All that being said, I read it and I think it was not a bad speech. I felt the tone was that of a coach, telling a player to go out and work harder for the team: "...no people on Earth are so fearless, or daring, or determined as Americans." And, "Americans love their country. And they deserve a Government that shows them the same love and loyalty in return." [However, this, I believe, will come back to haunt him. See "The Ugly" section below.] The last section of the speech was also a rallying call to Team USA: "But above all else, they are Americans. And this Capitol, the city, and this Nation, belong to them. Our task is to respect them, to listen to them, to serve them, to protect them, and to always be worthy of them. Americans fill the world with art and music. They push the bounds of science and discovery. And they forever remind us of what we should never forget: The people dreamed this country. The people built this country. And it is the people who are making America great again. As long as we are proud of who we are, and what we are fighting for, there is nothing we cannot achieve."
The speech is consistent with what this administration has said all along; it's not that we work together, it's not that we should help one another, it's that we should each work hard for the country. Not unlike an employer and employee relationship, which is a little odd because HE works for US. And, in my opinion, he has forgotten that. However, the speech had little of the "doom and gloom" that his inaugural speech was full of. It was full of stories about Americans, doing heroic things. The only story that was troubling was about a police officer that adopted a heroin addict's baby. The speech never mentioned what happened to the mother. You can find out here.
After I read it, I didn't know more about this administration and their ideas, aside from immigration and infrastructure, than I knew before. Perhaps that's what they want to concentrate on this year. If so, then fine.
In my opinion, one of the jobs of a president is to use words to inspire--to encourage to be our best selves, to be the best we can be to others, and to use our power in the world for good. I did not get that from the speech, and I was troubled by the lack of words about global climate change or any innovation in the area of alternative energy (or any other area, for that matter). If you are willing to stay with the status quo, you will find this speech adequate.
The Bad: "Americans are dreamers too." I absolutely hate terms like that. "All lives matter." What the hell?? If your grandma is sick, and you have taken her to the hospital for treatment, and she's in bad shape and needs to be seen immediately for that treatment, the last thing you would want, or expect to hear is, "All grandma's lives matter. You will have to wait." She's dying, but you are going to have to wait for the grandma who is fine, but getting a physical. You have to wait for the four grandmas who just have questions about visiting hours, and you will have to wait for the 1,000 potential grandmas who might be coming in for help in the next four weeks. How does that make sense?
So, how does it make sense when you say, "Americans are dreamers too."? Because Dreamers are in need of help NOW, while other Americans dreams are not impacted at all by the Dreamers. We help them, we talk about them, because their situation is dire. Tomorrow your situation may be dire, and then we will talk about you.
Other areas of the State of the Union speech that troubled me: "For decades, open borders have allowed drugs and gangs to pour into our most vulnerable communities. They have allowed millions of low-wage workers to compete for jobs and wages against the poorest Americans." This is not correct, and it's a statement to sow discord and suspicion. We do not have "open borders". He then went on to speak about innocent lives lost to MS-13 gang members. It's almost laughable, if it weren't so serious, that he would talk about this, and not about the thousands of lives lost every year to gun violence. But he, like the rest of the GOP, are scared to death of the "power" of the NRA.
Fighting addiction by saying, "We must get much tougher on drug dealers and pushers if we are going to succeed in stopping this scourge," totally misses the real targets of the addiction crisis: doctors, pharmaceutical companies, and the vast number of states where marijuana is still illegal.
Finally, the talk about building our nuclear arsenal is frightening, and we should NOT allow that to happen. And, in the same vein, when he says, "I am asking Congress to pass legislation to help ensure American foreign-assistance dollars always serve American interests, and only go to America's friends"? That's just pandering to those who elected him. If we withdraw assistance, if we allow children to die, to starve, anywhere in the world, we will create enemies faster than we can make bombs to kill them. And that's not who we are as Americans.
The Ugly: The ugly? It has nothing to do with the State of the Union speech, and has everything to do with the actual state of the Union. Folks, we have to get our shit together. We have to act like the adults we are, and have to become intelligent, informed citizens. We are lazy, and in our laziness, we have become stupid. In our stupidity, we have found it's easier to yell, to shout about what we hear rather than what we know, and to become the horribly divided country that we are. We owe it to our children, grandchildren, and future generations, to make sure that our nation and our democracy survives. Our ignorance, our blind partisanship, has made it extremely easy for politicians to subvert our laws and even our Constitution. We need to get to the bottom of Russian involvement in our elections in 2016. THIS IS NOT ABOUT HILLARY. THIS IS NOT ABOUT HILLARY. Did you get that? THIS IS NOT ABOUT HILLARY. There was some very real damage done, and we need to find out what that was. We also need to find out what influence Russia still has on our government now. Why is it that the president has allowed a Russian spy CHIEF to come to Washington DC, even though he is on a "blacklist"? Why on earth is that okay? And why is it that "Our Leader" has refused to impose the Russian sanctions, even though a majority of Congress (GOP and Dems) voted for said sanctions? Why is this okay?
And finally, why is it okay for the Nunes Memo to be released, even though our most trusted judicial bodies have said it should NOT be released? That it could lead to the compromise of on-going criminal investigations? Why are we, as American citizens, who are law-abiding, allowing a congressman to rogue like this?
I fear for our country. I fear that, unless we do what is in the best interests of OUR country, we will be responsible for its' downfall. If that happens, heaven help us.
So people--STEP UP. GET INFORMED. GET LOUD. DEFEND YOUR DEMOCRACY.
And that's my State of the Union speech.
Thank you.
