and to lie like this takes away that trust. My niece, the one who cannot walk without assistance, she is not going to be a firefighter. She is not physically capable of it. The teenage boy in my high school class who could not read or write, he is not going to become the next Supreme Court justice. He is not mentally capable of it. The boy who lives in poverty, surrounded by abuse and little hope, he's not going to grow up and be a millionaire. Why do we lie? If you work hard, sometimes, you get nothing. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try, but it doesn’t mean you will always succeed.

“And yet, as contentious and frustrating and messy as our democracy can sometimes be, I know there isn't a person here who would trade places with any other nation on Earth.”

I don’t know. Canada doesn’t seem so bad. I’d trade for a Scandinavian citizenship pretty quickly. The United States is a fine place, maybe even a great place, and I enjoy a lot of the perks of a U. S. citizenship, but there are other great places on Earth.

Obama finished up with a traditional political blessing for god to bless us and this country. You know what, Obama? I don’t believe in your god. I don’t believe in entrusting my future to a nonexistent deity. I get that you do. I’m really happy for you. But in this country, I wish you would understand that we are diverse in not only race, gender, and sexual preference, but also religion.

I voted for Obama after a great deal of soul searching. But I’m tired. I’m tired of being marginalized. I’m tired of politicians talking down to me. I’m tired of trite rhetoric about what a great nation this is. I want candidate Obama back, the one who talked about race, who talked to high schoolers about the realities of their lives, the one who was inclusive. I had so many hopes for that speech on Tuesday night. But my hopes were dashed and replaced with resignation and sadness.