I'm watching Obama's speech to Congress. Boy, it is strange to watch a president who doesn't snicker, get words wrong, get phrases wrong, and whine. I don't know if his economic plan is viable or will work...but at least it's SOMETHING other than war spending. I honestly believe that the country will be in a better mood to weather this storm with positive and proactive leadership that believes in and encourages self efficacy as American citizens. I'm not sure I like all the government involvement and oversight, but I do feel that it's needed. It's like having a teenager. You want to give them freedom to make choices and learn to live in the world while creating a future for themselves. But maybe that kid gets too caught up in stuff like drugs, gambling, skipping school, alcohol, etc while you were giving them freedom. So, you decide that maybe you need to step in and law down some rules -because the kid will not "get better" themselves...you've tried that and it just spiraled out of control. So, you take over their schedule, you drive them to and from school, you watch every move they make, you put them on an allowance, you get them counseling. You do this not because that's what you believe parenting should be, but because it's what that kid needs right now for a while to get back on track so they can have a better future -and it's your responsibility to play that role sometimes as a parent. The trick is knowing when to cut some of those strings and at the same time allow others to unravel slowly. I'm quite pleased to be part of this generation.

I believe we will see a different, but better, America in five years or so. I don't think Obama will do it. I think he'll help guide it -IS helping guide it....but WE the people will change things. I get what he's trying to do. It's not to throw hard earned money at people who are lazy. It's giving us that guidance, those rules, those oversights, those changes that we need to get out of our self-destructive rut. If something goes wrong, we need to stop and ask OURSELVES what we are doing to set it right. It's that personal responsibility we've lost. I bought a brand new car last week. I was looking at it for over a year but I did not buy it until I had a sizeable down payment. I could have bought one last summer...but I couldn't in good conscious do it. I'm not completely responsible with my spending and decision making, but I'm up to the challenge to do so to create a better future for myself.

That being said, I need to practice some responsibility and get back to working on my literature review. :-)