More Political Thought

I hope for Barack Obama's success as our next President. I believe he is a man of conviction and ability; with a story that is inspirational. President-elect Obama's achievements will translate to our achievements as a nation.
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In order to have a successful Presidency, it is my belief that Obama cannot live up to many of his campaign promises. The expansion of government for the sake of the welfare of it's citizens is a socialist tenant. I had a debate with a fellow student at UMass about this subject (Jason). There are few things more enjoyable to me than to have a meaningful discussion with someone who is informed on the issues. We have fundamental disagreements, but I respect a person who maintains a belief system built from knowledge, as opposed to rigid ideology. One of Jason's assertions was that the United States is destined to follow the model of Western Europe. The nations that make up the European Union have a adopted a system that can best be described by two words that seem an ill fit: democratic socialism. The European nations hold free and fair elections, but operate under an economic system that has the lofty goal of the well-being of all. Jason claimed that this European system was an evolution, a higher state of living that Americans would soon enjoy. My rebuttal was that this country was founded on a belief that European systems were outdated and oppressive. I argued that the industrialized world has followed America's lead, rather than vice-versa. Capitalism and representative democracies have flourished as economic and government systems all over the world. Free markets are destined to go through corrective periods, and we're certainly in one now. However, adding more government and bureacracy to the equation makes the cure worse than the disease.
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I have found that the trouble with my liberal friends is not that they're ignorant, it's just that they know so much that simply isn't so. There are many reasons that socialism has failed at every turn, in every nation where it has been enacted. Those who would trade our freedom for the soup kitchen of the welfare state claim to have a Utopian solution. What these well-meaning people fail to recognize is the destruction of man's motivation. This country has become the most powerful force in the history of the world as a direct result of free market principals, not in spite of them. Democratic capitalism is not an oxymoron, the two go hand in hand and each is necessary for the other's survival. Imagine being able to talk with an ancestor from the past. Imagine being able to tell him or her that you live in a land where the only limitations on what you can achieve are those you place on yourself. That there is a democratic system of government and the equitable application of the law. The ideals that many have yearned for, fought for and died for are in place for us.
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The flaws in the belief system of the Obama, Reid and Pelosi triumvirate are glaring. Growing government organizations only adds to bureaucracy, not to the general welfare of it's citizens. I believe that there needs to be safety nets for the truly needy, but we already have those safeguards. Growing the number of people who rely on the government for their well-being creates a class of citizenry that is the polar opposite of what the founding fathers envisioned. Are we so lacking in common sense that we can't see that government programs are almost without exception inferior to private sector solutions? I am against forcing American citizens into compulsory government programs, such as a national retirement account run by another new agency. Democratic Congressional leaders have asked for testimony on abolishing the 401K in favor of a pot of money that everyone contributes to. Does this ring familiar? It should.

As for foreign policy. I have had my reservations and frustrations with the Iraq war, but that doesn't give our newly elected leaders the right to pull our troops from the war in defeat. It is interesting that the war has an approval rating below 30%, but at it's start the approval rating was close to 75%. Part of the disenchantment is the fault of defense department bureaucrats and Bush Administration spokespeople who promised a quick and tidy war. Thank God John McCain put whatever political capital he had left behind the successful "surge" strategy and General Patreus. The mistakes of the Iraqi war notwithstanding; America's best chance for a victory over Islamic extremism is to push for peace through strength. That is the hard way, to earn a peace through facing down an enemy that views our ideals and way of life as an abomination. There is an easy way to peace; we could all enjoy peace right now if we only surrendered to the demands of extremists who command the conversion of the infidel. If we have the courage to tell our elected leaders that we want our national policies to be based on what we know is morally right, we can't go wrong. The road to peace comes from the courage to show our enemies that there is a point beyond which they will not advance, there is a price we will not pay.

I have faith in us. I have faith that you and I have the ability, the dignity and the right to make our own decisions and determine our own destiny. I believe that America is still that shining city on the hill that President Reagan described, and if that is jingoistic, I am guilty. Republicans would do well to listen to the speeches of Reagan and Democrats would do well to listen to JFK. I sincerely hope that Barack Obama's advisers will steer him to a centrist position, and not let him inflict the damage that a hard left agenda would inevitably bring.