Political Protest

Greece, Tunisia, Belarus, and Libya are just a few countries within the recent and current months that have had political protests against the government and their leaders.

When watching the news this morning I was shocked to see thousands of people protesting in Athens, Greece. Many people, including myself, have thought that the recent protests have only occurred in third world countries and Arab countries. However, clearly Greece is a place that someone would not think of as a third world country.

In this report about Greece, the news reporter actually had a mask on to protect himself against the tier gas that was in the air. As he reported you could hear shots in the background, possible gunshots. They showed men hit armored police and in return getting beaten with night sticks.

This protest in particular, like many others, are about the government's policy on spending, cutting expenses and budget cuts.

Wait....isn't the same thing happening here?

Governor Corbot, as well as Gov. Christi, have been cutting state budgets to save the decificit. However, by cutting budgets they are taking money away from expenses that have used and needed the same money for years. Our federal government is in the same pardiciment very often as well. Trying to figure out what to do with our budgets, where to cut so we can save money, but too often is the cutting hurting the little people such the elderly with their social security and the small business owner.

These issues are very high concerns for US citizens and President Obama who I believe has tried his best to address some of these issues.

But my question is, with one wrong step and/or vote in the wrong way, are we just one step away from Greece? Is it possible that we could see such protest in this country. Aren't we dealing with the same sentiments as these other countries? With us helping other countries when they're dealing with simple protests, are other countries going to send in their troops to help us?

Honestly, some of the politicians in Washington have absolutely no concern for the small business owner. With people such as Mitt Romney, who has more than enough money to fund his own political campaign without any fundraisering, could these politicians really understand the hardships and interest of everyday people.

President Barack Obama is a person that clearly understand what it means to be a working class citizen and I believe when he went into his first presidential campaign he had their interest in mind. However, with the power and opposing views that he faces in Washington I think he lost sight of that.

Obama needs to get back to the basics. His healthcare bill was definately something that looked out for the little people. However, one bill is not enough. I don't except Obama to change the US completely. However, wasn't the whole ideal of his campaign 'change.' I now must question, how much change was he talking about?

However, at the end of the day I'd rather go with the interest of the little people and helping change things for them, even it's one thing, over someone who has no idea what it means to be a single mother raising two kids at a minimum wage job...over someone who has no idea what it means to have thousands and thousands of dollars in educational debt that they have no way to pay back...over someone who doesn't understand how important social security is for older people...Those are just my thoughts...

I challenge you to watch the news today. Just watch at least one hour of news. And from there, I want you to decide, what you're going to do about it. That's what the people in Greece did. That's what the people in Tunisia did. That's what the people in Belarus did. That's what the people in Libya did.