I had never watched a State of the Union Address before so I had no idea what to expect. I also didn't have a set opinion on if I supported or disliked Obama. One thing they mentioned before he began his speach was how the democrats and republican were not split up on each side. Many had their opinions on this unusual setting but I believe it really didn't do much. If anything, it shows that maybe we can work together as Americans.
He starts off his speach by recognizing the shooting in Touson and telling how we have been affected because of it. Then he slowly moves into his new idea on curing our country's issues. He said he is determined that in order to make change for the positive, we must work together. I completely agree. Although the mixing of opposite opinions is basically arguing for debate, if we get past that, things can be taken one at a time and thoughtfuly TOGETHER. To put a bright side to the recession, Obama says that we must look at the progress instead of dwelling in the past. This might be true but along with our progress, we must see what needs to be fixed. I like how he focuses on the future rather than the past but what about today. I think he must put his "plans" into play now!
Obama also talked about his nifty "3 steps" for improving America. One was encouragin innovation. Change must happen constantly. Although we are in debt, we are still the leading power in the world. This has a lot to do with our innovation. America is full of genius scientists. The trick is to mesh all their ideas and knoweledge together and innovation could be unstoppable. But my question is how will it improve anything besides beating other countries in inventions? We must sacrifice to go through change but it calls for a great outcome. Next step was education. Everyone knows that with good education comes good products. With Obama's new action of "Race to the Top" will heighten the standards in highschools. Many students drop out every year and that is unacceptable so I agree with him on that. But If we heighten the standards of learning, will that make a new reason for unsuccessful students? It weighs heavily on the parents as well. Lowering tuition at colleges, giving more credit to teachers and working on immigration will also affect the learning process and he plans on making changes in this area too. Lastly, Rebuilding America. Haven't we heard this before! He states that we are slowly but surely becoming partners with other nations. We have made agreements with India, China, etc. Highering exports as well. What's the goal here? I think we just need to slow down and look at what we are considering. I agree with most things but have my opinon on many. That's our president for ya!
Health Care!! No one will be rejected because of their conditions or past. Everyone deserves it. We can't do anything about taxes for wealthy people but we can sure make things better in this field. Debt is what people are waiting to hear about from him. He said that he is willing to freeze salarys and reduce spending. Now salary cuts are important but over exaggeration is unnecessary. (so is under-cutting). Think also of the retiree's. Notice that Obama didn't mention anything about this until now. He has talked about other things but went 34 minutes without mentioning America's debt. Weird? I think so.
Other things about the speech are that the news anchor's mentioned that standing ovations were not constant like they have been in the past. Is it because of the unsual split? I think that has a lot to do with it. Especially since he wasn't expecting it. You could tell in the way he was talking that he is use to people standing during that part. (or it might just be the untrendy way he talks). He begins to close up the talk with the all famous "American Dream" saying. It is what drives us. We might be little people, but we have big dreams. That.....is what shapes.......America today. It is because of our people, no our family, that makes us such a unique country.
I do think that a lot of what he stated is true and worthwile but it will take time and a lot of patience. I will take a while for people to hop on board, and especially to steer the boat. He believes it will happen. We'll just have to see......he's got 2 more years.
"We.......are a nation......a union......a family of change.......we can do it.......we have......the future."- Obama
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