Regime by executive order

Americans might no longer need to look overseas for an example of a modern-day power seeking authoritarian.

President Barack Obama seems to have officially announced during a cabinet meeting on Jan. 14 his intentions to further abuse executive powers.

The way he put it was, “We’re not just going to be waiting for legislation in order to make sure that we’re providing Americans the kind of help they need. I’ve got a pen and a phone.”

This seems to mean Obama is willing to pursue interests he deems necessary without any input from Congress, thus shutting out every citizen’s voice.

It is staggering that a president with an approval rating sitting near 40 percent is still arrogant enough to announce his plans of ruling without the citizen scrutiny Congress brings.   

This is really not the time to expand executive powers, considering most of the country disapproves of the president’s job performance.

I would assume it’s because Congress’s approval rating of 13 percent is even lower than Obama’s.

I can understand why Americans are frustrated with the legislative branch considering the recent phases of irritable tribalism exhibited between both political parties.

I think most of the political drama generated by the left-right paradigm is played out in order to fool us into believing that there’s still a striving democracy out there.

Congress hasn’t been productive enough in sustaining American prosperity and freedom, but the alternative — concentrating excessive power into the hands of one man — would be a catastrophic mistake.

Contrary to the president’s auspicious rhetoric of absolute control, totalitarian governments aren’t exactly known for merrily distributing gift baskets to their subjects. His promise of swift progress through enforced executive power could throw us into an oppressive tyranny, which is nothing close to what any population would ever need or deserve.

While we can endlessly complain about the inattentiveness of our representatives and senators, we cannot ignore our own political inactivity.

We the people carry the true energy necessary to redirect this nation in our favor but fail to realize it. Americans would not have reason to be so upset with Congress if we didn’t take our democracy for granted.

Americans cannot let the presidential office become dictatorial, lest it will become the status quo.

We must set aside our ideological and phenotypical differences and unite as people to address this task.

Using the little democracy we have left, we must shake our congressmen and congresswomen from their offensive apathy towards this transition of power.

Let’s take our country back before it’s too late.

— edharo@indiana.edu