Trying to Find a Silver Lining

I have always been a pretty positive person. It's hard to get me down for long, and I've learned in the course of a life that is now well into its fifth decade that most of the things that we worry over are somewhat insignificant.

For instance, my hometown Philadelphia Eagles lost a heart-breaking NFC Championship game yesterday to the Arizona Cardinals. The defeat means that the team falls just short of reaching football's ultimate goal - the Super Bowl.

It was very disappointing and somewhat frustrating as the final seconds ticked away and we came to realize that our team was not going to make it. What is even more ludicrous to me is what will happen over the next week or so, as all of the 'Monday Morning Quarterbacks' come out of the woodwork to criticize every poor play and missed opportunity. I will most definitely be avoiding all sports talk radio stations for the next couple of weeks.

As for me, I try to find the silver lining. With the Eagles it will be in the way they played for the last six weeks of their season, when they had to win nearly every week to keep their season alive. They won most of those games, and it was a fun time to be a fan.

To me, Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid showed that they are still among the best quarterbacks and head coaches in the league, and some strong young players leave me believing that next season will be a strong one for the team. So football is over for 2009 here in Philadelphia. Only the Arizona-Pittsburgh meeting in the Super Bowl remains for the NFL.

Tomorrow will be an even bigger challenge for me in trying to find a silver lining. Today marks the final day of the Presidential administration of George W. Bush.


One of the most liberal politicians to ever become the President of the United States, Democrat Barack Obama, will take the oath of office on Tuesday. He will have a mostly supportive Congress and Senate behind him, as the Democratic Party is back in charge of both Houses. And the big television networks and former mainstream media newspapers are all on board with this liberal Democratic government monopoly.

The fact is that for conservative Republicans such as myself, the next few years are likely going to see one disaster after another play out against the country that we love. We are likely to see taxes raised for all Americans as the Dems both repeal the outstanding Bush tax cuts and raise them further with their own legislation.

We are likely to become far less safe as the Dems slowly dismantle the security programs put in place by the Bush administration after 9/11. The budget deficits of today will balloon with pork-barrel spending that goes far beyond any savings found by repealing the tax cuts and bringing home some troops.

And at least in the first year there will be partisan calls for investigations into members of the Bush administration for nothing more than political vindictiveness. It is going to be a very, very ugly time in America.

But that is what Democrats do best. They complain, they whine, they distract, they get divisive and vindictive, and they bury America under taxation and regulation while playing Russian roulette with our national security.

This is what is likely to happen over the next four years. We can only hope that the liberal Dems don't do too much damage before the Republicans can get our acts back together and reclaim power.

In the meantime, the positive attitude person inside me will be searching for a silver lining for America.

For one, black Americans should have to finally set aside any thoughts that they have any barriers. The United States of America has proven that race and sex are no barrier in advancing to the highest offices in the land. That is a good thing.

But which minority is the one that takes office and commands power, that has always been the real issue. A black or female President, or any other minority, is not the problem. A liberal Democrat President of any stripe is the problem.

Here's to hoping that the Democrats finally find a way to get more things right than wrong for once. I pray for the success of Barack Obama in keeping America safe, in leading a fix of the financial problems our country faces, in maintaining traditional American values, and in building political bridges rather than allowing the country to remain distracted by the partisan politics of people like Nancy Pelosi.

I will sincerely pray for those things. But knowing the nature of the Party to which he belongs, and that of the vast majority of its members in political power seats, I don't have much hope. But I will keep praying for America, and will keep looking for the silver lining.