Shame On Your Mr. President. Shame On You

Shame On You Mr. President. Shame On You.

Hello again ATS. Though the words I am about to write, in a single draft, from a mass of conflicted and tangled thoughts, are for your consumption and consideration – I am opting to phrase most of them in the form of a direct dialogue with a single individual. The use of this device will allow me to be as direct and plain as possible. Besides, it is actually my earnest wish that some underling might happen across these words and transmit them up the ladder. I would like nothing more than for the man I am about to address to see what one of his constituents honestly feels – from the heart.

Mr. Obama... Mr. President... Just a few short months ago I was on this very website celebrating your victory over your opponent Mitt Romney. Some might say that I had simply gotten caught up in partisan debate in the months leading up to that night and was as much rubbing my detractors nose in “it” as I was applauding you. Maybe there are slimmers of truth to each theory but the main reason I was celebrating that night is that I truly believed your second term would be a landmark moment in the history of not just this great nation, but that it would be one of the defining moments in the totality of modern human history. I truly believed that, with a second mandate from the people of America and no further worries about seeking reelection, you would have lived up to the potential that seemed to be inherent in every word you spoke to your people.

I was desperately seeking a Franklin Delano Obama. It is appearing that I got a George W. Obama instead. I realize, Sir, that in the post Reagan reality that we exist in, Mr. Roosevelt is seen as something of a villain – as he did not cater to unrestrained and rabid capitalism. What I know is that he came into power to a nation filled with starving people. He left power with the greatest decade of American prosperity as his legacy. We've had thirty years now of corporations taking precedent over the people. We need a return to balance. We needed you Sir to provide us with that opportunity.

That is why we supported you. That is why we allowed you to serve us for a second term.

Just three months in and I have to tell you bluntly Mr. President. You have a chance to leave a great legacy Sir. You have an opportunity to be heralded in the same refrains as men like Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Kennedy. Instead you seem determined to wind up being included with the likes of Grant, Harding, Nixon, and Bush. Is that the legacy you wish to leave to posterity?

You are failing us Mr. President. You are failing those who enabled you to serve, those who serve along with you, those who served before, and those who will come after. You are failing us all Sir. You are failing yourself. I must ask, Mr. President... Who are you beholden to in the end? Campaign contributors who managed to hide their bribery behind the travesty known as Citizens United? Are you beholden to Wall Street – the heartless swine who are so busy staring at their profits on computer monitors that they do not even see the nation burning down around them? Are you beholden to back room deals and partisan trickeries that only serve to keep a city full of crooks, liars, and career criminals in their jobs? Or are you beholden to something much less transient and much more profound? Are you going to choose to be beholden to that which withers and dies or to that which will live on? Shame on you Mr. President. Shame on you.

Do you want to be the modern Nero or the modern Trajan. The choice is still yours to make. I implore you Sir, please reconsider the road you seem to be embarking upon.

Have we, as a people, learned nothing from failed policy? Our nearly forty year old war on drugs has not diminished the amount of drugs on the streets. It has only served to fill our prisons with sick people, enable our law enforcement to engage in massive corruption, militarization, and conflicts of interest ( fines – or money as justice and the seizure of property for profit ). Our foreign policy methods, over a similar time, have made us the most reviled nation in the world, and our unchecked gluttony and greed has not only created a culture of mediocrity and apathy – but it literally threatens to damage the very planet that we live upon.

Surely, Sir, you see these things. I cannot imagine how they could be more clear.

Twice now you have taken an Oath upon entering the high office you now hold. Forgive me Mr. President, but I feel that I must remind you of that Oath:

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

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From the Constitution I remind you, Sir;

Of the First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

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Of the Second Amendment

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

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Of the Fourth Amendment

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

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Of the Fifth Amendment

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

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Of the Sixth Amendment

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

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Of the Eighth Amendment

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

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Of the Ninth Amendment

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

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And of the Tenth Amendment

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

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The very fact that I find myself compelled, Mr. President, to remind a public official of not just one item from the Bill of Rights – but eight of them? Well, Sir, you have a Juris Doctorate from Harvard – I am sure you understand the implications. We are a people under siege by the very powers entrusted to protect us. This betrayal is made all the more bitter by the stunning and stark reality that those in power have grown so gluttonous and greedy that enough is seemingly never enough. They have forgotten the most basic of life lessons – If you fleece the flock for wool, there is wool, again, come tomorrow. But if you slaughter the herd for meat? Soon the meat is gone and there is nothing left.


Mr President. I am but one voice in the chorus that makes up “We, the People”. But I feel that I am representative of a great many others who wish to know; Is it your intention to take us deeper into the darkness that is ever growing around us, or to lead us toward the light? It is a naive and simple question, Sir – but it may well be the most relevant question one can ask of you today.

What do you intend your legacy to be Sir? Those who would seek to use you now will be long dead while history is still staring directly at what you do with the next four years of your life. We are depending upon you, Sir, as a nation. Please do not let us down.

As always, thanks for giving me a few minutes of your time ATS.

~Heff

I don't know that Obama himself has ever graced the pages of ATS ..but with this President and his penchant to surf the net when the mood strikes him, who knows. It's not impossible.

Having said that, I have NO doubt ATS is among a variety of sites which White House staff DO watch as a means of gauging public reaction and support or detractors. I wouldn't hazard to guess which segment of the public they ascribe for this, but the fact it's watched for tabulating general reaction of feeling isn't a doubt in my mind.

So, perhaps, just maybe ... Your words will be read by someone who matters to read it. Oh, not the big guy himself. Of course not....Some mid level staffer working at an Office building in a suburb of D.C., sorting net traffic for the White House may read it though ..and that's worth knowing, I'd think.

Well worded...and I do read with interest, your point about celebrating his win and what your thoughts and motivations were at that moment in time. It's a part, as you know, of the reasons I vanished for a break for a few days, following the election. I didn't need to be a target or whipping boy for the revenge nonsense that happened for a couple days here ....but more importantly? I had a feeling many, like you, were 100% sincere in your feelgs and true hope. Sad....in my view..but because it was sincere, it wasn't my place to say that. Not then, especially.

I'm actually sad to see a letter like that. Not that I don't agree with sentiments, because I do. It's sad to me because it represents the collapse of a belief system and Faith in it. Bush had burned most people on THAT side already. Hard enough to burn us OUT of politics almost entirely. Obama was hope to the other 50%. When that hope was burned....I knew it would be heartbreaking as well as dangerous to see happen. Now, I think it's happening.

reply to post by Hefficide
I'm sorry that it's come to this Heff. I absolutely did not support or vote for Obama, but since he won he IS our president and I was hoping that he would do a better job- I'm STILL hoping that he will wake up and do a better job. I know you fully supported him and had a lot of hopes for him, and I am sorry that he is letting you down.

Maybe somewhere somebody is reading your post that is in a position tol convey your feelings to Mr. Obama. I'm sure that there are many others who feel the same as you. He NEEDS to hear this. For all of our sakes I hope that he does and takes it to heart. There is still hope....

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
I have NO doubt ATS is among a variety of sites which White House staff DO watch as a means of gauging public reaction and support or detractors.

I don't think they bother anymore. They got their guy in for another four years.
I don't think they care about what people think. They don't need us for anything now.
They'll push their agenda no matter what.

reply to post by Hefficide


Your words here are... well, very unique. As a supporter of this particular individual (Obama) in his political ambitions, you actually found a way to offer a criticism.

One of the things I note quite often here (and elsewhere) is that we have now become the proverbial house divided unto itself because there is no quarter where supporters have the fortitude or even a desire, to openly criticize those in power when they are part of their preferred political branding. In short, those who support the GOP will not cast a negative word towards anyone or anything attached their party, just as those who support the left, or what is today called 'progressives' will not offer the slightest critique of their slant.

This degree of blind loyalty began decades ago and has eventually led to our nation being so polarized as to prevent We the People from speaking as one voice... and so too, crippling our ability to correct so many wrongs inflicted by both major political parties.

So, without specific reference to the subject matter with which you address the president, I commend you for speaking out on issues that you feel deserve note and by doing so, openly. You've offered us an example of how one can remain loyal to one's beliefs without sacrificing your principles for the sake of partisan agenda.

I hope the political community of ATS takes the time to learn... not just from your points made, but from your example.

S&F (I'd give you 10 of each if I could!)

I am sorry you feel so caught up in the Romney/Obama thing... I think it would have been obvious to most people by now that both were nearly the same policy-wise (different degrees of Keynesianism, degrees of interventionist foreign policy, different degrees/areas of curtailing civil liberties, SAME degree of working for corporatist system and financial terrorists).

The only real argument you could have for Obama is the "better the devil you know" type.

I am also sorry that you seem to have missed that there were other candidates running, like Gary Johnson or Ron Paul.

Best of luck to your future political adventures.

reply to post by beebs


I was well aware of both Johnson and Paul, as well as a few others. Sadly I think that H. Ross Perot sunk that ship when he had all of the momentum and chose to drop out of the race because the CIA was threatening his daughters cat - at least I think that was what he claimed. It's been a few years, so I might be rusty on the facts. At any rate - I honesty never saw Ron Paul as the savior that others seem to have. I saw him as another DC insider who found his shtick playing an outsider. Ultimately I felt that neither of them stood a chance at winning, so I opted for the lesser of two evils.

With Romney there was no mystery at all. He was going to deliver the killing blow to an already bloodied middle class and the nearly dead working poor. Obama, I had hoped, given a lame duck administration, might use his Executive Orders to make some real changes.

Sadly he has... but all in the wrong direction.

I've never been partisan to the point of blind obedience. Not when I've voted Republican, not when I've voted Democrat, and not when I've voted Independent or third party. I am bright enough to know the game and am aware of the illusion of choice. But that's a bet that can be hedged. Obama, being the first African American in the office has more of a reason to be concerned with legacy than any other candidate this cycle had. That is much of what I banked upon - and am still praying for... that he'll see beyond himself and take up the mantle of an idea rather than just that of a man. Countless people to come will stand upon his shoulders - I cannot imagine he does not understand that, nor that he doesn't realize that he needs to lay a strong foundation for them to build upon.

~Heff

Originally posted by FlyersFan

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
I have NO doubt ATS is among a variety of sites which White House staff DO watch as a means of gauging public reaction and support or detractors.

I don't think they bother anymore. They got their guy in for another four years.
I don't think they care about what people think. They don't need us for anything now.
They'll push their agenda no matter what.

edit on 3/2/2013 by FlyersFan because: changed word ...

Don't bother? lol.... You're talking about the President in what is literally a perpetual campaign mode. You don't figure he has the backend of that campaign mode running as well? I take it as a given that he has market research and people sampling going on, 24/7 to track his policies and trial balloons in the press for reaction. We've had President's who rule by poll result, but this has taken it to new definitions for that. I'd say they watch the web sites harder now, not less so.

I don't mean to make ATS sound like any target either. I really don't think it is. It's a HUGE site for it's type though, and it's the showcase of public opinions within a segment of society. So, on that basis, wave to the White House! I'll bet they've got some staffer running topic checks at least once a day.

No offense intended, but your title should not read "Shame on you Mr. President", it should read "Shame on us blind supporters".

Instead of blindly supporting the man, continuously ranting how he was going to win and demeaning those of us who didn't support him, maybe your time would have been better spent researching what this administration was going to do once reelected.

All the information you needed was laid out for everyone to see, yet, over half of America chose not to inform themselves on the real issues at hand and jumped on the Obama bandwagon.

It was wonderful and refreshing reading all of your gloating posts and rubbing our noses into the fact that your guy won. Thank you for being such a wonderful "winner"...

Again, no offense, but you reap what you sew. I hope you're happy with your decisions, we ALL get to suffer from your actions now. Congratulations on your "win"!

reply to post by Hefficide


Heff, we made the mistake of putting our trust, our faith in elected officials instead of ourselves, our neighbors, our friends.

We were led to believe that government actually knew more, knew better. But all government is, is a collection of the same messed up miserable people that we deal with every day.

Namaste.

beez

As always, your threads are well-written, thought-provoking and direct!

I can't help but notice how there is a sense of helplessness in not only this thread, but many throughout ATS...and on many other websites as well.

The collective consciousness of the American people seems to be at an all-time high, and with that comes some despair when we realize that we are completely at the whim of those we can no longer control....breeding that helplessness.

At the end of the day, all we can do is hope better things are ahead.

I give hope to Men.....and keep none for myself.

He is doing exactly what he intended to do. I really can't see how anyone could miss the end game results. I can't see how he could have been voted back into power after his first term legacy of lies. He is a politician. They say whatever they think voters want to hear in order to get elected, then they do the opposite. What made people think a second term would be different? There has only been one perfect president. George Washington. He was perfect because he had no president before him to screw it up. America is going down and it will not be Bush's fault. We threw the baby out with the bath water.

reply to post by Hefficide


As far as Ron Paul being an 'insider' like the rest of DC politicians, I think you have failed to deny ignorance on that issue.

So you decided to vote for evil, with the only difference being the degree of evil. It is hard for me to comprehend the reasoning behind your heartfelt personal letter to the president, since you yourself know that all you were doing was voting for the less of two evils.

I guess I just have no sympathy for your apparent disillusionment. It should be clear that you are, in part, responsible for the problems that you are critiquing the president about. You voted for the guy, knowing he was evil, and knowing there were honest alternatives.

The president of the United States -- despite the whining from the right is not a dictator. The whole where is the leadership thing is BS. The constitution is designed particularly to make the executive branch weaker. So the power lies in the house and senate. Why does Boehner refuse to let any bill regarding the manufactured crisis or the right in the Senate blocking a vote. You can not accuse the president/democrats for being weak at the same time you are making a concerted effort to block any efforts at all. The republicans even on popularly supported issues have put party before country - EVERY SINGLE TIME -- they should be ashamed of themselves, very ashamed.

reply to post by Hefficide

You are failing us Mr. President. You are failing those who enabled you to serve, those who serve along with you, those who served before, and those who will come after. You are failing us all Sir.

Nice thread, Heff. I do not wish to engage in a partisan debate so I’m going to share my thoughts and leave this thread because debating the issues doesn’t seem to be the point of your narrative.

My first thought was…why didn’t you come to this realization before the 2012 election? During his first term we got more wars, NDAA, SOPA, ACTA, a reinstituted Patriot Act, tax increases, Solyndra, higher unemployment, gas prices doubled, record amount of food stamp recipients, trillions in new debt, etc, etc, etc…

Nothing has changed!! He made clear to all of us the direction he was taking this country yet many people voted for him AGAIN! Now you’re disappointed?? Where were you in November?

S&F

reply to post by spyder550

You can not accuse the president/democrats for being weak at the same time you are making a concerted effort to block any efforts at all. The republicans even on popularly supported issues have put party before country - EVERY SINGLE TIME -- they should be ashamed of themselves, very ashamed.

It's not about the parties. It's about the people. This is part of the reason this country is so divided because we rather fight over a party belief's rather than compromise on common grounds for the sake of We the People. If Congress doesn't want to play ball then Obama should do everything under his power to shift the tide so that ordinary Americans can once again prosper.

reply to post by KawRider9


That's such ridiculous reasoning. I voted for Gary Johnson but I knew that the race was only between two people, two Party's and I was relieved that I was right that Obama would win. Why? Because Romney would have been worse. But who's at fault for this?

I also voted for Johnson because I was hoping he would get the million votes needed for a 3rd party to qualify for matching campaign donations, he didn't and so we're stuck yet again with 2 choices next round. Thus we own a percentage of the blame.

We have access to so much information yet we pen ourselves in with the Corporate MSM and Corporate backed politicians and expect more than fluff when we fact check? We don't have to listen to FOX or MSNBC when there's plenty of independent media out there and independent politicians who actually do care about this country and its people.

reply to post by seabag


Where was a candidate who stood a shot that offered us different. Was Romney going to anything different about the NDAA, ACTA all those other things you listed? No.

The Republican House has sent plenty of Bills to the Senate to put on the floor for discussion. Budgets, etc. Harry Reid will not even present them to the Senate. It is the Democrats that refuse to even talk about compromise for the sake of the people. We are literally living under a dictatorship.