President Barack Obama gave his annual State of the Union address last night, his third in his four-year term.
Though this editorial was written before the airing of the actual address, all signs point to it discussing one topic in particular- the economy.
With gas rising above three dollars per gallon (for the first time making me happy to not own a car), the unemployment rate hovering above 9.4 percent and a national deficit somewhere in the neighborhood of $11 trillion, all else takes a backseat to getting America working.
There’s very little debate that Obama is a gifted orator, but will the address be enough?
With a very partisan environment in Washington, Democrats find it difficult to make any decisions and Republicans find it difficult to make any decisions other than shooting down legislation.
When the GOP gained 63 seats in the House of Representatives, Democrats knew that difficulties would arise. Republican legislators made it very clear that they were unwilling to collaborate with the other side of the aisle. This mindset has caused the American people to suffer.
With the country in its current state, Obama is forced to water down his plan for economic repair in order to appease GOP interests. As it has come out so far, attempting to please everyone has shafted American citizens and weakened what was once the strongest economy in the world.
The State of the Union address is only as powerful as the results that it brings about. The address will no doubt make good points and promote high ideals, but can we as a people and they as a government come together to achieve these promises?
The time has come and gone for us as a nation to put aside the partisan bickering and name-calling. We are falling behind. We’ve become so caught up in progressing our own political or personal agenda that we’ve forgotten to pay attention to the needs and wants of our country.
We profess to be the greatest country in the world. We don’t believe we hold that title at the current moment. We have before, and we most certainly can achieve it again. But we have to work.