Looking Back - and Moving Forward

Janko at Shout Youngstown has posted a story about the genesis of his blog. I want to encourage everyone to check out his post at Shout Youngstown.I did not see the film footage he presents when it was first aired because I was en route to Houston Texas and busy making a life with my family in a new place because my now ex-husband had just lost his job at Sheet and Tube. I want to thank Janko for sharing it now and for reminding us that we are some of the most resilient people in the country. I also want to thank him for continuing to Shout Youngstown.

Speaking of genesis it was over a year ago that I began Youngstown Moxie. The reason I started Moxie was because I was inspired by the many young bloggers that were creating a buzz about Youngstown. I have lived here for many years and have always been involved in various forms of activism, however it wasn't until Janko at Shout Youngstown, Tyler Clark from Renaissance Youngstown and Phil Kidd from Defend Youngstown began blogging that I began to rejuvenate and once again get excited about the potential here in the city. We have come a long way since the early days of Y-town blogging. For more about that growth see Tyler's blog post today. Since the early days of Moxie I have learned a great deal about technology thanks to the patience of the aforementioned bloggers. I have also developed a keen respect for the power of the blog and see it as one of the few ways to get the news of the day as seen through a different lens than that of the establishment press.

Today we have a new President and I fear that he may be damned if he does, and damned if he doesn't. The Washington Press Core is part of the very establishment that Obama wants to change. Many in the press derive their livelihood from their knowledge of establishment politics. If the knowledge required to do the job were to change, that means that many in the media can no longer operate as they have been. Whether conscious or not, they have a personal stake in maintaining the status quo. The spin they put on politics determines to a large degree the approval ratings of the President. I do not believe that the press is necessarily conservative or liberal, I believe that they merely want to maintain the world as they know it.

The establishment of Washington fully expects that Obama will come around to their view of the world. They fully expect things to stay the same. In other words they figure Obama said what he needed to say to get elected, but now that he is President, it will be business as usual. I do not believe this is Obama's intention. However, if pushed up against a wall by negative public opinion created by the establishment press, he could ultimately find himself a part of the very establishment he wishes to change.

As citizens we must not stop our support now, we must continue to make our voices heard. If necessary we must demonstrate and create some tension to make certain that Obama has an opportunity to implement the programs that we have been lacking for over eight years. Granted the stimulus package is for a great deal of money, but government spending on programs has been substantially reduced in recent years. We have a lot to make up for. Granted, I would prefer that the package itself were written in a more comprehensible format but nevertheless, we need it and we need it now. It is time for the creation of a green economy and public transportation on a large scale. My personal dream is that some day we in the U.S. will have high speed rail service. It is by the development of such projects that we will create real growth in the economy. For more on the economy and the stimulus package see Tyler Clark's blog Renaissance Youngstown and by all means don't shut up yet,continue to make your voices heard.