~~ the following is a piece I did for the 2012-13 year of "The Ram Pride," Ringgold High School's school newspaper ~~
The economy took a massive turn for the worst under
Bush, and that same president's warmongering in the Middle East fired up the
anti-war crowd the most since the Vietnam War. America as a whole seemed very
displeased with their leader, so when Democrat Barrack Obama was elected
president back in 2008, it was a very exciting time for many disappointed
Americans. It was an especially exciting time for progressive Americans, as Barrack
Obama presented himself as a candidate that would lessen war, provide
left-leaning economics, and stand for social progress.
Well, how did he do? For both America as a whole and
progressives?
Well, he "came out of the closet" as the
first president in United States history to formally support Gay Marriage, and
repealed Don't Ask Don't Tell. He didn't do anything against women's right to
choose, and he didn't do anything against Planned Parenthood. He did bring the
troops home from Iraq, but it sure did take awhile, and we are still in
Afghanistan. He and his Justice Department have hit hard on Medicinal Marijuana
clinics, and the next four years under Obama do not look particularly bright
for full-legalization of weed in states that desire to do so. He has been very
weak on taxes, even though his spending has been no holds bars. The Affordable
Care Act is certainly a step in the right direction, but there's certainly a
long road ahead if we plan to seriously compete with other countries in regards
to healthcare.
He's done an immensely "okay" job so far.
In his second term, he needs to step it up, and hopefully he'll be more willing
to do riskier things without the fear of not being reelected hanging over his
head. I'm not very educated on foreign policy and our situation in the Middle
East, so I'm not going to pretend that I am, but I do know that Obama and
congress needs to get that all resolved as soon and as nonviolently as they
can. And I do know that sounder economics and a rational and modern approach to
marijuana legislation are the two things he needs to focus on the most.
If Barrack Obama needs to do a lot of spending for
his agenda, so be it, but he has to raise taxes to compensate. Some very rich
Americans manage to pay a very low tax rate, and Obama seems to know and care
about that, but we can't be sure if he's going to actually follow up on his
principals. And America can definitely do for some big cuts to spending - our
bloated Defense budget that out-spends China 6-1 comes to mind immediately. In
the debates Obama was very firmly against Mitt Romney's position to actually raise military spending, but it doesn't
seem like our president is proactive about making significant cuts to Defense.
Marijuana Legalization is an issue of civil liberty
and freedom, but it's also something that can help the economy of states that
wish to legalize it. Money will not be spent putting people in jail for
nonviolent weed offenses, and states will actually see revenue by taxing
transactions that are already happening anyway. Heck, if Obama and Congress got
together and ended prohibition of cannabis on a Federal level, telling each
state that they cannot stop the sale, usage and ownership of marijuana by
adults, and allowed states to handle regulation and taxation, that would be
fantastic. Probably won't happen, though.
Like many liberals, I want to like Obama more than I
actually do. He does a very good job of extrapolating a very progressive,
inspiring view of the world and government in his speeches, but he doesn't do
that great of a job when actually carrying out his rhetoric. Loads of money we
don't have is being spent, and our taxes are pathetically low. Obama's Justice
Department seriously believes that medicinal
marijuana is a threat to society
that requires throwing harmless people behind bars. America should be even more
skeptical of President Barrack Obama in his second term, and part of me is
optimistic, but I'd be surprised if the next four years aren't anything but
another shade of okay.
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