Under the Gun

Tonight we will hear from President Obama about the state of our union. A year ago there seemed to be a cautiously optimistic euphoria surrounding the president and his intention to unite this union. Yesterday the new New Yorker arrived with a cover illustration of Barack walking on water - then falling in. The honeymoon with optimism is definitely over. With his election I was hopeful that we could re-find the connectedness we discovered on September 11, 2001 when the playing field was leveled and our common trauma brought us together as a nation. He seemed intent on closing the partisan divide. But its been disheartening to watch Obama struggle under the weight of his inherited mess and to be criticized for his every move. I'm discouraged. But I don't blame him - I blame us. Expectation that the problems that have been building for a very long time can be turned around in one short year of a new presidency is unrealistic and unfair. But we have come to expect immediate satisfaction and have come to find comfort in blame - as irrational as that often is. The fact is that many people are struggling right now and for many the response is to lash out and burrow in - to polarize, to divide & protect, to loose the compassion and understanding that brings people together for the common good.

All that said, I still have hope that we can find a different path. I look forward - with a little reserve - to hearing something promising tonight. Can President Obama break through the anger, the frustration, the bitterness of a nation unhinged? I haven't given up on that.