In his response to Daniel Ortega’s excoriating remarks to Obama in front of the Summit of Americas nations at last weeks meeting, Obama curtly replied “I’m very grateful that President Ortega did not blame me for things that happened when I was 3 months old.” However, Obama left the rest of America out on the curb.
It turns out that more than half of Americans were born after Obama. According to 2007 census bureau information 100.9 million people were born in 1962 and later and 97.3 million were born 1961 and before. Since most of the population in the US was not yet born, we too should not be blamed.
I don’t blame Obama if he didn’t know the age demographics of the population. I did not know until I did the math and looked up the population of the nation. However, something must be said regarding how Obama has been going on about his “listen and lead” foreign policy. He needs to realize that the US is at least as guiltless as himself.
The most important omission in Obama’s policy (not defending America) is the most dangerous omission from his policy. This is especially true in South America, where dictators like Ortega and Chavez have maintained their oppressive governments through distraction created by blaming their country’s poor living standards on “oppression” from the North.
I’m not saying Obama needs to be defensive on the accusations being leveled, but he should at least be a voice for all the good that America has done in the world. There has been at least as much good done by America as there has been bad. He does both America dishonor in not vigorously advocating these positives as he does damage to the citizens in the countries run by Ortega and Chavez and leaves the people in these country’s hanging out to dry in more ways than one.
Obama correctly pointed out in Europe that we are a nation of “principles and ideas,” but those ideas are not welcome in the dictatorships in this world because they offer their subjects a life of independence, free of their rule. There are many in these oppressive countries that do in fact agree with our way of life. These peoples are working in their countries to bring about the freedom that we so lavishly enjoy. In ideology, they are our allies. The dictators hate us, because they hate them. In failing to herald the good in the US, he has not only left America down, he’s let the world down and made it easier for these dictators to continue their regimes.
If you don’t believe me, Chavez declared victory on Tuesday. The result, is obvious to those who oppose Chavez in Venezuela, they will get no support from the freest nation in the world. This is yet again another example of the unintended consequences of progressive thought.
