Elected Royalty?

More of the standard “Do as I say... not as I do” fare we have come to expect from our government.

President Obama’s arrival at the G-20 summit in London. Courtesy: blackchristiannews.com

(HARRISVILLE, N.H.) - An article titled “An entourage surpassing the Queens” written by Dale McFeatters and published by Scripps Howard News Service, gives an opinion of President Obama’s arrival at the G-20 summit in London.

It states that “the British press was entranced by the sheer size of the Obama entourage and no wonder... President Obama arrived with 500 staff in tow including: 200 Secret Service agents, a team of six doctors, the Whitehouse chef and kitchen staff with all of President Obama’s own food and water, 35 vehicles, four speech writers, and 12 teleprompters... for sure, he will not be at a loss for words”.

The article goes on to state that along with the afore mentioned people and vehicles, was “Air Force One, the Presidential helicopter, Marine One, and a fleet of identical decoys to ferry him from Stansted Airport to downtown London”.

Then there was also “the Presidential Limousine (which the local paper mistakenly called “Cadillac One” but is universally called “The Beast”), reinforced with ceramic and titanium armor, carries a tear gas cannon, night vision capability, it’s own oxygen supply, and is resistant to both chemical and radiation attack”. The Guardian called it “the ultimate in heavily armored transport”.

The author correctly states “that while the President is entitled to all of the security, communications, and support he needs to do his job, it might be more appropriate to scale his retinue back to something less than the triumphant march from “Aida” . . . especially when we are trying to project a more restrained and humble image to the world”.

It certainly makes you wonder about the sincerity of President Obama’s pleas for a more restrained use of SUV’s in our country and more sensitivity to reasonable use of our natural resources. It makes you wonder about how much fuel was burned transporting that small army to a meeting and about the excess tax dollars spent on salaries paid-out for 24 hours service, hotels, meals, laundry, etc.

It certainly seems to be more of the standard “Do as I say... not as I do” fare we have come to expect from our government. A never-ending sting of vacations, golf games, and traveling with a “Royal” entourage from place to place certainly does not give the impression that our President feels our pain does it.

This exhibition of excess must be well received by those individuals who have been out of work for a year or more, those individuals who have had their homes foreclosed on, those individuals who have witnessed multi-million dollar bonuses handed-out to the same individuals who trashed our economy, and those individuals around the world who put their children to bed at night hungry.

How many small third world countries could have been fed for a week with what must have been spent on this excess?

At some point folks, we need to put individuals in the Whitehouse and the halls of Congress who do not live in “La-La Land”. How much different might our policies be if people who actually spent some time working for a living were making the decisions... maybe people like mothers who had to feed families or wage earners who did not have ivy league educations handed to them? What will it take to populate the Whitehouse and Congress with people who have some clue what it is like to live in the real world?

We have enabled the development of a class of elected “Royalty” in a country that fought for independence from a similar system. We need to start focusing on the actions of our elected officials rather than their words as words are cheap and actions show the true heart and soul of the individual... but, that is just my opinion!

Writer Robert Collinsworth is an American who isn't hesitant to talk about the good side of his country, and that is a welcome thing in this day and age. Salem-News.com admittedly, is very critical of both American politics, as well as those of other nations that we perceive is being wrong in their motives and actions. At the same time, within these structures we criticize, are many outstanding people who make each day a better place for all those around them. They embody and personify the American spirit that is sometimes fleeting, but always present.

These are some of the things Robert takes into account when writing commentary that is designed reach people, to "get them thinking" in his words, and indeed it does. Salem-News.com's goal is for all people to be on the same page, we appreciate Bob's more conservative approach toward that same goal."

You can write to Bob Collingsworth at this email address: colli2@webryders.net