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I usually read through the letters from readers in the morning and may grumble to myself about this or that or agree with this or that. I have never felt the need to actually sit down and write a response until reading the letter from Bobby Slaton published in Wednesday’s Times.
As long as I can remember paying attention to politics, which goes back to President John F. Kennedy, I have wondered why we make such a sport of tearing down, complaining about and making fun of our president. Think of the responsibility placed on the shoulders of the man, or maybe some day a woman sitting in that Oval Office. Not only is our president responsible to us, but he is considered the leader of the free world.
We are right now passing through a very hard time in our country. Economically, we are all suffering from havoc caused by greed and selfishness; no Golden Rule here. All sorts of problems face our citizens and our country that need to be addressed, such as the rise in health care costs, the housing crisis, fighting two wars, etc. The list goes on.
I do not believe that the selfish, short-sighted and rude observations found in Mr. Slaton’s letter serve to help the situation. I could go through each of them and also go through a list of our president’s accomplishments this past year, but this letter would be too long.
Each of us may not like everything that he is trying to do and we definitely have a right of free speech and can criticize, but let’s be respectful with our criticism. Suffice it to say I personally believe that President Barack Obama is working very hard for all of us and trying to do what’s best for our country. I believe that he feels the hurt of our citizens without jobs and losing their homes, the worry of parents with sons and daughters overseas, the desperation of people losing their health insurance and facing serious illness.
I don’t know what Mr. Slaton does for a living, but I’m willing to bet it’s a little less stressful than being president of the United States. Give the man a break and let him enjoy some time in Hawaii without complaining about tax dollars being spent.
I’d call it a vacation, but turns out he is spending a good bit of it dealing with another terrorist incident.
Barbara Bryan
Flowery Branch