Changing Course

This too, is the time that try men’s souls. The ranting of neocons and the uninformed all but obscure the real crises faced by our nation. While perhaps not as grave as Tories defecting to the side of British General Howe in the winter of 1776; nevertheless, the defection of recently deposed Republican politicians to the side of neocons who place party above country during a time of crisis, we are beset by nay sayers who would rather run the ship of state aground in order to say “I told you so” than bend every effort to assist the government by solving our many problems.

After misreading the charts and “staying the wrong course “ for eight years, they now object to any, ANY, efforts by the administration to ameliorate the crises and change course. Changing course takes time. Perhaps a maritime analogy would be of use. In turning a ship from one course to another, a phenomenon known as “advance and transfer” comes into play, a determination of how far the ship will continue on its old course before settling down on the new. This will depend on a number of factors, which include the size and weight of the ship, its speed, the size of the rudder and its angle off center at which it is set. All of these factors combine to bring the vessel to its new course, to effect change. Moving the rudder does not achieve an instantanious change.

Why then, should we not anticipiate similar conditions effecting the ability to change the course of the “ship of state,” to being it to a new course, out of the troubled waters to which its last pilot brought it. It takes time.

Rather than carping at every single decision made by the new pilot, modifications in direction might be suggested rather than NO ! being shouted as a response to every decision. After all a ship can have but one captain at a time. Rather than criticize Obama for not yet achieving promised changes one should reflect on the difficulty of getting Congress on board. After all it is Congress who plots the course.