Obama's Kool-Aid
Brett Joshpe
Friday, October 10, 2008
townhall.comGo to Barack Obama’s website and you can find a “Kids for Obama” section, which says, “For the first time in campaign history, children ages 12 and under, have a place to go and actually vote—through their voice.” Children 12 and under? Really?
Browse the Internet and you can find videos of Obama’s supporters, many of whom are too young to vote, pledging their loyalty to the Democratic presidential nominee. One clip features nearly a dozen black teenagers marching and chanting in unison, shouting names of professions that Obama inspires them to pursue. Another startling video, which one almost expects to morph into a coming attraction for Children of the Corn 8, shows young children in a classroom wearing Obama “Imagine Hope” t-shirts and singing to their “Dear Leader.” Anyone watching this spectacle should be forgiven if suddenly the financial mess is not the only thing evoking thoughts of the 1930’s.
These are scary times. The international financial markets continue hemorrhaging like Sonny Corleone at a toll-booth; forgotten Islamo-facists are still plotting mass-murder against all us of us; and, Iran, whose President insists that the Holocaust never happened, moves closer everyday to ensuring that a second Holocaust does. Approximately half of voting Americans are ready to elect as President a Left-wing, former law lecturer with far more questionable associations than legislative accomplishments. There are many reasons why this should give pause, not the least of which is Obama’s cultish following, the likes of which we haven’t seen in America since Robert Owens’ socialist New Harmony settlement in Indiana in the 1820’s.
However, the prospect of an Obama presidency is not just scary, it is sad. Obama talks of hope, but it begs the question: Are we so morally depleted as a society that we need government to inspire us and give us hope? Has anyone gone into the Department of Motor Vehicles or the Post Office lately? That is government; it is long lines and instant coffee. And there is nothing wrong with that. As James Madison recognized, government is necessary...it is also not to be trusted. It certainly should not inspire. American ideals should inspire. Parents should inspire. The kid down the street who is serving in Iraq should inspire. Not government.
Therein lies much of the fundamental difference between Obama’s supporters and his detractors. Obama believes that something, or someone, has let Americans down, something resembling George W. Bush, free markets, Wall Street, and our own exceptionalism. There is a great irony in all of this too, because Obama says the economy must be built from the bottom up. However, when it comes to building a society, he clearly believes that it must be designed from the government down. We might call it “trickle-down” paternalism. Rather than empowering people to make their own decisions and to accept responsibility for them, Obama wants government to fulfill that role, and he wants government to be “cool again” in the process.
One increasingly gets the impression that Obama does not just want to win an election in 2008, or a re-election in 2012. In fact, Obama seems convinced that electoral victory is a fait accompli. No, it seems he is determined to reconstruct society according to a utopian vision. In Obama’s Brave New World, government will be our friend. Federal administrators will ensure that the free market never again abuses us poor, ignorant members of the proletariat. While it may cost us all more of our hard-earned money and freedoms to ensure these protections, he assures us it will be worth it.
We can expect more legislation like the Community Reinvestment Act, which allowed regulators to use nebulous standards to pressure lenders into extending sub-prime loans to unqualified borrowers, which greatly contributed to the economic meltdown and for which we are all now paying. We will see the rise of new institutions like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which utilized taxpayer guarantees to promote home entitlement, which will now cost us billions of dollars. We will see the return of the Fairness Doctrine, which will empower regulators to monitor your favorite radio show and ensure that the hosts are being fair and balanced and devoting equal time to both political sides. After all, in an Obama regime, you cannot be trusted to make these determinations for yourself or to turn the dial if you do not like what you hear.
While this may sound frightening, liberals would say it is just Right-wing fear mongering. Not to worry; change is on the way. Just ask Barack Obama or the children who are campaigning for him. Big Brother is coming home again. Put your faith in him and allow yourself to be inspired.
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