by Matt Daniels
Clash Daily Contributor
The role of the President of the United States is not one to be considered lightly. Throughout history, rarely has there been a POTUS that has met the approval of everyone. But is that necessary?
Perhaps the greatest problem facing our modern day Presidential issues can be summed up with a brief comparison: The President we want vs. The President we need.
Want: A President that is in touch with the poor as well as the wealthy, understands both sides and can look to the future with promises to represent all classes equally and fairly.
Need: A President that understands that there are poor and wealthy but will not diminish the latter for the fabled benefit of the former. There is a balance to be found, but not at the expense of hard working individuals that have earned their money. This, of course, leads to the problem with entitlement programs, which in turn leads to the next mini-debate.
Want: A President that helps the little guy and looks out for everyone equally, initiating programs that soften the blow of life’s difficulties so that everyone can look to the future with optimism.
Need: A President that is unwilling to go into even further debt in an effort to create or maintain a class of victims and Government dependents.
Charity, service and education are the building blocks of helping the struggling members of society overcome their woes. The first two examples cannot be forced or they do not work, and the third is a commitment that requires diligence on the part of those in need; falsely promising an easier way out does the poor and afflicted no favors.
Want: A President that gets me, understands all of us and can prove he’s a relatable person with a humanity and disposition that broadcasts friendship, likeability. We want a President that embodies every culture’s best traits simultaneously, a President that befriends the famous and promotes a vacation-like lifestyle. A President that can hit a jump-shot or belt out a few lines of the latest Billboard No. 1.
Need: A President that not only doesn’t know which movies are up for Academy Awards, but doesn’t care. What we need is a President that considers filling out an NCAA bracket a massive waste of time, that hanging out with celebrities is a mockery of the office and that using social media for anything other than legitimate presidential news is a tactless and disgusting practice. What we need is a President that understands his tenure in office means sacrificing a social life for the benefit of the rest of us.
There is no honest, moral reason for the President to claim and hold celebrity status—not a single good reason. The fact that we see this today in our President reminds us that it’s all about power, propaganda, and falsehoods. Deception as a means to distract from unmanaged issues and threats.
Want: A President that will consider the world’s needs daily, that will reach across the vast oceans and offer help; one that feels other countries are as great as America and deserve just as much attention, and that we should learn from them in order to better ourselves; one that grants blanketed acceptance of foreign policies, regardless of how dangerous they may be.
Need: A President that is adamant about America’s being the greatest country on the planet, that sticks to our traditions and roots and does not waiver in the face of foreign aggressors. We need a President that is willing to tell dictators and terrorists what the rest of us think, without blinking, and who is also willing to remind the rest of the world that we were founded by men that refused to compromise their beliefs for conveniences or anything else of the sort.
What we want is a President that reminds us all of fathers that take their kids fishing, that bandage our skinned knees and watch basketball games with us even though it’s passed our bedtimes.
But what we need, what we must have in order to remain free, is a President that reminds us all of the fathers who taught us about work, that made us do our chores instead of watching TV, that showed us love and respect through lessons learned the hard way; fathers that smile when a smile is due, but otherwise show how to shoulder burdens and difficulty with strength and composure.
Many of us (see also Conservatives) want and need the same things from our President, but all of us deserve a President that puts America and her people’s needs before his own selfish desires. The Founding Fathers were as fathers ought to be—caring, loving, teachers that are unwilling to let their children’s futures suffer by taking the easy way out.
What we have in office now is an uncle that we thought was kind of awesome, but is beginning to reek of dishonesty and booze…not a worthy figure to replace a father, nor hold the Presidency of the United States of America.
Matt Daniels is a proud husband and father from Salt Lake City, who when not writing about politics or social issues spends his time writing comedic articles for various publications under the moniker Gary the Unicorn. Matt is also an accomplished musician, rabid Utah Jazz fan and supporter of the arts.
