Be careful what you wish for… you just might get it.
I am thinking of this today, election day, more than ever. I’m looking at Barack Obama, and I’m looking at all of the people supporting him blindly, toting for change, and all that is running through my head is “be careful what you wish for.”
I’ll try and compare this illusion to a much smaller life experience I believe many of us have been through.
When I was in grade school, we’re talking elementary through high school, there was the “popular group.” I was not in it. There were several “popular” “good looking” guys in this group and they dated the attractive popular girls they were grouped with. I remember being out at a bar with some friends at 22 and running into one of those popular guys. I said “oh my lord, there is John Smith.” Obviously John Smith is not his real name, I certainly don’t want to embarrass or anger anyone here. John was a football player, a year older than me, good looking and incredibly popular. He was the type girls sit around and talk about how great it would be to date him, and fantasize all through their notes they pass back and forth in junior high.
With a little age, wisdom, and most importantly “liquid courage” I approached my John Smith. We talked a bit, and suddenly I realized he was flirting with me. I tried to keep my cool, I was so excited I was talking to John Smith. THE John Smith, if they could see me now!!! John got my number and called me to invite me out with him and his friends. Of course I went spending a ridiculous amount of time getting ready, calling everyone I knew. “Becki, GUESS WHO I’m going out with tonight?!?! OMG John Smith.”
John picked me up, we went and had drinks with his friends. He didn’t pay for me, he probably knew he didn’t have to. He was John Smith. He and his friends were, different, than I expected. They seemed kind of immature and really didn’t have a lot of respect for anyone they knew who was married and called them asinine. Ok – they said stupid, they weren’t acting mature enough to say asinine. The next morning I went to church with John Smith and he took me to Chili’s. Where he told me the story about how he wrote a song about the appetizer chips and salsa because he always asked for ranch with it. The brilliant song was titled “Chips, salsa and ranch.” No lie.
Our next “date” was, predictably, another bar with his single guy friends. There was a popular song at the time by Baby Bash called “Sugar” and the song repeated over and over and over “sugar sugar how’d you get so fly”. Well Mr. Smith gets me out on the dance floor to “check this out”… and he proceeds to dance and sing..
“John Smith how’d you get so fly, John Smith how’d you get so fly”
Seriously? And every time I didn’t laugh or respond in kind, he would go “you know I played football in high school?”. Right.
Not to mention that his “dinner ware” was paper plates, paper bowls, paper cups and plastic utensils…
Basically I realized that this guy I had crushed on and gossiped about in high school, was nothing more than an annoying, immature guy. I never would have guessed at 16 that I would have been so wrong, he was so popular.
We may not be dating, but Barack Obama is just another John Smith to me.
Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. And you don't even know what IT is.
Stay out of trouble or don't get caught.
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4 comments:
yeah, i know. we can only hope it doesn't go that way.
King instructed us that a man’s worth is his character, not the color of his skin. I absolutely agree, as do most of the people I know. Had we voted on the issue of character, Obama would not have been elected; so we must consider that character is not an issue within the electorate—and this, I feel, sets into motion dangerous possibilities.
The American people have made their decision; I don’t agree with it, but I can live with it. This is our country, right or wrong. Obama is the captain of our ship of state, and we’re all going in the same direction whether we like it or not. But we should not kid ourselves; Mr. Obama can hardly boast of a popular mandate when only twenty-one percent of the 39% of voting Americans elected him. Nevertheless, the voting majority did elect him and only time will tell whether the same “majority” will admit it in another two years. But I think it is also interesting to note how foreign leaders (already) perceive President Obama. Russia warned the US today that they intend to deploy missiles along the Polish border, and Iran has threatened to close the Straight of Hormuz.
I don’t envy Obama’s next four years; he may soon come to realize, and regret, that he lacks the character for national leadership . . . a bit too late by then, I’m afraid. No, we do not judge him by the color of his skin, and neither will opposition world leaders. They will judge him by strength of his spine. Today, he’s like . . . kewl. Tomorrow we may question his maturity, too.
Semper Fi
One word for what everyone voted on...CHOPE
Change and hope...
I think we all had a John Smith in High School who we later realize was nothing more than Sponge Bob Square pants... :o)
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