President Joseph R. Biden delivered the presidential State of the Union Address (SOTU) this past week. As is custom, the major opposition party offered its Response to the SOTU. This year, factions of the president’s own party delivered not one, but three, responses his SOTU. Unity anyone?
From my perspective, President Biden delivered a carefully nuanced and artfully delivered policy response to the reckless military invasion of The Ukraine by Russia. Discounting for the fact that I am not a European history or military expert, it seems that under the circumstances, the United States is responding in the best way possible. Consider how one might be feeling if SOTU was delivered by a self-centered braggart who expounds on how well the nuclear button on his desk works. Sobering, isn’t it?
Facing a nuclear-armed authoritarian who respects nothing but power, President Biden did not poke Putin in the metaphorical eye, which could have stimulated even greater atrocities. Threading the delicate needle, President Biden also did not show any lack of resolve, as any perceived weakness would likely further embolden Putin.
Then things took a bizarre turn.
Perhaps the dismal polling numbers stimulated an abrupt about face on a long list of issues, policy stances and slogans. The rest of the speech could have been given by Donald Trump. Who knows, maybe Nancy Pelosi only ripped up one copy and our current president thought it was his speech.
Suddenly, funding police departments is a good thing. After 2 million people entering the country, perhaps some controls at the border(s) might be a good idea after all. And as is custom with its regular four-year schedule, voting rights and support to Black Lives Matter, given short shrift - but they will be back for the 2024 cycle if not for this fall’s midterms. Seems those issues may have been gobbled up by digital censoring of Big Tech which wasn’t mentioned either.
Then there was this thing called COVID, as well as attendant masking, lockdowns, and a host of impending fallout from that. Let’s just not talk about it anymore – no more following the science, I guess.
Inflation from economic stimulus will be combatted with more economic stimulus, but this time with the handy scapegoat of businesses raising prices due to their own cost increases.
I’m going to stop here because by now everyone has their own favorite policy flip. We’ve always been at war with Eurasia. or maybe we’ve always been at war with parents at school board meetings now that they are presumably domestic terrorists.
Biden apologists are out in full force, of course. I can’t help them parry the utter bewilderment created by the SOTU speech after a solid opening. To be helpful, I suggest a retort to President Biden’s confusing Ukrainians with Iranians, “Covfefe,” should end the debate. It’s about as material.
So if the political party partisan sideshow feels like progress to you, and that you think the best and brightest are leading America and the free world, then by all means please carry on in peace and serenity. If like me, your growing sense of unease if not outrage about being slammed into a choice between being a culture warrior or a virtual signaler, or being red or blue, or any other type of binary, exclusionary thinking, then now is the time to demand better behavior by those elected.
If you are comfortable being fed affirmation programming and attacks on “reporters” from the other side, then all is good. If you’re puzzled by a well-known news channel announcing they are considering changing their business to reporting news, now is the time to leave that old media behind and participate in the new media model as a subscriber or contributor to this program; The Common Bridge.