By Donald C. Tracy

It seems there is a blitz on to make people think President Obama is out to divide the nation by some diabolical means. I don’t know the original source of this propaganda, but here are some things that might make more people think about this nefarious plan. Hopefully it will make everyone cautious about what is going on in this election cycle. Here are reminders of some events that have taken place since he was first elected:

Before his first election, there were all kinds of attacks on Obama, including the “birther” issue. Even after he provided a birth certificate, it is still a problem with some people, like Trump. And there is still a matter of his religion. Whatever his religion may be, it has no bearing on his presidency. There is no religious test for the president. As for Obama getting along with the GOP, he was not the one who called a meeting even before his inauguration to announce the GOP would not work with him, and planned to make him a one-term president. They failed, even though they tried.  The outward appearance was obvious with the fight to kill the Affordable Care Act. Even though the GOP has been offered chances to work together to improve the ACA or offer an alternative, there was no response to make the bill work better, just roadblocks to make it NOT work.

There is no question that the GOP contingent has acted like petulant children at each State of the Union Address. One would think they were being forced to eat their broccoli like good brats rather than being asked to work together to do something to improve our country.

One of the things the president has asked for repeatedly is to work on the debt that, in large part, he inherited. The Congress is in control of the budget, but they refuse to do the right thing, raising taxes on their wealthy supporters. It has meant that the debt has just moved up to $19 trillion. The multibillionaires have so much money that they are trying to buy our country. That includes not only your government, but also your national parks, so they can profit from the minerals, the oil, the timber and the spaces. These people want you to work at a wage that is a disgrace in a country that has enough to share. They have convinced a lot of people that they are going to save the country by keeping you in servitude. They have senators like Ted Cruz who shut down the government to give them what they want.

For those who prefer going back to 1865 with two separate countries, simply consider how long the country could last with all the people who would like to have what potential we have and the freedoms we have and must keep.

It is unwise to quote Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson out of context, when they were in fact discussing matters totally unlike what we are presently dealing with. Paine was a “firebrand,” unlike our current drama queens, and Jefferson was trying to convince the Congress to build a Navy and start the Marine Corps to defeat the Barbary Pirates.  Otherwise, we would have had to pay $1 million (one-tenth of the then-national budget) as “tribute” to sail in the Mediterranean Sea without our ships being attacked. Our sailors and passengers were being held as slaves for ransom.

It is not President Obama who is trying to divide this country.

Propaganda is the GOP’s nasty weapon. Example:  How much of our tax money have they spent — and are they still spending — on simply smearing Hillary?

 

Donald C. Tracy lives in Salisbury.

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