As Flag Day and July 4 approach, it is wise to consider the Founding Fathers and their accomplishments and failures. One of the things that these men have been criticized for in recent years is that many of the Founding Fathers were slaveholders and that they did not eradicate slavery. Though I agree that the existence of slavery is on of the great stains in this nation's history, I think it is wrong to stereotype the Founding Fathers as being uncaring towards slaves. I wrote a previous blog about the Founding Fathers grappling with the issue of slavery and thought I'd write a followup. As a person to the left of the political spectrum, the criticisms of many towards the Founding Fathers have always bothered me. The early leaders did try to abolish slavery, but their fears of Southern secession eventually doomed those efforts.

These first few months of the Obama administration have been very interesting and very exciting for me. It's been a scary time for me, and for many Americans, as this economic crisis has worsened and as the situation in Afghanistan, Iran, and North Korea have drawn our attention. It has also been an exciting time time as well, as our first African American President has turned out to be a very intelligent political leader who is trying to lead us to new directions. Many people have noted that this is the best opportunity in a long time to enact progressive legislation, of the likes of the New Deal in the 1930s. I did a cartoon on that in the May 6, 2009 issue of the Tri-City Voice on the necessity of grassroots movements to push Obama and the Democratic Party towards more progressive change.