I can't believe I'm writing this. More accurately, I can't believe I have to write this. I guess technically I don't "have to" write it, but my ability to listen to nonsense whilst saying nothing has reached its peak. I've got some breaking news: Barack Obama is NOT the worst President in our nation's history (Gasp!). I can sense people closing out the window, unfollowing, blocking, or commenting as I type this. Please stay with me. Also, comments have been disabled, so good luck.
I'm not here to argue whether I agree or disagree with Obama, nor is this about correcting poor arguments on the President, even though that'd be quite the topic: Obama has actually deported more illegal immigrants than Bush? Get outta here! Net immigration from Mexico to US since 2011 is zero? No Way! Obama is actually ranked as the most gun-owner friendly President since Reagan? Heresy!
Yeah, that'd be too much fun...
Look, what I'm trying to say is this isn't about political allegiance. I don't identify with the Democratic party nor am I claiming to have supported or even voted for our current President. I just happen to be sensible enough to not let my emotions get the best of me. The last 7 years have been tumultuous, and Obama has definitely eliminated himself from the "best ever" argument. There are some legitimate talking points on the failures of our President and they've been well documented; however... the last 7 years have also amazed me in the sheer amount of hyperbole infused rhetoric aimed at our current President. The only conclusion I can draw from my amazement is that our electorate is as dumb as ever. Let me explain...
The United States is going to Hell in a handbasket... Thanks, Obama!
Now, I don't mean to rile up the humanists, nor am I claiming that people can't be good or that they don't have the capacity to do good things. I'm merely pointing out that, from my vantage point and study of history, the heart of man has always been bent toward selfishness. The fact that news stories are available instantaneously around the globe is causing us to forget this. Just because you've found, shared, or posted some terrible story or some insight into when exactly the President should/shouldn't lower the flags to half staff is not evidence of declining morality: it's further proof of what we've known for thousands of years.
Look, I could tell you about the European dictators of the early 1900's, the treatment of African Americans from 1600-1860, or the sad plight of Native Americans since the founding of the US, but those are easy targets... let's get more generic and modern than that. According to the FBI in October of 2014, the murder rate in the US is the lowest it's been since 1966, violent crimes are at their lowest since 1978, and crimes labeled "serious" have dropped 20 percent since 1990. Those stats don't prove that things are getting better, and that's the point. My argument is that throughout the course of American and World History, atrocities have occurred that showcase man's depravity not as evolutionary, but stationary. If things were getting worse, these stats would systematically rise until total anarchy.
Most people leading the charge in this line of thinking come from the "religious right":
"Our President hates America! He's a Muslim! Church attendance in the US is down 30%, and all mainline Christian denominations are reporting losses in memberships. This represents the moral downfall of our country!"
Look, as a Christian, this argument stings my ears, but that's not the point of this post. History doesn't back up a correlation between church membership and an increase in morality... in fact, you could make a case that, throughout the history of the world, church membership has actually had an adverse effect on morality. And do we even need to mention the fact that our President isn't Muslim at all, or the idea of him hating America just because you differ in opinion is preposterous? I guess we do.
Have you EVER seen a President act like this?!?
It's tough to answer that question, because in this case (as in most cases), there's nothing specific to answer. Have you ever seen a President with socialist tendencies as bad as his? Uh... yeah. Just in the last 150 years, both Roosevelts and Eisenhower (Republican, oh no!) instituted far more socialist agendas than our current President, just to name a few.... but let's forget about the socialist thing for a second. I honestly believe people go with that argument because they don't actually no what socialism is (look at income tax rates before Regan, and "tax and spend" Obama looks mild in comparison).
What about Obama's record as a whole? Can it be measured as the worst? Not by a long shot.
Let's start with the fact that he sought reelection and won. I'd suggest that any President that serves 8 consecutive years eliminates themselves from contention of "worst ever". Serving 8 years doesn't make you a good President, but it does make you better than some of the jokers we've had in office in our 239 year history. Not a single reputable, non-partisan ranking of the Presidents puts Obama in the bottom 10. Why is this? Isn't he outspending every former President? Haven't his diplomatic actions have been abominable? Let's take a look at the competition:
James Buchanan: You know, the guy who was President as the US was on a crash course to Civil War and did NOTHING? It's not like he made a decision that angered half of the country; he made no decision and angered all of it. It's almost like he saw the job description of US President and decided to do the opposite.
John Tyler: Ok, so you might not know much about the guy that took over after the death of Harrison. Here are the highlights: Tyler was added to the Harrison ticket to help win the election. Harrison was a member of the Whig Party, which meant Tyler was as well. When Tyler took over, he proceeded to veto the entire agenda of HIS OWN PARTY. Imagine your favorite team acquires a new free agent and he proceeds to lose every game on purpose. Bad news: your team just acquired John Tyler.
Millard Fillmore: The guy who signed the Fugitive Slave Act has to be one of the worst Presidents of all time. Seriously, look it up. If that's not bad enough, he called The Compromise of 1850 the "Final Settlement" of the slavery issue. Yep, Millard, you nailed it. We definitely haven't had any more slavery issues come up after 1850. Smooth Sailing.
Ulysses S. Grant: The general who helped win the Civil War ran his Presidency like the mob. Ok, so maybe he was just unaware of what all was going on, but isn't that worse? I heard someone tell me they wish they lived in the 1800's because of less government corruption. Facepalm. Grant's administration was stealing millions of taxpayer dollars from the sale of whiskey. Nailed it.
Franklin Pierce: Forget the fact that he just wasn't effective, Pierce is the only President in US history to seek nomination from his party for a second term and not receive it. That should be all you need to know.
Warren Harding: Scandal in the White House, extra-marital affairs, and nepotism... #winning. That he helped pave the way to nation-wide Great Depression is just icing on the cake; this guy didn't do much of anything right.
I could go on, but I think you get it. Maybe you don't; after all, I didn't mention Richard "I'm Not a Crook but I'm totally a Crook" Nixon, Andrew "Impeached" Johnson, or Herbert "the Depression will fix itself" Hoover. If you think that our current President holds a candle to the collective swarm of awful that is the aforementioned list, I'd suggest you read a book. Any book. With words in it.
Civil discourse is what makes our nation great. The idea that people can disagree agreeably and still accomplish great things that further the individual opportunities of our nation is unique to America. While President Obama's legacy has yet to be written, try not to let personal feelings get in the way of logic and history.
For civil discourse to be profitable, it must first be civil.
