Open Letter to President Barack Obama
Dear Mr. President,
My decision to vote for you did not come out of the over-hyped belief that you were some kind of savior that would be able to repair the ill state of this nation immediately. I voted for you because I agreed with many of your political stances. I voted for you because I believed in the ideals that you presented to us via your campaign. I believed that your understanding of the evolving climates of communications, technology, and culture spoke directly to my generation and the one immediately following. Recognizing all of these things, however, I do not believe that it would have mattered who won the election -the situation in which this country currently resides is not one that anyone could repair in any reasonable amount of time.
This country does not need a leader that treats every public press conference like a high school positivity pep rally, however. This is not high school and we’re not rallying for a longer lunch period, Mr. President. It’s disappointing that you represent our country with phrases more fit for a bar-fight between two twenty-somethings. We are a young country with an ever-growing young population, but those things do not mean that we are to present ourselves in such a manner. I did not vote for someone whose goal was to be known as “The Cool President”.
You have failed this nation and its people with such frivol when discussing matters such as the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The manner in which you speak comes across as theatrical, melodramatic, and inauthentic. Your choice of vernacular not only dehumanizes, but also cheapens both situations. Lives have been lost and permanently altered.
In terms of the oil spill, what we hear are the words of that twenty-something in the bar with such jabs as, “I want to know whose ass to kick,” and “…make BP pay for the damage their company has done!” Your decision to use so many negative, war-oriented words and phrases in your speech about the oil spill takes away from the fact that the spill is not just a physically-damaging disaster, but also an emotion-wrenching event for everyone affected by it. We don’t want to hear this very human incident stripped down to terms used to describe the war that has taken the lives of so many men and women. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and that action, itself, speaks louder than words, Mr. President, but you’ve neither been open about your actions in these matters nor have you been photographed getting down and dirty with the people its affecting. You tell us that you made a trip to the Gulf Coast after it has happened, but we don’t actually see you out at the beaches or in the water helping to clean up.
What we see is you sitting at a desk. We see no pictures of what’s happening at the oil spill. We see no video of any assistance you have provided. We do not hear you speaking with any of the victims’ families while you give this dramatic speech. We have nothing to connect you to the human despair this disaster has wrought, Mr. President. What we hear are is a string of contrived prose that’s been smashed together to sound formal and governmental. You never speak of working with BP or anyone else to find a solution, to put together preventative plans for the future. You speak only of the government’s control of everything and only of making those responsible “pay”.
Playing the blame game solves nothing, President Obama. What’s done is done. A horrible thing happened and people died. BP has taken responsibility for what has happened and I’m sure they have every intention of paying restitution to those affected. Why not work together with them to fix this instead of playing Big Brother? Why not specify possibilities for the future instead of covering your behind and the behinds of your administration?
You promised us hope and change. We’re not expecting life to go back to the way it was eight or ten years ago, Mr. President. We’re not expecting you to magically fix everything that is wrong with this country because, frankly, you aren’t Superman. What we’re expecting is for you to act like a grown adult, to take responsibility for what’s happening, to represent us to the rest of the globe in a mature manner, to work toward the future instead of focusing so much on the past, and to acknowledge in what may be construed as “layman terms” the tremendous loss that we, as a nation, feel in terms of the oil spill and the war.
What happened to that guy?
Sincerely,
Sal Christ
No One Wins in War
I still remember where I was the day that the WTC in NYC was attacked eight years ago -it’s a memory forever imprinted in the attic of my mind. I remember hearing my housemates chattering upstairs in a commotion. We sat on the sofa for hours that day -ultimately seeing the second plane hit and witnessing the fall of both towers. I was supposed to work in the afternoon only to find the city streets and store abandoned. I recall the start of the war and the way fear gnawed at my heart when my brother announced that he’d joined the army a couple of years later.
The entire country has waited over the last couple of weeks for President Obama’s decision about sending more troops to Afghanistan. One cousin finally came home just in time for the holidays from his third tour of duty. His younger brother will be shipped out sooner than later now -likely before the end of the year. Another is heading there in April, after having spent the last two years training with the Marines. I watched the President’s address last night with mixed feelings. How do we support our friends and family when we do not support this war? Fighting violence with violence does not equate to attaining peace -it does not work that way. I understand why the wars began and I understand why we cannot simply withdraw all of the troops all at once. I understand that we have to clean up the mess that we created. My problem lies in the continued statement about needing more troops to win the war.
No one wins in war. I’m so tired of hearing all of these politicians -including our President- go on and on about what it will take to win this and win the “war on terrorism and extremism”. So we ended the lives of several high-ranking politicians and/or terrorists -big deal. Ending those lives came at the cost of the lives of thousands of Americans, Britons, Iraqis, Afghanis, and countless others. Ending those lives came at the cost of the lives of those left behind -regardless of whether they live in the Middle East or in the west. I was disgusted by Obama’s remarks pertaining to the differences between the Vietnam War and this war. I was not alive during the Vietnam War, but his comments came across as defensive and avoidant. Regardless of the actual commonalities between the Vietnam War and this war, too many people feel this battle has become an act of futility. Does anyone remember the original objective? We were supposed to be going after Osama bin Laden and more than eight years later, we’re still running around chasing what seems to be a straw man. Why are we really still there? What denotes a winner in this war? If we magically locate and end the life of bin Laden, will that mean that the war is over? Will that fulfill the main objective or will we continue to occupy the country for X more years?
I want to support my friends and family serving this country and I do support them. I understand why they enlisted and why they are willing to give their lives for this country. However, I don’t feel like there is a productive reason for us to remain in this war. Fighting terrorism is too broad and too general a goal in this matter and equates to fighting for the sake of fighting because we somehow have nothing better to do with our resources and the priceless lives of our people.
What are we fighting for?
No poetic reflection or pointed commentary on the ongoing war and aftermath of 9/11 can do justice the sense of loss that I feel today. Late this morning, I found out that my wonderful friend, Julian, was killed in Afghanistan by a roadside bomb. Julian and I met through our mutual interests in film -he an actor and me a director/producer. He was this funny, beautiful person always ready with a smile and an open-heart. I remember emailing him when I heard that he’d gone off and joined the Marines and he said that it was something he felt he had to do and had wanted to do for a long time. How can you not respect that?
So now, here we are a couple of years later. It’s surreal. I see the pictures of his headstone in Arlington National Cemetery and I can’t get my head wrapped around it. It seems like it was just yesterday when we were sharing conversations about Martha Stewart and projects over Clementines in the middle of winter. The same question keeps running through my head: What did he die for? I’m sad and shocked and angry right now. What on earth did this precious boy die for?
