I must write this piece to give some perspective on where we stand as a nation, in my opinion, regarding the divisiveness we are now experiencing.  I will also comment on hope and whether it is positive or negative.

My vision starts with John F. Kennedy until the present.  The divisions that existed then were primarily around civil rights specifically for African Americans.  I remember Dr. Martin Luther King and what he wanted to see for African Americans.  My father was not a bigot nor was he prejudice and he raised me and my brothers and sisters to never judge a person based on their race.  He said many times all races have their bad seeds. Did African Americans get treated less than fair before the passage of civil rights laws in the 1960’s, yes they did.

After the 1960’s, we were divided over the Viet Nam war through Lyndon B. Johnson and ending during Richard M. Nixon’s term.  This war was a political war that cost us over 50,000 deaths and countless injured.  Many people I went to school with lost brothers in this war.  There were nationwide demonstrations about this war such as one of the most famous held at Kent State.  We still have scars from this war although they are finally starting to fade.

Things were quiet during Gerald Ford’s tenure with him finishing up Nixon’s term after he was forced to resign due to the Watergate scandal.

With Jimmy Carter there were the Iran hostages, hyper-inflation, and the gasoline shortage.

Then we have Ronald Reagan, H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush and with each of these Presidents we were not as divided as we are now.

Now we have Barack Obama, our nation’s first African American President.  What he has done with his opportunity to serve as an inspiration for other African Americans is a shame.  Instead of using the office to improve race relations in America he has divided us more.  Instead of building on the bridge started by Dr. King he has done his best to tear it down.  Obama along with Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rev. Al Sharpton, and Rev. Jerimiah Wright deliver the message of distrust, amplify and distort events to slant towards racism, and fail miserably to give guidance to young African Americans to build on a strong family.

You must understand why Obama does this.  He does this because he has to create an issue where there is not one.  His socialist ideology did not improve the lives of anyone much less African Americans.  He must try and convince everyone the fact that African Americans and other minorities did not fare well under his administration is not his fault, but it is because of racism.

He has also done his best to drive a wedge between the successful and the average American.  He has demonized the successful to the best of his ability, meanwhile as he vacations at Martha’s Vineyard; young African Americans are dying by the thousands in Chicago.  Do you see the hypocrisy?

Now after the nation has gone through a tough and brutal election, he can’t stop himself from continuing to divide.  He is accusing the Russians of influencing the election of Donald Trump.  Sorry, Barack, your failed policies and the corruptness of Hillary is why we have Donald Trump. Blame everyone you possibly can, but never blame yourself.

First Lady Michelle Obama, felt she must enter the fray by going on the Oprah Winfrey show to say we have lost our hope.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2016/12/16/michelle-obama-tells-oprah-are-feeling-what-not-having-hope-feels-like.html  Michelle Obama recently sat down with Oprah Winfrey for an interview that was previewed on “CBS This Morning” Friday in which she said following the election of President-elect Donald Trump, Americans now know what “not having hope feels like.”

The show aired a clip of the sit-down that included a portion where the First Lady discusses the Presidential election.

Winfrey asks Obama, “Your husband’s administration… was all about hope. Do you think that this administration achieved that?”

“Yes, I do. Because we feel the difference now,” she says. “See now we are feeling what not having hope feels like, you know. Hope is necessary. It is a necessary concept.”

I hate to disagree with you Michelle, but I have more hope now than I have had in the last 8 years.  I have hope that our democracy will survive.  I have hope that we can move away from socialism.  I have hope that all races will be able to get good jobs as industry moves back to the U.S.  Good manufacturing jobs equal hope.  I know you and Barack have never experienced this, but I have.  I have given many young African American men and women a chance at a better life and it makes me feel good inside.  I have seen this with my own eyes.  There is no better reward than seeing their children go to college, the first in the lineage of their family.

Instead of sowing the seeds of hate you should try sowing the seeds of hope.  Promote unity not divisiveness.  Help heal the nation not hurt it.

Ronald Reagan said it best when he said “freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.”

For now, freedom is safe.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/12/16/obama-slams-assad-russia-in-final-press-conference-2016.html  “The world shall not be fooled, and the world will not forget,” Obama said.

Barack, we were not fooled and we will not forget.

FREEDOM IS NOT FREE