The Bitter Need Change Too
Going back over the comments made by Barack Obama about the working middle class, I think there is something that is being overlooked. Sure, there is a problem with him making the overarching generalization that the working class is a set of bitter, gun-toting, hate mongering bigots. I mean, plenty of rich upper class are hate-mongering. Plenty of college-educated people are hate-mongering. I think it has more to do with lack of education and exposure to other people who are different from them, or exposure to the situations going on that cause them to have negative viewpoints. But the most interesting thing is that these comments about the working class are so clung to and harped upon when the meat of the speech is ignored - that he can supposedly enact change without telling you what he is going to do! That he can make things better without causing a noticeable change in your life. "But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there’s not evidence of that in their daily lives." He mentions people being bitter in these towns because they haven't had jobs in a long time and the government keeps them down, but he doesn't say anything about helping them! I would be less concerned about him calling them bitter, less concerned about their supposed obsession with guns and religion, and more focused on the fact that he doesn't have any solutions for these people! Sure they may hold these negative viewpoints because they are tired of being run-down all the time, but why does that matter? Why does that need to be pointed out? What are you going to do to improve the situation now that you have recognized it? What are you going to do to try and educate them about these problems that you want them to care about? How are you going to help them so they don't need to blame others for the bad things that are happening to them? It is a very sad state of our politics today that we are more focused on who is name-calling who, and who is using the wrong words, instead of who has the best solutions and ideas. It is convenient that Obama calls for change - but in a very vague, round-about way. Who knows if the change he wants is the change I want too?
