What Obama really meant in his Treyvon Martin speech.

Obama made an appearance Friday the 19th of July to discuss the verdict of a case that has received a lot of attention. I am not going to be talking about the case. I will talk about certain points in his speech and what I believe to be his meaning behind them.

"You know, when Trayvon Martin was first shot, I said that this could have been my son. Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago." Obama said this closer to the beginning of his speech and they are the two lines that get quoted on the news than any other part of his speech. It is not hard to understand what he is talking about. There is still a stigma in America that minorities are looked down upon in many ways. History has shown us that this has always been the case. Starting with slavery and indentured servitude to the Jim Crowe laws to interracial marriage laws. And to this day there is still a remnant of this treatment. This remnant, however, has shifted for the most part away from laws that put African-Americans down. It has switched to a social construct. A construct that has changed most people's feelings from disgust and hatred to fear and uneasiness. Don't get me wrong there are still plenty of people out there who hate African-Americans, but I hope they are a dying breed. Obama knows and has been part of a time where it was still ok to hate and fear African-Americans. He has been in Trayvon Martin's shoes. And this is something a vast majority of the white population can't say.

The other major point brought up by Obama is discussing race anywhere but the House and the Senate. This according to a lot of news stations is something that is almost a hushed subject like having an abortion in the early nineties; it was just something you would not talk about. And this is something I feel is very wrong with America. Sadly there are a lot of people that can not have an educated discussion about many topics but that does not mean they should not be avoided or swept under the rug. A man of Obama's power saying to America "Discuss race" is amazing to me. Everyone should feel free to discuss hot topics. And who knows some may be better for it.

"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools." Martin Luther King Jr.

I Believe in America

Mitt Romney Believe in America

As many of you who know me well are aware, I am a bit of a history geek. This passion has led me to study intensively the history and founding of our nation. I believe deeply that it is important to remember that throughout our history, we as a people are responsible for the leaders we elect. The election we are now preparing for could possibly be the most important we have ever had, for it is a battle for the soul of America, or rather, it is a battle for what type of America we will have for us and future generations

I believe in our country, I believe in our proud heritage and I believe that America has the ability to continue to be a great nation. I believe we can be the best force for good in the world, and stand up for what is right and good. We can understand and believe that with the right leadership we can get headed in the right direction. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, we can be the shining light on the hill to the rest of the world.

As we consider leaders, we often seek ones with experience, with leadership qualities we admire, and with a good ability to communicate. Today I will focus on experience though. When we think about the United States of America, it is a very large and complex body, comparable to a very large ship. It has many different moving parts, personnel that need leadership, and it needs direction and navigation both to move through the storms ahead, and to reach the destination we seek that of an America that is the beacon of hope to the world.

America deserves a captain that is familiar with the ship, its parts, its personnel, and has a clear view of the greatness that America can achieve. That is where Mitt Romney comes in. His experience in such various roles, from businessman to governor has prepared him to be a great leader in America. He has weathered storms as captain of the 2002 Olympics. He has an intricate knowledge of the economy, and a clear view of where we need to go in our future.

Our current president, on the other hand has come into this office with little to no real experience and America has suffered. It is not his fault the economy was suffering when he came into office, but it is time that we realize, under Obama things have not improved as they should have. Why? The reason is because we have had a captain that hasn’t known how, where and when to lead. He relies on his advisers to lead, which has led to some of them being out of control and unaccountable. He has attacked business owners and business in general. FDR once said “the business of America is business.” It seems to me that our current president’s opinion is that the business of America is to attack business.

Financially Obama has increased our debt more than any president, and he has done it in less than 4 years. What has it accomplished? Are we safer than we were four years ago? Is our economy better off than it
was four years ago? No. Having a captain who doesn’t know how to turn the ship around has led to Americans suffering to survive. Attacking crucial mechanizms through over regulation, burdensome tax standards, devaluing our currency, allowing other countries to bully us on economic policies, and leaving future generations with a load of debt that seems insurmountable, does not strengthen america.
In simple terms, we can’t afford to spend four more years on a president who doesn’t understand how the economy works, who doesn’t appreciate the entrepreneurial spirit, and who doesn’t seem to have a  clear view of where America should be heading.

We need a captain, a leader, someone who has been storm tested and has a definite view of the destination.
I believe in America,

do you?


Some reading I encourage
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/romneys-foreign-policy-the-opposite-of-obamas/2012/07/24/gJQAytNc6W_blog.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-krauthammer-did-the-state-make-you-great/2012/07/19/gJQAbZOiwW_story.html?wpisrc=nl_opinions

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-krauthammer-the-imperial-presidency-revisited/2012/07/05/gJQAR66PQW_story.html