Just the Beginning

Election night's announcement at 11:00 was such a relief after weeks of worrying that the polls were wrong or that votes would be stolen. While I still harbor some respect for John McCain, I am so relieved that Sarah Palin will not be second in line for the White House that I could shout it from the rooftops. Sarah Palin may be a smart woman capable of deep thinking, but I have yet to see any evidence of it. As for the ticket that won, now the work really begins.


First order of business, extend a genuine hand across the aisle to all Republicans, especially the moderates, who instead of gaining ground in their own party, have actually yielded more real estate to the whacko far right fringe. There will be more angry Sarah Palins who motivate the conservative base by innuendo and fear tactics, and the moderate Republicans need all the help they can get to combat them.


Second order of business, make sure the Democratic base does a reality check. This election is not a mandate to go hog wild with poorly constructed bills designed only to look like they accomplish something. This is a time for thoughtful discussion, careful and deliberate action, and deep honesty.


Bring the boys and girls home from Iraq as soon as soon as safely possible. Shore up the troops in Afghanistan to finish whatever is necessary and get the hell out of there, too.


Invest, invest, invest in energy research. Somewhere in the world, someone is on the edge of a breakthrough. Let's hope George W. Bush has not sabotaged the American efforts to such an extent that we have no hope of being the first to move into a new age of clean, cheap energy. If there is any bailout for the car makers, it should be tied to energy efficient cars and new sources of power.


Rebuild the rapidly crumbling infrastructures in this country. There are hundreds of thousands of unemployed Americans out there, many of them engineers, who would be delighted to help rebuild our bridges, roads, dams, and schools. FDR did it in the 1930s; Obama needs to do it now before more bridges collapse or a dam breaks.


Bring back the railroads. What a fun way to travel. All the grandpas and grandmas who want to visit the grandkids can jump on a train and spend their travel time reading books and talking to strangers rather than clogging up the roads in gas guzzling cars that poison the air and terrify other drivers.

Start programs that stress excellence. Engage the best and the brightest in all new endeavors, and don't hide the fact that you are looking for big brains. Also emphasize talent in all fields. For too long we have measured only a couple of intelligences. Perhaps people doubt the whole intelligence thing because we use only IQ to measure. There are many different intelligences and we need to recognize them all and use the best and brightest in each to improve our country.

Preach tolerance, tolerance, tolerance, but don't let that be an excuse to let people get away with poor effort or shoddy work. In this economy, hard work should be rewarded and slackers should be shown the door until they learn how to work. A bit of manners would be nice also.

Let's try to get the far right into the fold. They are out there swinging in the breeze with their fearful predictions, blame games, insinuations, and mindless tactics. Anyone wgo has ever seen the documentary Jesus Camp knows how scary this rigid mindset is. Let's try to undermine this intolerant value system with some thoughtful strategies.

Maybe this is just wishful thinking, but shouldn't we really try to make this a whole new era of breakthroughs in our culture?