Things I Tell My Wife by Matt Knutson

“Maybe we should start sending out our own personal State of the Union on our anniversary,” I told Sera after watching President Obama address the nation on Tuesday night. His speech once again highlighted achievements of the past and detailed directions he hopes to take the country in the next years. The speech was filled with opportunities for lengthy applause and ceremonial standing ovations from the crowd in an effort to show bipartisanship.

If our nation ever does feel united listening to the president give his State of the Union, it’s a very temporary feeling. The instantaneous analysis of every phrase uttered by our country’s leader is torn apart or worshipped, depending on your news source, and then we wait a few more minutes for the opposing party’s response. This response, a practice my quick research dates back 1966, immediately reminds us that we are a nation divided deeply along political lines, and that both sides think they’re right.

Is the response really necessary? I hope not. I don’t think a president should use the State of the Union to lay out one party’s agenda. It’s my vision that the president, whoever he or she may be, will give a speech showcasing more than just a personal agenda. So often it feels like we forget that a president can be the leader of an entire county, not just a leader of one political party in that country. This opportunity of a message uniting across the country is lost when the opposing party is prepared to give a response just minutes afterward. It has become clear that it doesn’t matter to the opposition what was said at the State of the Union, and history shows that is true no matter who is president.

Republican Senator Joni Ernst gave her party’s response to the speech less than a half hour after President Obama finished. To her credit, she began with, “Rather than respond to a speech, I’d like to talk about your priorities.”

Of course someone can’t give an intelligent response to a lengthy speech you just heard 30 minutes ago. To do so and have it be relevant would be ridiculously challenging. Yet year after year we’re reminded of our nations division from this mainly symbolic act that exists to basically say, “We’re not supportive of the president.”

There can be very legitimate debate about what is said at the State of Union, but I think we should let that debate come in the days following the speech. If Republicans gave themselves 24 hours to respond to President Obama’s speech, perhaps Senator Ernst’s first time in the national spotlight wouldn’t be marred with distractions of footwear, in both the form of bread bags and camouflage heels.

If Sera and I were to decide to draft a State of the Union for our marriage, we’d probably go about it with one of us writing a letter about our careers and personal achievements over the last year. Can you imagine the awkward family reunion gossip that would occur if Sera would immediately send out a scathing follow-up letter to what I wrote? It would create an uncomfortable tension not only with our families but also within our own marriage. One of the main aspects of marriage, unity, would be displaced.

Certainly a metaphor comparing a marriage to Democrats and Republicans can only go so far in effectiveness, but when we think of America as a whole, I think we often leave behind the thought of a true “United States.” Our country can do great things when politicians work together, and our current two party system seems intent on doing the opposite.

Last week my wife’s home country experienced nearly the entire government resigning due to ineffective leadership and discontent with the performance of the government. Her nation, a country where most live on $2 or less every day, was experiencing numerous power outages, and the government resigned after admitting their ineffectiveness. It’s clear our State of the Union is far better, and I hope our leaders take the time to truly listen to one another in the coming months to make decisions to improve our nation. We don’t live in a country where ineffective leadership resigns. We live in a country where they get re-elected. Let’s encourage our politicians to work together this year so Republicans can hold off on an immediate response to next year’s State of the Union, hopefully ending the divisive tradition for many years to come.

 

Rochester resident Matt Knutson is the communications and events director for United Way of Olmsted County.