Don't Deny the Big O

I pity the president. Every guy wants to think he can get the job done. You know, close the deal … get the fat lady to sing … touch the sky, you get the idea. But there are those who just won’t give in to his gentle persuasion.

“It’s too expensive!” protest his detractors, “And it might hurt!”

“I think we should wait” offer some, “I might be ready in four more years.”

“It’s not right” complain others, “My grandmother couldn’t do it and neither will I”

He’s pushed his critics to the brink, and they are hating it. They just won't yield. No amount of calm reasoning and sweet talk will allow them to relax. Favoring irritability over the endorphin rush of acceptance, the unfulfilled outsiders grumble and chafe with frustration over proposed policies.

Healthcare for everyone? Get your hands off me!

Improved relations with other nations? Who wants relations with other nations?!

Diplomacy over defense spending? No! Give me bigger, thicker, taller, stronger missiles … Ooops, sorry, I meant to say, defense spending in prudent moderation is the only way to preserve our national identity.

What a delicious, frustrating, endless loop … so close and yet so far.

Accept. Relax. Free your mind and the rest will follow.

The government serves and protects the common good. The government collects taxes. The government uses said taxes to pay for programs that serve and protect aforementioned common good. It doesn’t hurt, at all. As a matter of fact, it can feel pretty darn good. Like when you drive across a bridge built with federal funds, or stroll through the National Gallery of Art, or drink clean water from your kitchen tap, or fill up your tank with subsidized gas, or breathe the clean air in your neighborhood.

Don’t deny the big O – bama. Allow yourself to tip over the brink and you may be glad you did.

Remember, the only truly blue things that liberals share are suits and ties.

Copyright 2009 Karen Napolitano