Today at high noon eastern standard time, Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th President of the United States. For millions of Americans, Obama’s inauguration will be viewed as an historical event. For others, it’s just another day.
In my personal conversations with friends and business associates, most of us are of the opinion the Obama administration can’t screw things up any worse than they are. However, there are a few I’ve spoken with that believe Obama’s presidency may actually turn out to be worse than the Bush administration.
One item of note I’ve tried to impress upon those I’ve spoken with is the relative insignificance a president has on our daily lives. In the end, the person you see in the mirror is the person that’s going to make or break you, not the President of the United States or anyone else in government.
I happen to be of the opinion that if you are living in squalor today, you’ll be living in squalor four years from now. A president isn’t going to miraculously lift you out of a bad job, bad neighborhood or a bad anything else.
This talk of hope and change that Obama speaks of is fine, but those changes must come from within. People tend to forget that a president can have a host of great ideas, but those ideas can’t become reality unless Congress passes them into law.
Considering the history of gridlock and the inability of Congress to effectively employ the will of the American people, many of the best laid plans of past presidents’ have been left to die on the House or Senate floor.
For real change to happen, every one of us has to become a master of our own domains. I know that’s a line from a classic episode of Seinfeld, but it’s a line that couldn’t be more true.
I sense that too many in this country have forgotten the words of former President John F. Kennedy, who said during his inauguration address in 1961: “And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”
Kennedy’s words were an effort to involve every citizen in moving America forward. His words were an attempt to empower every individual in this country with a sense of obligation to themselves and to the nation.
Kennedy’s words were a reminder that government isn’t in place to provide the citizenry with an existence.
To put it simply, you shouldn’t look to the government as a means of solving your problems. Each of us should proactively participate in helping to make this country better.
I honestly don’t know what Obama’s administration holds in store for us, but this much I do know: I’m not going to let Obama or anyone else at any level of government get in my way.
I am the master of my domain. Sure, there are variables beyond my control. But when I look in the mirror, I ask myself what can I do to make my life better, not what the President or government can do.
On Tuesday when Obama gives his inauguration address, he’ll speak of this and that. But at the end of the day, the only change that will come about will be as a result of personal choice.
Choose to be the master of your own domain.
Well said. You definitely hit the nail on the head.