Politicians should take notes from average Americans

Rana Harvey
Contributing Writer

There’s no need to follow the leader. It appears that everyday Americans, including recent college graduates, could be smarter than their superiors when it comes to prioritizing what’s important.

While Republicans in Congress are resisting President Obama’s speech on jobs, everyday Americans embraced the economic crisis the best way they know how, working multiple dead-end jobs and relying on public assistance in order to make ends meet. They’re focusing on their responsibilities, such as student loans, rent and car payments, rather than personal gain to navigate through the economic crisis. If only politicians would recognize the urgent nature of our plight and do the same.

Boehner’s resistance to the president’s jobs speech highlights a lack of unity, as well as a lack of prioritization in the nation’s legislative body, which will continue to delay the progress of the nation if not properly addressed. With well over 25 million people either unemployed or underemployed, there is nothing more important than getting people back to the workforce and reviving the economy, and that includes Boehner’s pride, not the GOP debate and not the blatant disregard Republicans have for the president.

But the failings on leadership don’t exclusively rest on the GOP; although President Obama reluctantly moved the date of his speech to today in order to eliminate friction and to focus on the task at hand, he isn’t in the clear. With a speech as big as this one, pushing it back by even a single day should have been completely out of the question. If one of the responsibilities of the president is to put the prosperity of the nation first, he failed miserably. Pushing the speech back not only eliminated a minor battle between the parties, it eliminated some of Obama’s power as president. It’s no secret that President Obama has played peacemaker with the Republicans, remaining silent when they tested and disrespected him, but enough is enough.

This was absolutely the wrong time to shy away from adversity. Obama should have demanded the day he wanted, with no exceptions and Boehner’s shenanigans should have been immediately confronted. The speech should have never been rescheduled.

All in all, it seems like the personal interest of the politician come before the interest of the public. Whether it’s perpetuating political non-issues or remaining silent in the face of disrespect in order not to seem insecure, politicians have made it clear that their rivalry is bigger than uniting to fix the nation’s economic problems.

Thank God that ordinary Americans see the bigger picture. By putting responsibilities and priorities before pride and personal preference, graduates are setting an example for the nation’s leaders. The nation’s biggest need to learn a lesson from its brightest.