Perspective

What is life?
It is a flash
of a firefly
in the night.
It is a breath
of a buffalo
in the winter time.
It is as the little shadow
that runs across
the grass
and loses itself
in the sunset.

Crowfoot - Blackfeet
(poetic format added)

Black Elk Speaks

We should understand well that all things are the work of the Great Spirit. We should know that He is within all things: the trees, the grasses, the rivers, the mountains, and all the four-legged animals and the winged peoples; and even more important, we should understand that He is also above all these things and peoples. When we do understand all this deeply in our hearts, then we will fear, and love, and know the Great Spirit, and then we will be and act and live as He intends.
- Black Elk, Oglaga Lakota

We are all one, and we are all interwoven. We do not exist on our own. Listen to the trees because, if we listen carefully, the trees talk to us. The trees are made of earth, and sky, and rain and without these elements there wouldn't be any trees. The same is true for us people. The Great Spirit has given us the gift of life. We must make the most of it, but we must do so with respect for all of the elements that made us and the other living beings of the world. The Great Spirit is the source of all things, but is greater than all things.

The Obama Mission: Correct the Course, Clean Up the Mess, and Move Forward Into the Future

Tax cuts for the rich do not provide the high tide that lifts all boats and the only boats that are floated in this practice are yachts, not canoes. The 'trickle-down' theory is a cruel myth that allows the wealthy to take what little is left to the middle and lower classes thereby maintaining a huge underclass that benefits those in power. Re-establishing a more equitable tax structure is essential.

Many complain that President Obama is not ending war in the Middle East but merely redirecting the focus from Iraq (where it never should have been in the first place) to Afghanistan. This is true but necessary because the greatest threat to America comes from the terrorists who were, are, and unless rooted out, will be in Afghanistan. Mr. Obama is resetting the course to where it should have been all along instead of wasting $1 trillion in tax money and > 4,000 lives of American soldiers in an unnecessary blunder in Iraq. While doing this resetting of the course back to its correct and more productive track, Mr. Obama is embarking on an international foreign relations campaign to mitigate the hatred directed towards 'the world capitol of arrogance' by reaching out to those who present the threat. America cannot bully and beat the world into liking it and unless and until it becomes a responsible and cooperative member of the world community the terrorist threat will continue to grow. Mr. Obama is working on two fronts, militarilty in Afghanistan and diplomatically elsewhere, to correct the American course in a more comprehensive endeavor to secure America from its enemies.

Unregulated American greed has brought the world economy to its knees and threatens to reduce it to a pile of rubble. The American government has stepped in to halt the spread of greed, rein in the financial system, end the mismanagement of the auto industry, and stimulate the dormant economy through public finance programs. The economic free-fall has been halted and the American economy has bottomed out. While not everyone agrees with the programs undertaken or the scope of the effort, no reasonable person can deny that positive actions have been taken to end the downward spiral. How long the American economy bumps along the road to recovery is debatable but at least a sense of stability has been restored. The American auto industry will never be the same and that is certainly a positive because the auto industry has been the prima facie case of mismanagement and lethargy.

Going forward, global warming is being addressed, reduction in dependence on fossil fuels is progressing (much to the chagrin of the oil and coal industry), and America is finally doing what it should have done back in 1972. The health care system is being reformed so that the best health care in the world will be available to more American citizens. The failed education system is being reviewed to provide a better education and resulting opportunity to more Americans. America is finally moving forward in improving the standard of living for its citizens for the first time in more than eight years.

Not everyone agrees with the Obama agenda or its policies, but no reasonable American can disagree that major action in the areas of course correction, clean-up, and improvement are necessary. Anyone who has been to Washington has seen the size and scope of the American government and effecting change on a broad range of areas is difficult at best, especially those controlled by special interests. Progress is being made, however slowly. The course is changing, the mess isn't as pervasive, and the future is looking somewhat brighter. We must encourage the president to continue his good works and we must do our parts by becoming part of the solutions, each in our own way. Patience is a good first step. Supposedly, this is a nation of rugged individualists, but only by working together for the common good can we all move forward.

I am bothered what to believe. Some years ago a good man, as I think, came to us. He talked me out of all my old faith; and after awhile, thinking that he must know more of these matters than an ignorant Indian, I joined his church, and became a Methodist. After awhile he went away; another man came and talked and I became a Baptist; then another came and talked and I became a Presbyterian. Now another one has come and wants me to be an Episcopalian. All these people tell different stories, and each wants me to believe that his special way is the only way to be good and save my soul. I have about made up my mind that either they all lie, or that they don't know any more about it than I did at first. I have always believed in the Great Spirit, and worshipped him in my own way. These people don't seem to want to change my belief in the Great Spirit, but to change my way of talking to him. White men have education and books, and ought to know exactly what to do, but hardly any two of them agree on what should be done.
- Spotted Tail, Brule Lakota