Are We Going to Remain Number 1!
Good Sunday Morning!
“We’re number 1!” “YEAH” “We’re number 1”
On the world stage, yes we as the mighty America have become smaller. Not so small yet, but there is still time. The confusion and lack of direction on the domestic stage is bolstered by legions of special interest actors and “handlers” that make any of the bungles and bad and poorly thought out policy such as the financial boondoggle known widely as “Obamacare” come to fruition.
On the international stage Obama has not been quite so lucky — at least with the sober leaders of other countries, who tend not to be excited or “weak kneed” about his “dazzling” smile (I concur with them), his eloquent teleprompter, nor his ability to say “um” more than 30 times in a 5 minute speech.
Part of it could be could be the language and cultural barriers — “um” may not be as cute in the international arena.
And seriously, he is up against some really seasoned leaders. Let’s take for example Hassan Rouhani. Rouhani is fluent in Persian, English and Arabic. As for his background — both in the arena of education, politics and and the military this very cool customer has shown that he has a demeanor of steel. The we have the much spoken about Vladimir Putin. Former KGB, fluent in several languages, hardened. Well, you get the picture, they are not impressed. But quietly in our own hearts we watch the President stride in 30 – 45 minutes late for a state dinner, walking the distance like he was striding the “cat walk” at Fashion Week in New York. Smiling and waving, the only thing left for him to do is stop, suck in his cheeks, put his hands on his hips and pirouet for the crowd.
But America is still the greatest nation on this earth. Exceptional, yes indeed. Perhaps that is why we feel as though we have nothing to prove, we are on the “auto-pilot” of greatness. So we take our eyes off the ball, elections are boring, football on the other hand is interesting —- we shoot people at football games over “our team”, we beat them up. At baseball games, middle aged women fight 10 year olds for a ball and then get a “high-five” from friends. I hope she did the “victory” lap around her neighborhood and gets a banner as the “old lady” who beat the kid out of a baseball.
We wait with “bated breath” while the erstwhile president fills out his “brackets” for the Final Four basketball tournament. Over one thousand headlines are produced during that time analyzing his “picks”. America becomes the Alpha Beta Delta frat house party. We are drunk with adoration for our “homie”, yo, yo, yo. Because “we be number 1”. Right, yeah….
Meanwhile, we elect a conference of old men to decipher and fight for our rights. People who can still remember using rotary telephones, people to whom the term “wacka … whtever” means something. And they get bamboozled. And we get a new health care law that is going to leave the economy in a shambles and our health care in a tizzy. For a while. At least.
If that were the only thing, but it is not.
And the problem with being the team in first place, and we should know that from all the sports we watch, other teams vie for that position. So we as team America better watch our sides as they have already declared us as “not exceptional”. And they don’t seem impressed.