"I think all Americans were quite taken with the fact that we were able, after the long history we've been through, that initial birth defect of slavery, that we've elected an African-American ... And that's enormously heartening for people in the country, but also people worldwide who still have trouble with differences." ~ Dr. Condoleeza Rice
Dr. Condoleeza Rice was opining shortly after the election of Barack Hussein Obama that his election "encouraged" people in the United States and around the world. It was an interesting choice of words from Dr. Rice, but perhaps a more fitting word would have been "emboldened".
Dr. Condoleeza Rice was opining shortly after the election of Barack Hussein Obama that his election "encouraged" people in the United States and around the world. It was an interesting choice of words from Dr. Rice, but perhaps a more fitting word would have been "emboldened".
Back in August of 2008 I wrote...
"...Like Barack Obama, I've lived in Southeast Asia, albeit a long longer than Obama did. But unlike Barack Obama I've never been subscriber to cultural or moral equivalency nor have I felt compelled to deride my own country in a a pathetic effort to establish that equivalency. I know that deriding my own country overseas only emboldens those who deny freedom and liberty to others. As an advocate of American exceptionalism, I've always felt myself compelled to spread the message of what is good about America rather than what is bad and for me that normally starts with steaming bowl of chili con carne and a plate of tacos."
One of only a few refuseniks I found myself overwhelmed and dumbfouned as I watched so many of my fellow Americans feverishly licking the Kool Aid straight from the sachet. The reality is though that throughout our world's history the message of hope and change has always trumped the ominous warnings of gloom and doom that I seemed to be purveying. For this I would suffer the curse of Cassandra.
Throughout history in times of frustration and turmoil people have found themselves drawn to either men of destiny or to the false prophets of hope and change.
So here we are now, a year later and despite having elected a prophet of hope and change, the reality is that we are still at war. Worse we have become as Bernard Lewis warned "harmless as an enemy and treacherous as a friend". Our enemies around the world have been emboldened by America's bumbling "Apologist in Chief" and our allies who have stood by us have been left abandoned and confounded.
After Barack Hussein Obama's speech at the United Nations, allies of ours here in Southeast Asia see Obama not only as "idealistic" and "weak" but now as an unreliable partner in the war on terrorism.
Captain Nathan Brittles would have had some advise for Barack Hussein Obama- "Never apologize Mister, it's a sign of weakness."
Lao,
ReplyDeleteI have no idea if you watch the day-to-day news from the US over there or not. It has gotten worse with each passing day. I never thought half of the proposed bills that are being proposed right now (I'm in DC till November), the unqualified usurper currently occupying the White House (one Barry Soetoro), or such a lack of will on the part of the American people (save the occasional massive protest, like I drove through on Sep. 12, and the constituent phone calls we've been receiving on a daily basis) would ever be seen by me in my lifetime. I've moved beyond being afraid and stunned.
I am now genuinely curious what will happen next. We have several paths, from previous examples in history, from which we must choose one. I hope we choose the right one...to choose the wrong one would be to throw us into a state of totalitarianism and the decay of our society and culture from which we will never recover.
Good to have you posting again.
ReplyDeleteIts such a sad existence over here. I shake my head in shame. I can't get mad anymore. Its not worth it. But I do pray for the future of my children. Teaching them faith and love, and hope in the Lord is about the only thing I have left to do - which ironically is the most important thing anyway. God save us. He told us it would get out of hand quickly.
Best to you, Lao.
Lao,
ReplyDeleteAs much as I wanted to hopeto be able to disagree with you a year ago, there is no room for disagreement. GM has been taken over wholesale and is looking more and more like Yugo as every day passes. Saturn, their only profitable division, shut down because of the limited presence of UAW workers does not bode well. The UAW is at th wheel and it's only a matter of time before this Titanic hits it's iceberg.
"Healthcare refom", in it's current format, is nothing but a power grab and panders to traditional democrat contributors happily. Much CAN be done to reform healthcare but instead of changing an damaged but functional system they seek to scrap it to put more indentured servants on the roles in a Boss Tweed-like scam of epic proportions. No change to portability, across state lines insurers, tort reform, addressing the issue of non-covered patients using the ED's as primary care physicians, creating new urgent care centers to address overwhelmed ED's, addressing narcotic seekers using ED's to replenish their personal supplies.. the list goes on and on. Having it sold like a used Dodge Neon on high pressure was just one of the multiple of clues that this was a genuinely bad bill.
The selling out of the U.S. to foreign powers in Copenhagen for tampered environmental data just adds to his apology tour. Is anyone foolish enough to believe that even IF the forged data is still accurate that foreign manufacturers will maintain these same standards?
The "accountability and transparency" promises have been thrown to the wayside for "legacy" (of what I can only IMAGINE) and political debauchery.
I rue the day I preferred him over Hillary Clinton as the democrat canidate..
Lao,
ReplyDeleteReviewing old posts on my blog
http://www.stephenwbrowne.com/
I found a comment by you on my oldie "How I became and expat writer" so I looked you up.
Who are you and where are you?
You obviously "get it" about America and the world in general, and apparently you aren't posting these days.
If you get this, look me up and introduce yourself.
Steve Browne "Rants and Raves"