I was advised by an American agent when I was about 19 to change my surname.
One-third of Americans have already been forced to change their lifestyle because their disposable income is gone. A guy can't go to the corner bar after a rough day at work to have a beer that's gone to oil!
I don't think anything changes until ideas change. The usual American viewpoint is to believe that something is wrong with the person.
Few expected very much of Franklin Roosevelt on Inauguration Day in 1933. Like Barack Obama seventy-six years later he was succeeding a failed Republican president and Americans had voted for change. What that change might be Roosevelt never clearly said probably because he himself didn't know.
We the people. Manifest Destiny. Conceived in liberty. Fear itself. Ask not. Morning in America. United we stand. Yes we can. In times of great change and tumult presidents seek to inspire beleaguered Americans by reminding them of their national identity.
Obama won the presidency on the strength of his message and the skills of the messenger. Now the talk of hope and change feels out of tune when so many Americans are out of work over-mortgaged and worried that life will be even tougher for their children.
Under Barack Obama the only 'Change' is that 'Hope' has been hard to find. Now millions of Americans are insecure about their future. But instead of inspiring us by reminding us of what makes us special he divides us against each other. He tells Americans they're worse off because others are better off. That people got rich by making others poor.
I told you I'm not going to criticize my successor. I'll just tell you that there are people at Gitmo that will kill American people at a drop of a hat and I don't believe that persuasion isn't going to work. Therapy isn't going to cause terrorists to change their mind.
Americans have so far put up with inequality because they felt they could change their status. They didn't mind others being rich as long as they had a path to move up as well. The American Dream is all about social mobility in a sense - the idea that anyone can make it.
Millions of young Americans have graduated from college during the Obama presidency ready to use their gifts and get moving in life. Half of them can't find the work they studied for or any work at all. So here's the question: Without a change in leadership why would the next four years be any different from the last four years?