The Tale of Two Countries

I watched President Obama’s State of the Union address last week. I also watched the rebuttal and commentary from the republican side. I was blown away by the difference in perceptions. Perceptions are real, even though often they might be based on false data.

I felt that I was living in two very different countries!

To illustrate the divergence, I will summarize a few perceptions, side by side. You, the reader, will decide which perception might be rooted in fact, and which on fabrication, and which one fits your reality, and which does not.

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Country 1: The economy is in great shape. We have created 14 million jobs, unemployment is half what it was 7 years ago, and we have reduced the budget deficit by 2/3. Price of gas has never been so low! The car industry had the best year in many decades. We saved many jobs there. 18 million people now have health insurance thanks to the Affordable Health Act. We have reduced dependence on foreign oil and invested heavily in the green energy. We have created thousands of jobs in this industry and made it possible for our companies to be competitive in this emerging global market. We also have made great strides in combating income inequality by raising the minimum wage and by extending other benefits.

Country 2:  The economy is not in good shape. Most jobs that were created are low paying jobs. 50% of workers earn an average of $ 30,000 per year. Unemployment is down because many no longer look for work; therefore they are no longer included in the statistics. We have a record national debt, double what it was 7 years ago. The stock market has dropped by more than 10% in the past six months or so. Insurance premiums have skyrocketed since the adoption of the Affordable Health Act. Almost 29 million Americans are still uninsured. 52% of Americans are still not in favor of the Affordable Health legislation. We have decreased our dependence on foreign oil thanks to the new technology of  fracking – a practice, both the President and his party have been fighting. We have already killed thousands of jobs in mining. Over 47 million people are on food stamps and live in poverty, more than when Obama took office in 2008. Wages continue to be stagnant.

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Country 1:  ISIL is a bunch of misguided guys on pick up trucks with machine guns, they are not an existential threat to America. We have killed many of its top leaders, destroyed their supply lines, and disrupted the flow of money. We are leading a coalition of about 60 countries to defeat it.  

Country 2:  ISL is growing as a threat. ISL is now in Libya, Indonesia, Egypt, Nigeria, Afghanistan, the Philippines, Burkina Faso, and other countries. They have killed people on American soil as recently as a few weeks ago. People do not feel safe in their home. In the recent past, ISL downed a Russian civilian airplane, killed innocent tourists in Istanbul, and other innocent people in Paris, Beirut, Jakarta, and the U.K.  

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Country 1:  The agreement with Iran assures us that Iran will not have nuclear weapons. We have avoided starting another war, and spending our treasury, and sacrificing our young men and women.  We are not the world’s police force.

Country 2:  The Iranians have violated a U.N. resolution by testing prohibited ballistic missiles. We are about to release 150 billion dollars that surely will be used to buy armaments, and finance terrorist groups in the Middle East and elsewhere.  North Korea just exploded a hydrogen bomb. It shows that you cannot trust or negotiate with rogue states.

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Country 1:  We are the most powerful nation in the world! Russia and China are second-class when it comes to the military. The world comes to us when there are problems to be solved. We contained Ebola and saved perhaps two million lives.  

Country 2:  Our military has been decimated by cuts to its budget. We have the smallest military in several decades.  We are not respected in the world. We put lines in the sand but do nothing when they are crossed. Our allies question our resolve.  Just last week Ebola claimed new victims in Sierra Leone.

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Country 1:  The Trans-Pacific Trade agreement frees American products from 18,000 taxes that prevent their entry and sale in the Pacific region.

Country 2:  The trade agreement is not a good deal for America. It will facilitate the export of thousands of jobs overseas. We are not smart dealmakers.

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Country 1:  We have a robust foreign policy. We are leading the world with multilateral involvement of and cooperation from many countries, not unilaterally as in the past. America is now more respected.

Country 2:  The world is a mess. Obama withdrew from Iraq to keep an irresponsible election promise, leaving a vacuum, soon filled by Iran and ISL. The Middle East is in flames.  We bombed Libya to smithereens and destabilize the country. Leading from behind has made us the laughing stock in many capitals.

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There is some truth in both competing perceptions. We are prone to filter facts that do not fit out our paradigm – our lens on politics. The clash between the two competing visions will not go away anytime soon. Reconciliation for the collective good is elusive as each side pursues petty self-interest.

Democrats constitute about 30% of the electorate and Republicans about 27%, leaving the rest in the Independent or undeclared column. It is one of the two nominees of main parties that will determine our collective future.  Without a leader capable of building national consensus we will continued to be a divided nation. 

Inability to unite Americans was President Obama’s only parting regret in his State of the Union address.  

I personally attribute this failure to the passing of the Affordable Act without the involvement of and participation by the opposition when Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress. With absolute power, they enacted a far-reaching law without bi-partisan support and thus planting the seed of discord that has dogged the country for the past five years.

We badly need a uniter, not a divider, to emerge as our next president.