I am offended. I am wondering why our Commander in Chief appears impatient when his opinions are not immediately embraced by others, but feels that all it will take is a clicking of beer mugs to smooth over the comments he made about racial profiling.
A beer? Really, is that all it takes? Maybe the Republicans need to invite him over for a beer fest and we can sew up this health reform issue quickly.
Racial profiling is serious business and something I have no tolerance for, but profiling doesn't stop at race. People are "profiled" based on religion, hair color, skin color, hygiene, income, heritage, neighborhood, clothing and more.
Differences make us look twice, whether it's because of race or piercings or a bad hair day. So we often do take that second look, but we need to withhold judgment.
The toughest looking biker may be a hardworking, devoted husband and father who just happens to have tattoos and ride a Harley.
The young guy with tattoos just might be a savvy conservative
candidate for public office.
The African-American in dark clothing just might be returning from the opera.
The Latino with a shaved head and tattoos from head to toe might be a cop.
The moody lady behind the cash register might have experienced a recent tragedy.
The girl with the hat who is sitting off to the side in the shade and away from everyone just might be a redhead.
We need to be sensitive and remember that all of us have a history and a reality that is often hidden from the world. We have bad days. We say things out of context. We make errors and feel bad later. We separate ourselves for reasons unknown to others.
The President of the United States is no different, EXCEPT that he is the President of the United States, the Commander in Chief, possibly the most influential world leader today. What he says matters and we do listen, even when we don't agree.
And we know he is human and makes mistakes, but words are what elected him; they were his platform, he ran his campaign based on his practiced ability to use words, to communicate effectively, to speak in a way that would captivate Main Street USA.
Our President continues to emphasize the importance of words every time he 'edits' something the Vice President has said, often changing a single word or maybe two in the original quote. This one word, or two, changes the intent, the timing, and the message that was originally delivered. President Obama knows the importance of words.
During the campaign we repeatedly heard his credentials, his resume of journalistic experience; we witnessed over and over his carefully crafted speeches where each word had a purpose and a place. Everything we know about President Obama began with, was sustained by and continues through words.
The President's words matter; his words in speeches, his words when speaking to the media, his words without a teleprompter, his words in anger and frustration, and his words in accusation and judgment. And his words, like all words, are like feathers, they are difficult to gather after they are tossed into the air.
The next time the President makes a statement that he regrets, or would like to edit his own words in the same way he edits the Vice President, it seems to me that it should take more than a beer to make that happen. It should take a sincere apology, an admittance of error, a serious retraction or restatement. Obama is not perfect, but he is the President and we need to remember that, but more importantly, so does he.
I am still offended. I am insulted that he believes that the American people should cling to his every word, unless he chooses to edit them and then all it should take is a beer to straighten things out. Does he really think that a beer is all it takes to win over the American people? I really hope not.
So the man who has been urging us to listen, now wishes that we hadn't listened quite so intently, and the same man wants to use beer as white out.
I guess we can expect closure on the health care issue in early October - right around Oktoberfest, and so I propose the following, adapted from a traditional
beer toast:
For every wound, a balm.
For every sorrow, cheer.
For every storm, a calm.
For every outburst, a beer. Cheers.
