HP
2/18/11
AAA
How have leaders in recent history contradicted their ideals?
Why do we as a society constantly believe the promises that our leaders deliver to us? Often in history leaders have promised improvements to our societies yet have not followed through with that. Everyone from the most popular, to the least popular leaders have guaranteed other benefits and not shown anything for it. Adolf Hitler, and Barack Obama are prime examples of this.
Adolf Hitler may be one of the most hated men of all time, yet many Germans supported him into office (beginning in1934) because of the promises he made. Many sanctions for Germany were drawn up after their disgrace of World War One and the Treaty of Versailles was the physical proof of that. According to europeanhistory.com, the treaty took away 13% of the land, and cut down the military significantly along with other sanctions. After World War One, Germany was a nation in an economic crisis and this posed an amazing opportunity for a bold new leader. As Hitler came into power, he practically tore the treaty up, showing the world, and his Germans, that they were a world power and would not follow these rules. He promised to restore German honor, he also promised more jobs to stimulate the economy which is what people wanted to hear. Adolf also promised to stop the hyperinflation and protect Germany. He gave Germans a reason to have hope and gave a scapegoat in which to blame all of the countries burdens. In his time of power, Hitler did countless awful acts as a human being. Therefore it may be overlooked that as a major fault of his, that he contradicted his own words. The jobs he promised turned out to be dangerous military work, and nearly the entire country was forced to become invested into the war one way or another.
Although disliked by some, President Obama is definitely a more popular worldly figure then Hitler ever will be. As the first African American president of the United States, Obama’s amazing speeches and uplifting words are definitely a major reason as to why he was elected. One can argue that sincere efforts are being made to improve America, yet Obama has been forced to contradict his promises due to the extraordinarily hard times we live in. In his inauguration speech delivered in Washington, Obama promised a better education for all, as the American school systems were starting to truly fail. He launched a campaign which he defended in his State of the Union address, called “Race to the Top”. This campaign promises funding to any school which can prove that they deserve the extra funding. Instead of giving the money to the schools that need it, the campaign will only benefit a few schools which need the money. The schools will prove they are “worthy” by showing improvements in test scores. Any well thought out plan would’ve been able to see this flaw. “If you put outstanding teachers at the front of the classroom; if you turn around failing schools – your state can win a Race to the Top grant that will not only help students outcompete workers around the world, but let them fulfill their God-given potential.” If the school has already made a substantial turnaround, why would they need more help? As opposed to the schools who can’t get good scores because they don’t have the resources? Why can’t we donate more money to more schools? Another issue with “Race to the Top” is that if the American school system really will improve as a whole,as promised, less money needs to be shipped out to other countries for various needs. A huge reason a lot of the money is being shipped out of America is Iraq. The U.S invaded the Middle Eastern country several years ago and displaced millions. In Obama’s campaign trail he promised aid for the displaced Iraqis. For whatever reason, there have been no actual groups made to help the five million displaced (onthedata.com). Obama promised a lot, and the U.S. Has improved in many aspects since 2008, but maybe he promised too much.
Whatever reason it may have been, weather it be corruption, greed, or tough times, political contradiction almost seems inevitable. Maybe the promises have been too large to handle, or the climate in which to be a politician in is too rough, something needs to be done to make sure our leaders are following up on their promises, after all, that’s what we voted them in for.