Is The State of Our Union Strong?
BOOKENDS –
THE STATE OF
THE UNION
On the first day of class, I sated my belief that “The State of Our Union is Strong.” Many
of you disagreed, to say the least. Yes, it is clear that you came into the course with your
own assessment of the current state of the country, our state, our city and state. We began
the semester with the introduction lecture discussing Political Parties: Division, Distrust and
Polarization in our country. We discussed a divided Congress: The Republican House
majority and the Democrats Senate majority.
Congressman Hakeem Jeffries become the first African American Minority Leader of the
House of Representatives.
2 | P a g e
We saw, for the first time in one hundred (100) years, a ballot for Speaker of the House went
to nine (9) ballots: Congressman Kevin McCarthy set a record of 15 ballots over a four-day
period until he was elected Speaker of The House of Representatives on January 7, 2023.
We began the semester, the year in a Divided Country: 70% America Polarized. In January,
polls indicated that American was on the wrong track and going in the wrong direction.
Members of both the Democratic and Republican party used words such as “Downhill,”
“Wrong Track,” “Disaster/Hard Times,” “Uncertain” to describe the economy and the
nation.
Reflect on this historical and extraordinary year and key events events ocIs The State of Our Union Strong?
BOOKENDS –
THE STATE OF
THE UNION
On the first day of class, I sated my belief that “The State of Our Union is Strong.” Many
of you disagreed, to say the least. Yes, it is clear that you came into the course with your
own assessment of the current state of the country, our state, our city and state. We began
the semester with the introduction lecture discussing Political Parties: Division, Distrust and
Polarization in our country. We discussed a divided Congress: The Republican House
majority and the Democrats Senate majority.
Congressman Hakeem Jeffries become the first African American Minority Leader of the
House of Representatives.