| Heartbeat |
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| By Jay De Leon | |
| Saturday, 31 January 2009 | |
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The World Attentively Listens… The inaugural speech delivered by President Barack Obama on January 20, 2009 during the transfer of power was unprecedented. It was addressed not only to the Americans but also to the nations of the world. His message was full of confidence and hope that every American must treasure as an inspiration in battling the present crises we are in. He expressed a strong sense of humility and love for peace as well as intensity in defending America and allied nations against aggressions. He expressed a strong leadership in mentioning that America needs to lead once more. In my opinion his speech was comparable to the speeches of two great former presidents Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. He is very humble, hopeful, confident, fearless, and charismatic person. That’s the personality of our new Commander-In-Chief. He showed no fear to tackle the enormity of problems he has inherited from the previous administration – economic, financial, wars, political, and foreign relations crises – to name a few. He spoke as if he has the magical wand to fix all these chaos domestically and abroad. Yes, he has it. The power of people behind him is the solution. The confidence of the world population is his strength. As long as the people will rally behind him, the answers to these problems will surface at the right time. It is true that these can not be fixed overnight, however, America is in the right track once again. I was surprised when Israel pulled out of Gaza right before the inauguration. Is it a sign of respect to the incoming president? Or is it their political strategy? Probably they are not sure if Obama will fully support what they did in Gaza. Whatever it was, that’s a positive sign for peace negotiation in the Middle East. Obama warned the Muslim extremists and corrupt countries that creation of goodwill is what the world needs not destruction of peace. He said that America will remain steadfast and will not tolerate such acts. In the inaugural luncheon, it was attended by all political parties, friends and foes. They set aside the party affiliations and started a new beginning for the interests of the common people. I hope this gesture will stay in the hearts and minds of these politicians and lawmakers. As one of the 305 Million Americans, what will be your role in today’s resolutions of the present crises? What can we do for our country? The new president can not do it all. We can’t fully rely on him without supporting him on a daily basis. For instance, our problem on energy-- We have been importing oil from OPEC and non-OPEC countries. Around 25% of the world production is being consumed by United States. When the price of oil was so high last year (over 4.00 dollars a gallon), Americans found ways to conserve energy. When the price went down to 1.69 a gallon, our roads were flooded by 8 cylinder SUVs and Trucks again with one passenger only. WHEN ARE WE GOING TO LEARN OUR LESSONS? Then after a month, the price crept up again. Why? The answer is very simple, LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND. In addition, OPEC countries has cut their volume of production to meet their goal of 75 to 100 dollars a barrel in the world market. I do believe that Federal Tax on oil should be increased like in Europe. The money we can save can be spent for research on alternative energy project instead of giving them away to the Saudis. This project must be completed in 10 years otherwise United States will have a bigger problem on energy because of the projection that China will surpass US cars on the road by year 2030. As an American, we should start buying US made products again. We need to improve our Gross National Product (GNP). We can not rely on foreign product and services. Corporate business executives must sacrifice in reducing their compensations and perks to lower the overhead costs of domestic products and services. Our Trade Deficits last year was about 700 Billion meaning we import more that we export. National Debt was around 12 Trillion, around 34,000 dollars per American while unemployment is at 7.2% and rising. How can Obama solve these problems without the cooperation from every American? Time to tighten our belt and be creative in our daily living. Time to teach our children these important values to make America the greatest country on earth again. I HOPE… |
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