Posted by
TheRationalRight on Saturday, September 06, 2008 10:19:50 PM
When I was a young adult, I thought the Republican Party was a party full of the elite who wanted to hoard all their posessions for themselves without regard for the good of their community. Now I realize that the Republican Party is full of optimistic folks who believe that left to their own devices, they can take care of themselves and their families and make tomorrow better than today. This is called independence.
When I was a young adult, I thought the Democratic Party was the party of the common folk, always working to elevate the downtrodden to a higher level. Now I realize that the Democratic Party is full of pessimistic folks who believe that left to their own devices, they cannot succeed for themselves, so they need others to ensure that tomorrow will be the same as today. This is called enslavement.
I believe the common folk prefer independence over enslavement. It is the Republican Party that is clearly the Party of the Common Folk.
The people representing the Democratic Party in this year's presidential election are clearly intelligent and ambitious. They both have ivy league educations. They both earned law degrees. They both created a plan for achieving political success, and they acted on that plan to attain their current status. This is admirable; in fact, it is the type of drive that I want my children to learn.
The people representing the Republican Party have less impressive pedigrees. The presidential candidate was a cocky flyboy, feeling invincible, carrying out missions without fear, until circumstances forced him into a position where he had to stand up to abuse or die. From that time on, he committed himself to serving a cause greater than himself. The vice-presidential candidate was a caring parent who saw a need for support in the community in order to improve her childrens' opportunities. From her participation in the PTA to roles on city council, then as mayor, and currently as governor of her state, she has sought office to improve life for the people of her community.
Both John McCain and Sarah Palin are committed to lives of standing up for what they believe in. While people like me sit by idly and say "somebody oughta do something about this," they actually act on their principles. They are common folks who stand up and work because it's the right thing to do -- not because doing so would look good on their presidential resumes.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to be president. But in spite of all the public adoration of the Democratic candidate by celebrities and journalists, it is John McCain who truly inspires me. His opponent is a far more effective public reader, but I believe that John McCain stands for something, and he consistently acts on his own principles. He is a maverick.
John McCain asks not what his country can do for him; he asks what he can do for his country.
And then he does it.