Within any organization, including the government, there are secrets kept hidden which are not revealed to anyone except to those who need to know them.
Original diagram ©2008 Smart Spark – free to use with written permission only.
Pull out troops from Iraq within 16 months as promised on the campaign trail? Hopefully, but maybe not. The answer will be determined by what on-the-ground military commanders recommend.
Increase taxes in 2009 for individuals earning more than $250,000 per year as promised on the campaign trail? Perhaps that wouldn’t be prudent. Let’s just let them expire in 2010.
Private or public campaign financing? Daughters allowed to be interviewed by the media or kept out of the spotlight? Public schools or private? Tapping the national oil reserve to lower gas prices? News reports and internet blogs are filled with criticisms of Obama for changing his mind.
Why shouldn’t he change his mind?
Within any government, organization, company, and family there are secrets kept hidden which are not revealed to anyone except to those who need to know them. Although we the general public can guess what these secrets might be; and we the media can dig for facts via the freedom of information act; together, we can only come up with bits and pieces of truths at best. The burden of making the big decisions must lie with those who are most informed.
After being elected President of the United States, Obama became a member of an exclusive club, the club of the “need to know’s.” Beginning on November 6, 2008, two days after the national election, President Elect Obama began to receive official national daily security briefings from a CIA briefing team and from Mike McConnell, the Director of National Intelligence. This was more information than Obama had received as a candidate.
In electing a president or other official, we are putting our trust in an individual to take this very detailed information and make informed decisions about how to best run our country. We must allow our elected officials to do their job.
Haven’t you ever changed your mind?
Perhaps you promised your 16-year old daughter she could go to the movies on Friday, then found out the boy who was taking her was over 21, so you changed your mind, retracting your promise. Perhaps you agreed to go on vacation with another couple to the Grand Canyon, but then found that they were taking their 85-pound German Shepherd with them in the car, so you decided not to go. Maybe you took a job and found out that it didn’t pay as much as you thought, so you quit. Promises only count when facts are presented truthfully and in full.
I recently agreed to purchase a house in Central Florida. I signed a contract, essentially promising to buy the house and paid a good faith deposit. The house was old, but had been renovated, and looked lovely. However, before sealing the deal, I hired an inspector to find out what condition the house was in. The inspector brought out a few gadgets: a moisture detector, which found rot hidden in the walls and an infrared camera which allowed him to see extensive termite infestation. The owner had assured me that the roof was brand new, but the inspector found that only one third was new, the rest was original to the house, and the new shingles were laid on rotten boards. The “new” appliances turned out to have been salvaged. The termite bond turned out to not be a bond at all, when you read the fine print. The property taxes had not been paid and over $9000 was due which would have fallen on the shoulders of the buyer.
I backed out of the deal quickly, running, not walking away. Legally, I was allowed to do this because the condition of the house was not presented truthfully. I lost my $400 inspection fee plus several weeks of time that I could have used to look at other houses. However, I was glad I changed my mind.
There is no sin in changing your mind, especially for the big stuff. I would rather have a leader who changes their mind after learning new facts, than have a leader who stubbornly plows forward just to keep a promise.
