The Obama campaign successfully got the nation drunk, lavished in their orgasmic triumph on election night, and even to forget to put on a condom. We are now pregnant, and morning sickness is a killer. Now Obama’s approval ratings make the mood of Americans quite clear: we don’t want this baby.
Social conservatives are clamoring for an abortion of the Obama presidency. While I’m pro-choice, I still believe that abortions should be incredibly rare, and we should let the baby live. Nevertheless, I’m just a college student and shudder at the thought of needing to pay child support for the rest of my life.
I consider myself a liberal Democrat. I’m not ashamed to say I believe in a big government that makes health care a fundamental right, considers a first-class education of our youth a national priority, strictly regulates greedy corporate giants, protects our environment and safeguards our civil liberties. I am ashamed of Mr. Obama’s and the Democratic Party’s recent track record in failing to ensure that any of these valuable reforms are realized. In a nation encumbered by formidable challenges, the only sensible approach is reform.
If we allow a world where American students fail to meet the academic standards set by educational systems in most other developed nations, America’s demise is imminent. Despite the fact that one-quarter of American students fail to graduate high school and that American students in general ranked 18th in a list of students in 36 developed nations, conservative leaders argue that we ought to take pride in our educational system. After all, we are the nation of Harvard, Yale and MIT. Well, those institutions have been around for a while, and their successes certainly wouldn’t indicate flaws in our current system. There are two basic approaches to this issue: the progressive approach and the conservative approach.
The conservative approach always encourages either an effort to regress to an antiquated way of doing things or to do nothing. Our country is afflicted with too many systemic conditions to allow for this mindset. We need to be a nation of reformers. I fear that Obama has already exhausted most of America’s reforming spirit without signing significant reform into law. Nevertheless, despite Obama’s failed presidency, we must continue to elect politicians that promise some type of reform. Politicians that don’t advocate modernization of our energy infrastructure, educational system, health care system, welfare system, military and civil rights laws aren’t worthy of a voter’s attention.
Josh Kornfield is a sophomore majoring in international studies and political science. He may be contacted at jkornfield@themiamihurricane.com.