It is not only Americans who are relieved that Osama bin Laden has been found and brought to justice. People around the world, from Australia to Western Europe to Latin America are feeling vindicated that the master mind behind 9/11 has been located in his hiding place and buried at sea. What I am hoping is that this news will signal a change in the conversation taking place in America. I hope that we will move from a pre-occupation with things that are silly (like whether or not our President was actually born in America, a spurious and thinly disguised and racially based distraction) and get on with serious discussions of things of things of significance, like our country's deficit, the fact that we have young people dying in the Middle East in a war that few of us understand, and the fact that our infrastructure and our school systems are symptoms of America's failure to focus on remaining productive, smart, and innovative.
Donald Trump is a distraction, a small-minded mean-spirited showoff. His idea of conversation is that he does the talking and others listen which is, of course, not a conversation.
His recent brag that he was responsible for forcing President Obama to reveal his long-term birth certificate to the world could not have bee better timed to make him look foolish. Just days later President Obama stood before the world to announce something of true significance for which Barack Obama is ultimately responsible: the capture, death and burial of Osama bin Laden who was a true threat to the world.
The news caused spontaneous response from people everywhere who have been eager to hear that somehow things are moving forward, that in some sector things are going according to plan. And the capture of Obama is without question the result of long, careful planning by professionals, by adults, by people who are courageous patriots. President Obama, as our Commander in Chief, made the decision to give the order for the attack on Obama's hiding place in Pakistan. He justly deserves to be congratulated for his brave decision and the positive result.
Let's hope this is the date on which the conversation about our President changed. That's not to say we don't have important work to do and that we don't need to be thoughtful in our consideration of his decisions and leadership going forward. What I am urging, however, is that we take seriously our role as citizens and keep our focus on what is important: not the President's birth certificate, but his leadership of this country and the impact it will have on our future and the future of those who come after us.
Obama has trumped the Donald. 'nuf said.
Author of I is for Intercourse: The ABC's of Conversation, Susan Bird is the visionary behind Wf360, and a sought-after speaker around the world for her views on leadership, the strategic importance of conversation, entrepreneurship, and the role of women business leaders.
You do remember why the economy is in its current state, right?
Aside from the trillions that we are in debt from Bush's war for resources, the republicans laissez-faire attitude and lack of regulation completely screwed the country.
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Posted by: Sureshkumarnatarajan7 | May 16, 2011 at 11:57 PM