Paul R. Lehman, Republicans in Congress fight to retain myth of superiority

April 30, 2010 at 4:47 pm | Posted in American Bigotry | 3 Comments
Tags: Congressional rejections of Obama

The congressional republicans have demonstrated time and again that they will not support any legislation offered by President Obama and the Democratic Party. Why have they taken such a stand? Can their actions be defended as being good for the country? Let us examine each of these questions respectively.

                The fear of losing their belief in ethnic superiority and having to accept an African American as not only an equal but also as their leader is too much for them to accept. Therefore, they must resist as much as possible any semblance of success by Obama because they believe that when he wins, they lose. They believe that as long as they do not accept Obama’s leadership, he is not a leader. Their actions are akin to a child not wanting to accept the fact that mom or dad is really the tooth fairy, so he or she continues to place the tooth under the pillow even after being told that it was a myth. To the congressional republicans, rejecting Obama is a life-changing proposition they cannot accept.

                Can the act of rejecting all things Obama be good for the country? They can be only if the rejections can be seen as logical, emotional, and ethical. The long list of rejections reflects the degree of dedication of the congressional republicans in thwarting Obama’s leadership. Rather than delving into a list of the rejections, examining one, the health care reform, should serve to underscore our purpose.

                The purpose of the health care legislation was to benefit a large segment of America’s citizenry in a variety of ways. For certain, the legislation was not perfect, but the option to not support it showed more concern for the Republican Party than for the American people. In essence, rejection of the bill showed invalid reasoning and a lack of sound constructive thinking in behalf of the people.

                The level of stress that accompanied the vote on the health care bill was not positive for either side in Congress. The arguments brought out feelings of extreme fear, hate, and mistrust. The American people did not have an opportunity to fully understand or appreciate (not accept) the bill before they were persuaded to one side or the other. Since passage of the legislation would benefit a majority of Americans, passing it would have generated good feelings if the advantages of the bill were known. Unfortunately, we will have to let time inform us as to the wisdom of the decision.

                From an ethnical perspective, can the continued rejection by the congressional republicans be good for the country? If we evaluate the reason for the rejection in the first place, then we must admit that their actions are wrong. They are wrong because they simply put the desires of the party before the needs of the people. If nothing was done to relieve the continuous growth of insurance expense, more Americans would opt not to be insured. Who would that hurt? The Americans with insurance would be forced to pay the tab for the uninsured, so it would hurt the American people. From a humanistic standpoint, as a people are we to ignore the needs of our fellow Americans? We did not become a strong nation by isolation—each person for him/herself; we became strong by working together and helping each other. We know the difference between right and wrong.

                The congressional republicans through their continuous rejection of any Obama legislation are doing a disservice to themselves and our country. They have placed party concerns and prejudices about the needs of the people and tried to convince the people that they are acting in their behalf. Obama is the president, an African American, and leader of the country. That is now a part of American’s history. Nothing the congressional republicans do today or tomorrow will or can change that. As hard as it may be for them to accept these facts, the logical, emotional, and ethical thing to do is focus on the job the Americans people elected them to do—take care of the people’s business and leave personal and party biases for another time. Rejecting Obama cannot or will not restore or retain the myth of ethnic superiority some in congress and the nation feel they are losing.