From the Right: Do You Think Barack Obama Is a Good President?

How often does this question get asked? How quickly does the conversation then go to hell, especially if the parties involved disagree? If we changed the way we discussed politics, could we fix this country? Before we answer that question let us back up a minute. Do you think the country needs to be fixed? Did you answer no? Then you are probably a liberal... Did you answer yes? Then you are probably a conservative... Are you angry right now that I just labeled you without knowing you? Therein lies our problem and therein lies what needs to be fixed. We as Americans so much time worrying about who said what or how and why they said it. Politicians love to use the phrase, “we need to have a national conversation about [insert hot topic here]” but what does that even mean? When was the last time you saw our country genuinely discuss something outside of ideologies and labels? When was the last time political debates were waged in the realm of ideas? Please, we all know the worlds problems are solved on Facebook, with walls of text and vile obscenities the likes of which would make our founding fathers cry. Don't get me wrong, I'm not naive to think that we can all sing songs around the campfire and just get along. On the contrary though, our country was founded on very divisive arguments. The difference though was that when the federalists and anti-federalists went at it, they knew the country would be better off thanks to their disagreements. As long as they always shared the common goal of making the country better, the end result was a better country. The most productive meeting I was ever a part of in my workplace began with a simple statement by our vice president. “from now, until we leave this room, we are nameless and rank less. We are here to make the company better, so leave your ego at the door and be prepared to discuss openly and compromise.” It was powerful and opened our committee to the power of free flowing ideas and opinions. That is how America is supposed to work. Free people sharing ideas and opinions with the common goal of making the country better. To answer the question of whether or not the country needs to be fixed, I say yes. We need to be able to discuss opinions, respect differences and unite for tomorrow. Do I think Barack Obama is a good president? No I don't, but maybe you do, so let's talk openly about it as Americans. Let us leave our egos and ideologies at the door and discuss it, nameless and rank less. I promise our country will be better off because of it.

#RonnieR