Spoiled Brats

It has been two years since the United States had an economic collapse of historic proportions. We were on shaky ground, personally and nationally, and it scared us profoundly. Forgetting that the country had survived other economic meltdowns, we thought it was doomsday in America.

Since then there have been signs of a recovery, not as fast as our instant gratification tendencies would prefer, but slowly, if not always surely. Unemployment is still high at 9.6%, the exact rate it was in 1983 under President Reagan during that recession.

It has not been even two years since Barack Obama was elected president, and even less than that since he was inaugurated on January 20, 2009. He inherited a huge financial crisis, along with two wars, a super power country that did not have the power to provide health care for its citizens, and a nation held in low esteem around the world.

Remember?

It didn't take long for the Republican Party to start complaining about what Obama was or was not doing. They weren't ashamed to say they were going to do their best to obstruct whatever he tried to do. They did it with President Clinton, too, even shutting down the entire government for a time in 1994. Nothing surprising there.

What is astounding is how soon the very people who elected Obama began to pile on. He wasn't tough enough! He doesn't understand Washington! His advisors are giving him bad advice! He's not leading! He wants everyone to like him and you can't do that as president! His health care bill didn't go far enough! He just doesn't get it!

The twenty-four hour news cycle, with its hysterical pundits on both sides, feeds the frenzy. People who didn't even know they should be angry are riled up. People who should know better sit around at dinner parties shaking their heads in despair.

Can we stop being such spoiled brats?

Can we find another theme song rather than "The End" from the Doors: "We want the world and we want it N-O-O-W!?"

It takes longer than two years to dig out of the mess Obama inherited. That said, he has passed health care (which six previous presidents had failed to do), a stimulus package, Wall Street reform, reversed spending limits on stem cell research, has put relations with Russia on a positive track, is shrewdly managing our relations with China, is in the process of ending the unnecessary war in Iraq, and has restored respect for the United States around the world.

Not bad for less than two years in office.

But still our fellow Democrats can't get no satisfaction: "Yes, but he's going to make Democrats lose the House and Senate in the fall!"

Does anyone remember that President Clinton was blamed for losing the House (for the first time in forty years) and Senate in 1994 and still went on to have a successful presidency?

Apathetic Democrats are threatening to sit out the mid-term elections. That'll show 'em! The President calls that "irresponsible" and "inexcusable." He reminds us of what he said on his election night: He would not be able to solve all the problems of our country, nothing was going to be easy, he wasn't going to be able to please everyone.

Vice President Joe Biden cuts to the chase and tells the Democratic base to "...stop whining and get out there and look at the alternatives."

Yes, look at them and then stop giving them more ammunition.

Oral Fixation

I've just returned to London after an extended stay in the States. Is it my imagination or have we Americans developed a national oral fixation? Mouths are never still or unfilled, except perhaps when fingers are typing out messages on cell phones.

Go to a restaurant and you might encounter a friendly waiter who, after spieling out a list of daily specials that you can't remember by the time he finishes, decides to tell you his life story. There are times when this might be interesting, but generally when people are dining with friends they want to talk to those friends, not the waiter.

The meal itself might be served in portions so large that the sight of it kills your appetite. People will feign shock at the size but then eat everything served. If they don't, the unconsumed parts are taken away in a doggy bag so they can chow down later. After seventeen years of living abroad, I can't think of a time when I have seen that done here.

Walk down the street and you will notice many people carrying a drink of some kind. Where did this compulsive thirst come from? Is there a high risk of dehydration when we go to the grocery store, drive the kids to school, or walk three blocks? Or is the styrofoam coffee cup, plastic water bottle and out-sized soft drink container now considered a fashion accessory?

Take a train from Washington to New York and you may find yourself sitting near someone who has decided to discuss office problems, scold children, argue with a spouse or breakup with a lover, all on a cellphone, and loud enough for the whole car to hear. I admit this can be entertaining.

I chose the "quiet car" on Amtrak recently but even then could not escape incessant chatter. The train broke down soon after leaving the station, which caused the conductor to seize the microphone. She never said anything new, but clearly liked the sound of her enhanced voice as she blared every fifteen minutes, "The engineers are on the ground,working on the problem. I repeat, the engineers are on the ground, working on the problem. We will keep you advised of our progress. I repeat, we will keep you advised of our progress."

Side note: The engineers on the ground made no progress and we transferred to another train.

A doctor or nurse might explain that something you have asked about is 99.9% normal and detail how and why it occurs. You are content with the answer, relieved, and think the subject has ended when they continue, "But of course that .1% could be the sign of an extremely rare and serious condition which is difficult to treat. I've never actually seen it myself, but I've heard it can happen."

Can't they just shut up?

Cable television, with its 300 channels but nothing to watch, is filled with talk, talk, talk. Or should I just say hot air? Political commentators, "experts," advisers, reporters, politicians, all have too much to say while saying nothing. Some do it in an hysterical, hyper-ventilating manner that makes the viewer think the world is coming to an end. "Breaking news" might be a robbery in Texarkana that is covered with "on the scene" reporters as if weapons of mass destruction had been found there.

While standing at a make-up counter in Bloomingdale's, wondering if the new "lifting" face cream will really lift, a customer unknown to you might announce that she is treating herself to a new foundation today because she is having a colonoscopy tomorrow. Did you need to know that while deciding between the berry berry and mocha shades of lipstick?

Then there is the airline ticket agent who decides to give his take on last night's football game and the new quarterback with the customer in front of you while a long line forms behind you.

One of the things I love about Americans is our openness, but sometimes it really isn't necessary to share.

I discussed these observations with a friend who said, "But the Italians talk a lot, too, and you don't mind that."

True. But Italians drink in cafes or bars and eat reasonable portions in restaurants. The waiters are generally polite but never intrusive. It is a profession in Italy, as it is in many parts of Europe.

But okay, Italians do have effusive discussions about everything, from the right way to cut a tomato to whether or not the Pope is gay. Do they discuss their colonoscopies with a total stranger? I don't know.

I do know that all that talk just sounds better in Italian.