The Middle is Always Evil

This weekend, I picked up a copy of the most recent issue of Time magazine, expecting to learn what the real meaning of patriotism is. Inside, I found two, short essays; one by Barack Obama, one by John McCain, about what patriotism means to them. I was disappointed.

McCain’s essay was so abominable, I can’t even comment on it. Obama’s, on the other hand, was less despicable, but only because it (predictably) had less substance. I would like to take just a moment to talk about what it did have to say.

Obama focuses his essay around the Declaration of Independence, the greatest of our founding documents. He writes:

“We are a nation of strong and varied convictions and beliefs. We argue and debate our differences vigorously and often. But when all is said and done, we still come together as one people and pledge our allegiance not just to a place on a map or a certain leader but to the words my mother read to me years ago: ‘that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’”

This is all fine and good, and I cannot disagree with what is written there. But listen to Mr. Obama’s interpretation of those words:

For me, it is the love and defense of [the ideals put forth in the Declaration of Independence] that constitutes the true meaning of patriotism. They are ideals that do not belong to any particular party or group of people but call each of us to service and sacrifice for the sake of our common good.

He professes to love and defend each man’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and follows this up by saying that these ideals call us to sacrifice and serve the common good. Its almost as though he were reading The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand when he wrote this, and decided to contradict her (and himself). Rand wrote:

Observe the results of a society built on the principle of individualism. This, our country. The noblest country in the history of men. The country of greatest achievement, greatest prosperity, greatest freedom. This country was not based on selfless service, sacrifice, renunciation or any precept of altruism. It was based on a man’s right to the pursuit of happiness. His own happiness. Not anyone else’s. A private, personal, selfish motive. Look at the results.

How, Mr. Obama, can one pursue one’s own happiness sacrificially for the sake of others? Don’t these ideals directly contradict? Yes, yes they do.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness means that man has the right to live in a society that is free from force and coercion, that he may work in whatever pursuit he chooses, that he is entitled to the products of his work, and that he may use those products in whatever way his conscience may dictate, so long as he does not initiate the use of force against another. With an increase in taxes of $800 billion dollars, more regulations of business, a mandated “living wage,” and mandated healthcare benefits for employees, this is exactly the society that Barack Obama is working against, rather than ideals that he loves and defends.

Barack Obama has demonstrated that he has no understanding at all of our nation’s founding document, and he wants to be the president.