We Can Finally Move Forward Now...

By far one of the happiest moments of my life as a news consumer was watching Dubya take off in that helicopter and leaving the parameters of our nation's capital for seemingly the last time as a man in power. The presidency was officially bequeathed this morning by Barack Obama, and I already feel the change occuring.

In the streets of D.C., Harlem, and places outside the nation's borders, people were jubilant in the rise of the nation's first black president, many, whom 45 years earlier, couldn't even drink from the same water fountain as a white person, let alone achieve the presidency. Many people from that generation never thought that they would see a day like today, and that same sentiment carried over to my generation, a generation raised on hip-hop, Nintendo, and the internet.

As revolutionary as this day is (as it should, for this is a remarkable achievement for any African-American), it is easy to forget how qualified Barack Obama is to lead this nation, and how great of an example he is, an example that will resonate with people from all backgrounds. He was raised by a single white mother who lived off food stamps, and worked his way on up to attend the finest universities (Columbia & Harvard), and even after being offered jobs in prestigious law firms, went back to the South Side of Chicago to give back to his community. His life story is a refreshing change in light of our most recent ex-president, who had a silver spoon jammed up so far up his ass he tasted nothing but metal.

We, as a nation, have endured 8 years of greed, dishonesty, and a severe lack of integrity. And now, we are paying for it, even if most of us did not cause it. We are in the middle of two wars, one of them we shouldn't even be in, many of us don't have jobs, our economy sucks, and our reputation as a country has been tarnished in the eyes of our one-time allies (and yes, having allies is important; you don't think we won all those wars singlehandedly did we?). President Obama has walked into the worst situation for any incoming president since FDR, and the man has a lot on his plate. He is not in an enviable position. Bush certainly created many shitstorms and an overwhelming amount of debris as a consequence. Even opponents and non-supporters should wish him luck.

To the outgoing President,

Fuck you. You have helped turn this country from a functioning one to a country badly in need of repair. You let corruption, greed, and lies fly under your nose with a sense of nonchalance towards those who may be affected by it in a way that borders on evil. You have mislead the American people by leading us into a war that served the interests of your criminal oil friends in the name of fear. You have turned Americans against each other, by calling out dissenters and providing a "with us or against us" mentality. Your ridiculous faith-driven beliefs set science back at least 10 years, and your abstinence only approach towards sex ed only lead to more teen pregnancies than ever. Only towards the very end of your joke of an administration did you show any thought to the people you have done wrong, or show any remorse, or any indication that you may have been wrong in many instances. Sure, you could say that "tough decisions had to be made" until judgment day, but some of your decisions defied just "tough times calling for touch measures," considering that things didn't get horrible until recently.

So, enjoy your life in Texas and do us a favor, and keep a low profile. The world has had enough of you & your kind.

With shame and emabrassment,

Kyle

To President Obama,

To reiterate that memo I had written to you right after Election Day, please don't fuck up.