“Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn't blow in the wind or change with the weather. It is your inner image of yourself, and if you look in there and see a man who won't cheat, then you know he never will.” --John D. MacDonald---The Turquoise Lament
There has been lots of talk and writing recently about the presidency of Barrack Hussein Obama. Much of this, whether in the form of chit-chat or keystrokes, has been negative, which is close to a complete about-face from the swooning adoration of media coverage during Obama’s first days, weeks, months, and years as president. This triggers a question: why has the initial sentiment ebbed? Have the rat-pack followers of this Pied Piper finally awakened and smelled a rat? I certainly hope so; however, there are other things at play.
The biggest thing, in my opinion, is the countless examples of Obama’s incompetency. Additionally, there are countless examples clearly showing Obama is a liar---from the small things to the large things, whether mundane or of monumental importance. So how did an incompetent liar seduce a sufficient amount of the electorate to become Commander in Chief? Well, the answer is not as complicated as you may think. I’ll use myself as an example.
When I returned to civilian life after a four-year hitch in the USAF, I needed a job. I tried several things before deciding construction work was what I enjoyed most. My first task in the line of work that would become my career was digging a ditch. Yes, I began as a laborer. In today’s jargon this was an “entry level” job making minimum wage. But I didn’t see it that way. To me a door had been opened. I had a job and was standing on the first rung of a ladder I was determined to climb.
My first move to escape the ditches I’d been digging was to apply for entry into the carpenter’s apprenticeship program. I was accepted and four years later I graduated as a journeyman carpenter. I was proud of my accomplishment, but I was still standing on a low rung of a tall ladder.
The job I had at the time was on a railway station complex. One segment of construction called for a quarter-mile long series of columns topped with reinforced concrete paraboloids. Tough enough, but these behemoths were to be formed and created onsite. The foreman had no idea how to do this work. When queried on this I spoke up and said I could get it done. My new job came with a small promotion to “lead carpenter” of a six-man crew. A few weeks later, with the successful completion of this work behind me, I learned the company owner had promoted me to job foreman. Two years and several other projects rolled by and then one day I was told to report to the owner’s office downtown. Once there and comfortably seated in his palatial office, he spoke with me about a costly mistake on one of his other projects.
This other project was a school in the central part of the state and the superintendent there had allowed the roof to be completed before some vital equipment had been put in place. Given the size of this equipment, tearing the roof off appeared to be the only answer to correct the problem. The company owner asked what I’d do. After studying the blueprints over the weekend, I was confident the error could be corrected without disturbing the roof. I discussed my thoughts with him on Monday morning. He smiled, shook my hand, and promoted me to construction superintendent with full authority over the corrective work to be done.
Two weeks later, with this problem successfully completed, the company owner visited the jobsite. Again, he smiled, shook my hand, and gave me a promotion. I was now a general superintendent with full control over the entire project.
In the following years I completed many other projects in my new capacity, and while it felt great to have reached the top rung on my career ladder, there was another step I had to make. That step was to start my own construction company. A few butterflies held place in my tummy when I made this final step, but in the decade behind me I’d gained an in-depth knowledge of construction work---a knowledge that included a vast array of experience with residential, commercial and industrial jobs. Best of all I’d earned the level of competency demanded from all who held my position in the industry.
Even so, there was nothing unique about my career. Countless others throughout time have entered all manner of vocations by first accepting an entry level position on the lowest rung of a ladder. What sets these individuals apart is their drive to climb to the top and to have gained a grand measure of competency during the journey.
Let’s now return to the subject that opened this essay: Barack Hussein Obama and the waning adoration of his presidency. Why do you suppose this would be?
The answer is attributed to our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln:
“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.”
Obama has Silver-Tongue ability with oration; however, this quality alone is not sufficient to successfully fill the shoes of a competent Commander in Chief. That is, Obama has demonstrated his ability to talk the talk, but he has failed miserably in the competency to walk the walk.
Bob Burdick is the author of The Margaret Ellen, Tread Not on Me, and Stories Along The Way, a short-story collection that won the Royal Palm Book Award.
