I hope I’m wrong.
I write this on Election Night 2008. John McCain just conceded the election.
As a country, we have just taken a step that I fear will come back to haunt us. We have just elected an extreme liberal, arguably a Marxist and socialist, to the nation’s highest office. I am deeply concerned about the consequences that this decision holds for our nation over the next few years.
Mr. Obama certainly looks the part. I will give him that. He looks good in front of a camera and he gives a good speech. It’s what he stands for that I can’t put myself behind.
It’s not that the current administration has done such a bang-up job. I’m actually fairly unimpressed. Perhaps the best that can be said is that they have kept us safe. No terrorist attacks on U.S. soil since 2001. I feel that is a significant accomplishment and speaks to the effectiveness of the Bush foreign policy and aggressive pursuit of radical Islam wherever it may hide. However, the Reagan-era conservative ideals of fiscal responsibility and limited government seem to have been abandoned.
We now turn the page into an unknown future. Here’s some things I feel are likely to happen over the next several years, as a result of America’s decision today. Again, I hope I’m wrong.
• Starting in early 2009 with the next Congress, a more extreme version of the 1994 Clinton assault weapons ban will be passed by Congress and happily signed by President Obama. Just like the 1994 law, this new law will be based not on actual facts, but on propaganda and arbitrary, meaningless distinctions. It will do nothing to reduce violent crime rates, but will serve only to erode the constitutional rights of Americans.
• As a result of President Obama’s passive, pat you on the back foreign policy, our enemies abroad including radical Islam will become more bold and active. There will be at least one deadly terrorist attack within U.S. borders in the next four years.
• The U.S. economy will grow out of the current recession, but such growth will be limited, and be slower than it could have been, as liberal economic policies and redistribution of wealth undermine the American work ethic. Every congressional vote and presidential signature that takes assets from those who have earned it and redistributes to those who have not will contribute to this. Please don’t misunderstand. I believe that part of the role of government should be to provide a safety net for those who are struggling, to help them get back on their feet. But President Obama seems to be about all kinds of entitlements and social programs (“Share the wealth!”) that are beyond the constitutional role of government and will encourage a welfare culture. Economies based on these principles have historically failed.
• Lastly, my personal consumption of aspirin will increase, as government bureaucracy becomes increasingly entrenched in the administration and distribution of health care. If you’re interested, feel free to ask me for examples of how arbitrary and ridiculous policies and rules invented by bureaucrats in government-run health plans consume time and add frustration and stress to my work day, every single day. I’m not looking forward to more of it.
I’ve been frustrated by how so many Americans, including many in my own family, seem to have fallen for Obama’s line. I’ve come to the conclusion that voters from conservative, religious, family values backgrounds who support Obama fall into one of two categories:
(1) You have been taken in by the handsome face and the eloquent speeches, but haven’t looked deeper to see what the man is really about.
(2) You are a lazy person who looks forward to what will land in your pocket for free as a result of the new economic policies.
Sorry, but that’s how it looks from here.
President Obama, I salute you. Your rise from poverty and obscurity to the heights you’ve reached has been singularly impressive. Please, lead us to a better America. Lead us to the change you have promised. Please just allow me to hang on to my God-given and constitutional rights as you do so.
If I’m wrong – in other words, if after the next four or eight years of you in charge, we’re all rich and happy and all our enemies are dead and we still have rights and we still know who God is in America, I will happily admit to everyone what an idiot I am, and I will personally thank you by taking you out to shoot off some assault weapons.
Please prove me wrong.
6 comments:
If my wife notices I posted this comment she is going to be so pissed because it is almost midnight and I am supposed to be catching up on some work and not reading blogs....
I wanted to comment to A) Welcome you to the blogosphere. One of my friends blogs has the sub-title "Just One of a Million Other Blogs Where I Want to Believe That You Care About What I Say." I think it is fitting because who reads these things other than mom? and B) Because I feel like perhaps your post was inspired by my earlier post about tonight's election.
Obviously we fundamentally disagree on a few things (like I do think there should be stricter control and bans on assault weapons.)so I am not here to change your mind. I am commenting in the spirit of healthy debate.
I don't think I was wooed by the Obama machine. In the past, my votes, if even cast, were rather arbitrary decisions. But this election, I was genuinely unhappy with the state that this country is in. I feel like we are trapped in a war, that was probably worth fighting, but was fought on false pretenses and has lasted too long. I feel like we are over dependent on foreign oil and that is a greater threat to our economic and national security than terrorism. And I feel like in a nation as rich as ours, there is too much poverty. So I really took some time so understand the issues. I went to both candidates websites and read about their plans. I watched the debates. I read newspapers and blogs and listened to the radio and listened to other political commentary and really tried to understand what was going on and why and who, I felt, had a better plan to fix it. So I think that was why I was so proud to declare who I voted for. I don't think that McCain would have been a bad president. But I picked the president that I felt better supported my beliefs and values and that I could believe in and stand behind and be proud of.
I don't want a socialist state. I lived in one for two years, and the hospitals there were scary. (An elder in my mission had bronchitis and the doctor told him to wear a sweater. A DOCTOR!!) And I am sure as a medical professional the idea of government getting more involved health insurance is maddening. But I do think there has to be a middle ground where people without employer paid health care have some reasonable options. Obama's plan made a lot more sense to me.
I don't think we should create a welfare society, but I do believe that we have to create opportunities for those who don't have access to them so readily.
Bottom line - we are in a mess right now. And I think we need change. And maybe it is all just political rhetoric and empty promises. That is the risk you run with a president, I guess. You never know what they will really do. But I wanted to believe in the President again. I have so little faith in that office right now, that I had to vote for someone who I felt could affect some real change, and wasn't just part of the old regime.
So anyway. That is my $.02. And I didn't even bring up Pallin. And for what it is worth I thought McCain's concession speech was super-classy. He is a real gentleman.
PS. I think my comment is longer than your blog.
PS. I think you were commenting on my blog at the same time that I was commenting on your blog. Yes, we can still be friends. I don't think politics is about absolutes and the battle between good and evil. I think it is about the exchange of ideas and debate. So I welcome your views.
I'd like to offer a 3rd reason that a person from a conservative religious background would vote for Obama:
We chose to. We chose to after research, discussion, debates, and though. Which is what our government is all about. Sorry that you think all liberals are stupid or lazy.
and by though i mean thought.
i have to say that I whole-heartedly agree with josh's comments. not that i don't have my own opinion on things, but what josh said sums up exactly how i feel.
i have never been even slightly interested in politics. this election was actually my first opportunity to vote, due to the fact that i was on my mission during the last election and before that i wasn't old enough.
however, my interest was sparked a few months ago by the enormity and importance of this election. i started paying attention and doing research. i frequented both the obama and mccain websites to read for myself their stances on the important issues. i watched debates. i followed news reports, and i concluded that obama was the best candidate. i too am inspired by his message of hope and change and i see truth in his words.
so that's what is great about being an american. we can differ on our views and we can both be right or wrong on decisions we make but we all still have valid concerns and points to share. what we hope for now is that change will come, and that it will be for the better.
Chalk me up as another family member who voted for Obama. Mikey did too, and my girlfriend Aubrie.
I'm pretty sure I didn't do it because I'm lazy or thought Obama was good looking.
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