O.K., We Got the New President – Now Let’s Get to Spending
(Obama gave an inspiring , uplifting Inauguration speech – time for reality)
There can be no doubt that President Barack Obama is a gifted orator. Without stumble or gaffe, he delivered what surely must go down in the annals of inaugural speeches as one of the finest and most noble. He offered peace to all, defeat to those who lust for its opposite and a new era of prosperity to those Americans who are willing to work and sacrifice toward its fruition.
To his credit, he referred seldom to the bearded “Greatest, most powerful nation on earth” theme, which has been the mainstay of so many inaugural addresses. Obama spoke to us as adults, quoting scripture (and Thomas Jefferson) in saying,”…the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free and deserve a chance to carry out their full measure of happiness.” That last phrase is crucial, because one person’s “full measure of happiness” might find him on a farm in Vermont, whereas another’s might find him behind prison bars. Again we are being spoken to as adults, who have choices.
There was precious little of the bellicose in Obama’s speech. But he made himself clear enough: “We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us and we will defeat you.” That line invoked its share of cheers.
I suspect conservative eyes began to roll and lips turn down when the new President alluded to his domestic agenda. “The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works.- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, can they can afford care, a retirement that is dignified?” I will pause here to assert that is not the job of government to see that those desirable things are provided but that they are made possible. The American ideal of government is that it should see to it that all, according to his or her merits, have the unfettered opportunity to obtain such blessings through their own accomplishments. I have never met a Democrat who believed government was too small or doing too much, except in the arena of foreign affairs. And they’re mistaken there, too.
Jesus said, “The poor will always be with us.” Was that some anomaly in the philosophy of the most compassionate man who ever lived? Hardly. This country is blessed with countless charitable organizations whose calling, and there are some bad ones, so discretion is called for, is to ensure that the poor receive subsistence and at least some of the comforts of life. The alternative is an errant government leviathan whose interest is mainly in its own growth and prosperity through the giving of emoluments at others’ expense.
Worse, leaving such things up to the bureaucrats leads to a form of inhuman apathy: “Are there no prisons, are there no workhouses?” If Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” had been set in America, I suspect Ebenezer Scrooge would have been a Democrat. After all, if government is confiscating my money to look after the needy, why should I care?
Don’t get me wrong. I am not an extremist. There are individuals who have needs that only government can provide. It’s just that there are many fewer of them than government would have us believe.
President Obama gave a fine speech, as balanced in content as any that could be given by a Democrat. Much of it contained eternal verities and truths about American culture. But this is a man, together with a like-minded Congress, who has it in mind to spend trillions on “Economic Stimulus”, business bailouts, health care and what have you. Beware of Democrats bearing gifts.
