We have finally heard our president's State of the Union speech and each of us must assess the content in light of our personal views. The highlights of the evening for our household were the president's special guests. They took some of the disappointment away from the president's ego trip. His ego seems to make the news when some of us (supporters) need to see him act more like a national leader and a little less like a spoiled child.
If there was anything really new in the speech, we must have missed it. At times his facial expressions detracted from his words and it was difficult for us to find a reason to be watching. The young lady who had survived the chemotherapy treatment for a brain tumor was refreshing but it is difficult to believe her appearance was the president's idea. And, the other guests from World War II focused on our country's successes of another era. A very pleasant respite from him.
Like most Americans with the free time to do so, we try to follow the news out of Washington, D.C., in hopes of seeing our nation work on the serious division that separates our country. Most of the time we are disappointed (very disappointed) and there seems to be little movement on "the wall" or hope that the two major political parties will accomplish any meaningful legislation to give America's heartland reason to believe in their (Washington's) motives. The division in our political system sets the tone of our nation's problem.
As an acknowledged (but reluctant) supporter of Donald Trump, we have seen some meaningful (maybe marginal) effort made to fulfill his campaign promises. Something has been accomplished with our income tax structure, but what income group was the actual winner depends on your tax bracket. The influx of corporate tax money from overseas accounts had some effect, but what long-term effect will be seen in the future. We have read a lot about "jobs coming back to the U.S." as a result of Trump's policies, but the net gain or loss depends on the industry and who analyses the data. The really important question is "are we better off as a nation today than we were two years ago, if Hillary Clinton had been elected?" We have to try to be objective and answer that for ourselves.
If I got to vote, I would probably ask the president to please grow up, forget the smart phone and get serious about his role as a superpower leader. Will that happen? I can only pray that he recognizes the responsibility he has sought and attained. As a self-proclaimed master negotiator, he has only proven he can be as stubborn as anyone with a position of power in Washington.
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Editor's note: Leo Lynch, an award-winning columnist, is a native of Benton County and has deep roots in northwest Arkansas. The opinions expressed are those of the author. He is a retired industrial engineer and former Justice of the Peace.
Editorial on 02/13/2019