So, what did you think of the Presidents speech last night?
Seems to be the question of the day.
I was struck more be the media dissecting and misquoting immediately following the speech as they explained to we, the apparently ignorant ,people what we had just listened to. Much was made of what should have been said, what was said that should not have been and most of all asking why an instant solution has not been implemented. No one seemed to come forward with what that solution might be.
Have we come to a point where winning political points depends primarily on making the other person look bad? We expect instant solutions to ALL of our problems and want NO responsibility ourselves.
What happened to coming together in a crisis and working to solve the problem.
Something that has worked well for me in meetings where everyone is focused on finger pointing is to state that whatever the problem is it is all my fault-I am solely to blame and take full responsibility-NOW how can we solve the problem or " opportunity to apply a solution"? Placing blame on someone else is much easier than admitting that you do not have a solution.
Let's all admit that we have never encountered a problem like this before. No one yet has a complete solution.
We need to focus on both solving the problem at hand and preventing it from reoccurring to the best of our ability.
Many have criticized the President's inclusion of alternative power in his speech last night. I think the only way to overcome this country's inertia and move away from the fossil fuels we are so comfortable with is to rally around a crisis such as this. People resist change and it takes substantial motivation to change direction- lets hope some good can come out of this terrible disaster and we will finally alter course towards a clean renewable energy base in this country.
So hey, what did you think of the Presidents speech last night?
I think The President made the case that the issue is something bigger than the oil we see day-after-day gushing into the Gulf. He talked about a great challenge for the country to move our energy policy from one that has been oil-based for decades toward clean energy, something that hasn’t been pushed by our president since Jimmy Carter.
ReplyDeleteI saw our president in the Oval Office using Commander-In-Chief language asking the country to Think Big, talking about his battle plan… about the entrepreneurs and scientists that could make that happen, talking about his informing - not asking - BP what’s going to happen, about how he refuses to let the Gulf Coast suffer an more than it has to… to me he said, I’m in charge, I get it, and we have a plan to make this better.
I found this speech inspiring and felt proud that Mr. Obama is my president.
Then I watched Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, Howard Fineman, and Rachel Maddow whine about the lack of details. I wasn't looking for details in this speech, I was looking for a president that was paying attention to the details and appreciated the Big Picture.
It is my civic responsibility to inform myself of the details from a variety of sources so that I may choose to believe whatever I believe, even if I'm wrong. When I have the opportunity to watch/listen to the President of the United States talk about the State of the Union, I do so, and decide for myself what I think is said.
thanks for starting this blog so I can post a rant apparently:)
ReplyDeletealso love your comments on conflict resolution! excellent
You know what I think? I think its so sad for all this wildlife that is being besieged by this oil that is not going to be completely contained until "late summer"! And in the meantime, what should we do? I am very frustrated right now in case everyone can't tell!
ReplyDeleteI actually enjoyed our President's speech as much as you can despite it's subject. This should never have happened. And since it has, let's volunteer our time and efforts (if & when possible)to make sure it never happens again. Please...let's take a stand and do what we can.
Also, I've been in touch with FEMA and they sent me some links regarding volunteering in all 4 states. For Louisana: www.volunteerlouisiana.gov/
ReplyDeleteFor MI: www.volunteermississippi.org/1800vol/OpenIndexAction.do
For FL: www.volunteerfloridadisaster.org/
For AL: www.servealabama.gov/2010/default.aspx
I'm not sure if anyone has already posted these or not. But I hope they help anyone who wants to volunteer. I'm not sure if I've said this before on this blog, but when I went to the dailygreen.com, they said they are urging people to NOT travel to volunteer as that may take away a volunteer position from someone who lives down there who may want it, which makes sense.
Should anyone wish to argue the safety of offshore drilling I came across this little jewel:
ReplyDeleteBlowouts in offshore drilling are not uncommon, in the Gulf of Mexico or elsewhere. A total of 573 blowouts of varying severity worldwide are tabulated in an "offshore blowout database" maintained by the Scandinavian research organization SINTEF.
Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/bp-oil-spill-size-0614
excellent resources - thank you both - I've passed them along:)
ReplyDeleteI wonder what percent of the American population actually watched The President last night... what was it, 18 minutes?
It's sickening what greed has done to our nation, again... why are we shocked? why haven't we learned? I want to hear all views that are substantiated even of those with which I disagree... I love to spar and learn from the interaction but I wish them no harm, I simply disagree.
Maddow said she wished Obama had announced three major developments in the response to the disaster:
ReplyDelete1. "Never again, will any company, anyone, be allowed to drill in a location where they are incapable of dealing with the potential consequences of that drilling."
2. "I'm announcing a new federal command specifically for containment and cleanup of oil that has already entered the Gulf of Mexico, with a priority on protecting shoreline that can still be saved; shoreline that is vulnerable to oil that has not yet been hit."
3. "I no longer say that we must get off oil like every president before me has said too. I no longer say that we must get off oil. We will get off oil and here's how: The United States Senate will pass an energy bill. This year."
I love this philosophically but would rather wear sandals (and let my freak flag fly:) than be a politician.
Instead I lend my hand in the cleanup effort and teach our children well.
ReplyDelete