A Power Lunch, A Balancing Act on the Economy

Witnessing on television three ex-presidents, one soon to be ex-president and the president elect standing shoulder to shoulder together and smiling is an image that is going to be etched in our memories for a very long time. It reaffirmed why America even though it may not be the largest democracy is still the greatest democracy in the world. I cannot imagine any other nation on earth with leaders from a span of 32 years in the white house coming together across party lines with such grace and goodwill towards each other. American democracy has has been enduring for over 2 centuries and the civility by which the peaceful and orderly transition of power takes place is heart warming. We Americans may not be going through the best of times and in fact we as a nation are probably going through the worst of times but that does not change the fact that we are lucky in many ways to live in America in the first decade of this century. Imagine the people in Zimbabwe who cannot dump a wretched dictator who has deprived the people of their freedom and brought misery only to hope that elections would change the leadership of their country, shattered. Imagine the ex-president of South Africa who one day recently was unceremoniously removed from power before his term ended. Imagine being a Palestinian in Gaza and misery is just a long dark, scary, bloody tunnel with no light and no end in sight. Imagine living in Israel surrounded by enemies who want to see it disappear. Imagine living in countries where the leaders will kill each other and the only way leadership changes is by a military coup. There are crooks and swindlers in America who have made off with millions and billions, the deficit is reaching astronomical proportions, the greed of a few is ruining the lives of many and the mismanagement of wall street and government and the lack of oversight is troubling, but the fundamental ideals of America should resurface with the new president. The unity showed by the presidents coming together is a sign of the Times that United States will stand up to the challenges and find its path to recovery from the current economic mess.