Back in high school I had a teacher who was fond of citing what he called the “Eleventh Beatitude.” Blessed is he who expects nothing for he shall not be disappointed. Perhaps he was referring to our class and what he might expect from us in the way of learning, or maybe it had bigger meaning. Regardless of his meaning, I have remembered the quote and use it regularly.
It comes in handy today as I consider the next Congress. In just a few days the Republicans will take the reins. They have a huge job in front of them. Probably the first thing for me would be the approval of the Keystone Pipeline project. No single act of this government will have a more positive effect on us than this simple approval. Conservative estimates are it will provide more than 20,000 new jobs and those jobs will be high-paying jobs. Also we will come a step closer to the energy independence we have sought for so many years. Today gasoline prices are tumbling with just the possibility of this approval.
Next on my wish list is a reasonable and fair immigration policy. I have written before we need to require legitimate identification by everyone in this country to get a job, go to school, partake of our health care and to get any benefits from our very liberal welfare programs. By the way, if we required legitimate identification, the millions who are here illegally would deport themselves. If these illegals spent half as much energy improving their own countries as they spend trying to steal our resources, our problem and theirs would be solved.
Next on my list of matters the new Congress needs to consider is health-care insurance. In reality health-care insurance is none of the government’s business. We were doing pretty well until the president started messing with it. Now it’s a disaster. Republican Congress, fix it.
While I could go on for hours, I will try to bring this list to a close with this minor requirement of Congress. Get to the bottom of the many scandals permeating this White House and get the guilty before courts of law. It all stinks. It is un-American. We are not a “banana republic” and we shouldn’t act like one.
These are my expectations. Are they great expectations? Am I asking too much? Oh, wait a minute. I just remembered Obama still has two more years. There’s no way he’s going to allow the Republicans to do the things I want done. Even though he knows, or should know by now, that what he has wrought is not what this country wants.
Then I have to ask the question. Am I expecting too much from the Republicans? Is there any chance they will do what is right for the American people? From what I am hearing, I would say there isn’t much hope. Politicians seem to park their loyalties at the door when they enter the hallowed halls of government. Will they say we should just wait until 2016 when the Republicans take the White House too?
People accuse me of being an optimist. I guess I am. I’m also a patriot. I want what is best for this country. Based on the election results from the midterms, the American people want that too.
And so I am left with the Eleventh Beatitude. Should I expect nothing in order not to be disappointed? Or should I expect the Congress to get to work and fix the mess we have gotten ourselves into? I think I’m going to expect excellence. I can live with disappointment. I have for years.
