The Noun of the Hurry

Note: Iinformation provided in my recent posts are not new for those who follow American politics. I'm anwering a question many who don't live in the US, or pay attention to politics in general, have asked on my forum and elsewhere. In addition, I'm countering the growing negativity many longtime Democrats are expressing.

Part IV: Impatience-ion

In my final installment regarding the disillusionment many in America feel with President Obama, I believe the point is clear: impatience has become a fever that is rising to a dangerous temperature. Who can blame those who have lost jobs, life savings, a home… Despite the truth that Obama did not get us into this mess, he has yet to raise the dead, nor has he thrown a grenade into the snoring, ignoring Congress to break the gridlock. For those who voted for him and are now thumbing their nose at the slow progress or broken promises, he’s just like any other politician in their now-jaundiced eyes: untrustworthy.

In fairness to the Democrats, fed-up Republicans, and Independents who voted him into office, it is human nature to want to see tangible results as quickly as possible after living through 8 years of one of the most corrupt administrations in modern times. (If you doubt that the Bush administration was corrupt, I suggest that you please see your Ophthalmologist ASAP as you may have cataracts.)

For those who have no job, no hope, no NOTHING beyond a high credit card debt to maintain a computer connection because the previous administration threw their money to every Wolf on the planet, impatience is understandable. To others who are fortunate to have a job or a Trust Fund or a nice little pension, impatience on issues such as closing Guantanamo Bay simply doesn’t make sense when the guy in office has obstinate, fear-mongering enemies in Washington and a slumping economy to fix, as well as a new breed of rogue warriors tossing tea bags in the air filled with racist vitriol.

Remember how many times Obama has said “It will take time…” to fix our many problems? Healing a severely broken body takes a great deal of time. If one has been in a near-fatal car crash with a plethora of internal and external injuries, a series of delicate operations are required. To keep the patient alive, triage is often the only hope until the patient is air-lifted to a hospital where a series of specialists are in residence to handle the numerous injuries. A broken leg should not be set at the same time a heart transplant is performed. It’s one step at a time or else the patient will die. A doctor will stop the bleeding from a surface wound with a bandage before stitching if the patient is going into cardiac arrest. It’s called priorities.

Okayyy, you may say. You’ve waited for the big operation long enough. Obama seems to be spending too much time in the cafeteria talking to other doctors while the patient lays unconscious on the table. You’re the relative in the waiting room tapping your feet on that shiny linoleum floor, checking your watch. “What is taking so long?” One thing is true: with the death of Ted Kennedy, who knew how to twist those rigid Washington arms, Obama lost one of the top specialists in the field of general political medicine. He has not yet found a replacement, and the other specialists have retired. Such a statement isn’t an excuse; it’s simply truth.

At this point, less than two years into his presidency, Doctor Obama appears to have lost his focus as more patients line up in the waiting room. What should he do? Add to his staff? Ah, but then, such an action would increase the already stretched overhead of the country. Replace those who aren’t doing their job as efficiently as they could? Hmmm. That’s a novel idea. I can think of one or two chief residents who could take a long vacation. The recent elections made a few decisions for him; however, the replacements may have euthanasia on their minds rather than healing, so what will actually change in the next two years? Such is the grand prize question, isn’t it?

Will the impatience of progressive liberals turn into a swarm of killer bees, causing further disruption in the Democratic base? Will the bullet-touting Palin’s and beeches of her kind continue to pollute the atmosphere of quasi-peace in America and lead us into violence and defiance of sanity when they shill with Hannity on Fox “Eews” – or will those who use more than a few of their grey cells stop and take a breath before allowing ennui to become permanent?

Impatience breeds mistakes. If you’re on the operating table I hope you would want your physician to be thorough, centered, and focused on his or her task, not impatient to get to the next operation, otherwise you might end up with one of those “surprise” operating tools floating around in your body that a few unfortunate patients have discovered when a sloppy surgeon told their assistant to “close it up.”