Our leaders derive their power from being smarter than most of us. Generally, We, The People, are undereducated, lazy, overweight people who care more for our own immediate gratification than we do any serious issues facing us–largely because we're just not educated. Hell, wasn't it something like 70% of Americans thought Sadam was behind 911? You can't expect people that stupid to do anything but trust their leaders, like Britney Spears told us all to do.

I agree that it's possible for We, The People, to take responsibility for what is going on–but the blame should lie squarely on the shoulders of our leaders, in my opinion.

We've all been raised to believe that our government is just and moral. But if you look at history (real history, not the fables they taught us in school) you'll see that, in many ways, the US government has *never* been just or moral.

We've all been conditioned to not care. Sure we “care” but remove the quotes and we've got bills to pay, mouths to feed, DVDs to buy.

The “good” news is that America's world seems to be quietly falling apart. We're being forced to think about our actual survival to a certain degree, which is good. Hopefully we can reprogram ourselves to be more vigilant.

Our leaders derive their power from being smarter than most of us. Generally, We, The People, are undereducated, lazy, overweight people who care more for our own immediate gratification than we do any serious issues facing us–largely because we're just not educated. Hell, wasn't it something like 70% of Americans thought Sadam was behind 911? You can't expect people that stupid to do anything but trust their leaders, like Britney Spears told us all to do.

I agree that it's possible for We, The People, to take responsibility for what is going on–but the blame should lie squarely on the shoulders of our leaders, in my opinion.

We've all been raised to believe that our government is just and moral. But if you look at history (real history, not the fables they taught us in school) you'll see that, in many ways, the US government has *never* been just or moral.

We've all been conditioned to not care. Sure we “care” but remove the quotes and we've got bills to pay, mouths to feed, DVDs to buy.

The “good” news is that America's world seems to be quietly falling apart. We're being forced to think about our actual survival to a certain degree, which is good. Hopefully we can reprogram ourselves to be more vigilant.

Our leaders derive their power from being smarter than most of us. Generally, We, The People, are undereducated, lazy, overweight people who care more for our own immediate gratification than we do any serious issues facing us–largely because we're just not educated. Hell, wasn't it something like 70% of Americans thought Sadam was behind 911? You can't expect people that stupid to do anything but trust their leaders, like Britney Spears told us all to do.

I agree that it's possible for We, The People, to take responsibility for what is going on–but the blame should lie squarely on the shoulders of our leaders, in my opinion.

We've all been raised to believe that our government is just and moral. But if you look at history (real history, not the fables they taught us in school) you'll see that, in many ways, the US government has *never* been just or moral.

We've all been conditioned to not care. Sure we “care” but remove the quotes and we've got bills to pay, mouths to feed, DVDs to buy.

The “good” news is that America's world seems to be quietly falling apart. We're being forced to think about our actual survival to a certain degree, which is good. Hopefully we can reprogram ourselves to be more vigilant.

we: borrowed huge amounts of faux money to finance nearly-worthless real estate investments out of our own personal greed

that's a start. blame the leaders, sure – but from whence do they derive their power and authority? The buck should stop at the top – the People.

But I disagree that this mess is not our fault. We absolutely have ourselves to blame.

Hey, Barry–what do you THINK we've been doing?

It's the frakking bankers and bigbusinessmen who aren't actually rolling up their sleeves and getting dirty here.

It's hard to support a guy who has the gall to ask We The People to work harder. Dude, this mess isn't our fault!!

You're the president now, YOU fix it.

And don't tell me I'm not being patriotic by being critical. We got enough of that crap from the last guy.

On another note, does anyone else feel there is a little irony in the fact that this predominantly white group of people are pledging to be a “servant” to Obama, when they themselves mention that one of the pledges is to abolish slavery once and for all? That's a little confusing and I hope you understand my meaning. I think the video could have been worded a bit differently and thought out a little better. He's not the only one making the change here. We are all responsible. I agree.

An individualist is a man who says: “I will not run anyone’s life—nor let anyone run mine. I will not rule nor be ruled. I will not be a master nor a slave. I will not sacrifice myself to anyone—nor sacrifice anyone to myself.”
- Ayn Rand