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Please Help Me Understand Obama

Posted by TheRationalRight on Saturday, November 01, 2008 8:39:01 AM
Someone I highly respect sent an email mentioning how great it is that we have two candidates people can vote for this year.
 
Can someone please educate me on what reason I might have to vote for Obama?

I'm serious about this.  No bashing, please.  I've already early voted, so it's too late to "save" me, but I would really like to know what actual reason people have for voting for him.  I've only heard platitudes like "hope," "change," "transform America," and the like.  The only concrete things I've heard from him directly are "get out of Iraq now" and "spread the wealth."  What I hear from his supporters is "he's not a Republican" and "I won't have to worry about paying my mortgage."
 
I can -- and I have -- voted for democratic candidates for president and other positions in the past.  I will concede that Obama, like McCain, wants to uplift the poor and middle class.  However, McCain's policies punish no one.  Obama's promises have been tried and have failed each time because they punish success rather than encouraging it, and they reward laziness rather than discouraging it.  It seems to me that if Obama is elected and enacts all of his promised programs, I could make a conscious decision to stop working and he would ensure that my standard of living remains unchanged.  (And by the way, I earn far less than the $250,000/year, so I would not be one of the "punished.")
 
What am I missing?  I have pledged to support whichever candidate wins, and I intend to honor that pledge as my patriotic duty, and as my duty as a parent who wants to teach patriotism to my children the way my father taught it to me and my siblings.  The citizens get to decide by the rules created long ago, and I respect that process.
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The Top of the Tree

Posted by TheRationalRight on Tuesday, October 28, 2008 8:50:35 PM

"There are two ways to get to the top of an oak tree. You can climb it, or you can sit on an acorn and wait."

That is perhaps my favorite inspirational quote.  However, I’m now learning of a proposal to add a third way to get to the top of the tree. You can get a rope and tie yourself to someone who is on his way up.

This fresh, new change is hailed by two notable groups. The first is comprised of those who are already at the top of the tree. The second is comprised of those who are sitting on acorns and waiting.

The rest of us, who are struggling not only to climb the tree ourselves but also to clear an easier path for our children to climb after us, are the ones who will find ourselves stuck in a tangled mess somewhere in the middle of the tree. Eventually, we’ll realize that attempting to climb any higher is a futile endeavor.

Pardon the pun, but I don’t want to be stuck in limb-o.
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American Pie

Posted by TheRationalRight on Thursday, October 23, 2008 11:23:05 PM

Pardon me, sir, but your true ideology is showing.

First, you reveal your belief that "when you spread the wealth, it’s good for everybody." Now, you speak of your intention to let everybody have a "slice of the pie."

In your mind, it appears that there is one great American pie to which some of us contribute according to our abilities and in which all of us share according to our needs.

In my mind, pie is not an entitlement. If I want to provide pie for my family, then it is my responsibility to earn that pie. And if my fellow citizens are suffering from a lack of pie, then it is my obligation to them as a human being – NOT as a subject of the federal government – to help them find a way to get pie.

We’re Americans, and we never ask others to give us pie. We make pie.

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A Plea for Civility

Posted by TheRationalRight on Sunday, October 12, 2008 10:42:22 PM
I have decided to change the name of my blog to "The Rational Right."  I do not mean to imply by this title that the left cannot be rational as well.  I mean to convey that my views come from the right, but I intend to maintain a rational discussion when I represent my views.  I pledge to respect the rights of others to rationally represent opposing views.
 
Americans have increasingly resorted to name-calling and insults to promote their views by denegrating opposing views.  I am pleading for a return to civility in our discussions.
 
I recently defended the conservative viewpoint on a liberal blog.  I was respectful in tone, and I cited sources to support my assertions.  I was called a variety of names, as were McCain and Palin whom I supported in my post.  I was told to "STFU," and one blogger declared that "anti-intellectualism should be a crime."  I was disappointed to hear that sort of anti-first amendment rhetoric from the "other" side.
 
Later, I viewed a discussion on a liberal blog here at Town Hall.  I was similarly disappointed to hear the conservative responders resorting to name-calling and insults, including suggestions that the liberal blogger get off "our" website.
 
Wake up, people!  "Their" side and "our" side are BOTH guilty of prejudging the other!  Liberals are not bad people just because they are liberals any more than conservatives are good people just because they are conservative.  As a conservative-minded person myself, of COURSE I will usually disagree with the point of view of a liberal.  But we HAVE to maintain a forum for rational discussion.  We need to try to persuade each other through logic and reason, not through emotion and insult!
 
One side or the other is going to lose the presidential election.  We hear that if Obama loses, it will be because of racism.  We hear that if McCain loses, it will be because of irregularities in the voting registration process allowed by some states.  Both sides are undoubtedly preparing their anti-other party bumper stickers, like "Charlton Heston is My President" (after Clinton defeated Bush 41) and "Selected, Not Elected" (after Bush 43 defeated Gore).
 
I challenge both sides to pledge to show respect for the other.  And I challenge both sides to pledge to support the winner.
 
My father supported Nixon over Kennedy.  My older siblings have related a story about how my father wore his Nixon pin until the election, then wore a Kennedy pin after the results showed that Kennedy had won.  This was Dad's way of showing his respect for the choice made by his fellow citizens.
 
Now THAT's patriotism!
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John, Barack, and Ike

Posted by TheRationalRight on Friday, September 19, 2008 11:03:09 PM
Watch the news reports showing the impact of Hurricane Ike on residents of the Texas Gulf Coast and you will get a glimpse of the future of this country if we begin moving in the direction Obama wants to take us.

People who depend on the federal government for sustenance are waiting in long lines for their allotment of supplies.  They have no choice in what they get -- ice, water, and a package of MREs -- from FEMA.  Lines at the few operational gas stations were measured in terms of the number of hours people waited until they reached the pump.

This is not a situation that anyone would wish to be in.  However, these are unusual circumstances, and this is a matter of survival.  I hope people look at this as an example of what it is like to become dependent on the government for survival.
 
FEMA has been criticized for the delay in getting the supplies to the appropriate people.  In stark contrast, a local radio station (KTRH-740AM) was able to bring in and distribute several truckloads of ice within a day of the storm's passing.  This is a clear example of how a private entity will work far more efficiently than a public bureaucracy.  KTRH did this as a charitable gesture, motivated by the strong desire to help the people of the community.

FEMA works as a large, slow-moving agency.  Their purpose is also noble, but employees get their paychecks whether they meet their requirements a day early or a week late.  If the oil companies are nationalized, as at least one Democratic congressperson suggested a few months back, the distribution of gasoline will certainly operate with similar inefficiency, and the current long lines will become the rule rather than the exception.
 
I believe the fundamental difference between the two major parties as they exist today is that Obama's Democratic Party wants citizens to rely on the government (like those waiting for FEMA supplies), whereas the Maverick's Republican Party wants citizens to rely on themselves and each other (like those who took the initiative to bring in supplies on their own to help their neighbors).
 
We should always band together and work to help our neighbors in their time of need.  That's part of the job description of being human.  It works very well when we accept this responsibility as independent individuals.  It does not work well when we deem this responsibility as too unimportant for human beings and relegate it to a non-human entity.
 
People who rely on the government for life's necessities are called dependent subjects.  People who rely on themselves for life's necessities are called independent citizens.
 
So, the choice in this year's presidential election comes down to this:  Give me liberty, or give me Barack!
 
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Obama Is Right On

Posted by TheRationalRight on Monday, September 08, 2008 11:28:05 PM
In his acceptance speech, Senator Obama criticized recent Republican administrations and congressional representation, saying "In Washington, they call this the 'Ownership Society,' but what it really means is that you're on your own."
 
I wanted to stand up and cheer.  Right on, Republicans!  I want to be on my own!
 
Leave me alone!
 
Keep your hands out of my pockets.  Let me keep more of my own money, and I will need less help from others.  This, in turn, will allow others to keep more of their own money, and they will need less help from others.  Some of us, with this extra cash, will choose to donate more to truly worthy causes, which, in turn, will result in the need for fewer government programs.
 
Leave me alone!
 
Keep your distance from my home.  Do not eavesdrop on my private conversations.  Do not use your supreme morality to legislate what activities I am allowed to pursue in my household, except activities that could harm minor children or are violent or abusive in nature.  Do not abuse your power to enforce your interpretation of the laws my representatives have passed.
 
Leave me alone!
 
Keep your laws out of my business, with the same exceptions noted above.  Avoid regulations that ignore the principles of a free enterprise system in favor of moral superiority.  Allow me to offer goods and services in an environment of my choosing.  If I have a valuable product, I'll succeed.
 
Leave me alone!
 
If you do these things, government, then I can succeed in this American dream, and I will own that success.  If you continue to pursue laws regulating how my state defines marriage, what type of oil my food can be cooked in, and whether I, as an entrepeneur, can allow people to smoke in my private establishment, then you have taken the dream away from me.  You have made my success conditional.  You have limited me.
 
Of course, if you do leave me alone, I can also fail.  But if I do succeed, you should celebrate my success, and hold up my success as an example for those who are still struggling.  Do not take from my success in order to give to those who failed.  It is a contra-motivating policy that rewards failure at the expense of success.  It is robbing from the rich and giving to the poor.  It is giving meaningless trophies to all sports league members just for filling out registration forms.  It is taking "from each, according to his ability" and giving "to each, according to his need."
 
I want to be on my own.  That's the very definition of liberty.
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The Party of the Common Folk

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.
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