Assessing a Presidency

The media seems to be on the attack of Joe Biden and his presidency. One wonders why? The fate of the country is more important than any single presidency. What is the agenda we all feel is important to be in our focus? Then go back and ask these key questions:

1.       What are the long-term objectives we should ideally be aiming for? World peace? Survival of the planet? Justice? Healthcare of the citizenry? Vitality of public education and its role in building lives that thrive?

2.       How are those objectives best attended to? In priority order? If so, how do we determine that? What methodologies are called for in creating solutions? Speed? Diversity? Social justice? Economic sustainability? What?

3.       How did we get into this pickle? What led to these circumstances that control so much of our attention? And resources? Focus on what and how, not the people who might be tagged for blame.

Those three questions are key to our managing our way forward constructively. And creatively. Avoiding the blame game saves us from endless personal attacks and wasted energy and other vital resources.

Our nation has just come through four years of political upheaval. Much damage was done that calls for repair and healing. The current presidency has that on its plate plus all the rest. The pandemic alone is of vital concern. Protecting the economy while surviving the pandemic is a huge task. Surviving political nonsense in the federal government is yet another challenge on our list of things to do. A congress that doesn’t function well is just one of the problems. A judiciary system that seems to avoid justice at all costs is another facet of our woes. The checks and balances of our tripartite government relies on all three branches of government working well. This has not happened for quite a while.

How do we repair those needs while managing the large issues that will move us forward as a nation?

One pitfall to avoid is turning on ourselves. We are not the enemy. We are the answer. The government of, by and for the people must work well if democracy is to prevail anywhere on this earth. Our own democracy is hurting. Let us innovate our way out of the current debacle.

And no, the Biden Presidency is not the fault or cause of our current state of affairs. It could be the answer we need if we let it and collaborate with it. Like JFK challenged us, “Ask what you can do for your country, not what your country can do for you.”

A timely question. What is our answer? Yours?

January 21, 2022

 

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