Is there such thing as too much hope?

Before I begin the real reason for my blog, I have to first say how much blogging on our new Macbook is so much more enjoyable than on our old PC! I love this thing...it is fast, user friendly and compact. I am glad we made this purchase.

Okay, onto my real topic. I admit it...I voted for Obama. The hope and inspiration he gave during the campaign was unprecendented. I wanted something new...something fresh...a perspective I feel comfortable with. On balance, I still feel like I made the right decision. But I have to say...I am getting tired of political decision making. People are out there suffering, losing jobs, homes, everything and our decision makers worry about whether their decisions are Republican or Democratic enough. Who cares? Has anyone in politics done an objective analysis when making a decision...like a decision tree, or some sort of cost benefit analysis? No. Votes in the house and senate are cast based on re-election hopes and constiuency desires. If you watch a state of the union or some other such speech you see who stands and claps for what issue. Puhleeze. Stand and clap for the issue you have truly made an informed decision on...those seats are pretty warm, aren't they?

I am not blaming partisan politics on Obama, but he did kind of set himself up. "Reach across the aisle" sounds good in a campaign speech, but not so good when you are trying to save the economy with "the others" thinking tax cuts will actually do that. No...I think it is the overall approach. Why is Congress making decisions about our economy? Why can't economists, college professors, journalists, teachers, etc make recommendations? Why do we leave such important decision making in the hands of people who have personal and political agendas?

I do fear we are not going in the direction we we hoped to go back in November. Look, I am as outraged as the next person about the AIG bonuses...but we are a capitalist society, and all of a sudden we want to wage war against the people who sit on the boards of trustees of our kids' schools. I just recently saw the John Adams miniseries and a scene comes back to me...early in the days of the revolution, a mob tars and feathers a poor British guy who was on the boat of the Boston Tea Party. I really do hope as a nation we have come further than symbolically tarring and feathering the bloke who worked for AIG with the promise of making a $100,000 bonus. Doesn't that resound for those of us who are promised healthcare or 401K matching plans?

NPR the other day was reading letters from listeners and one person wrote in..."Stop with the negativity! All we hear about is how bad things are...what about the good?" What about the good? Those people who did get laid off and perhaps are volunteering more...how lay offs may mean that people may actually spend quality time with their families...that the stimulus money may actually do some good...let's put the GOOD energy out there, instead of this constant negative energy. That will get us no where except back to partisan politics.