PERSPECTIVE

I recently found myself engaged in an e-mail discussion regarding people's opinions about our president. Many of those writing were far from kind in their opinions, and I can understand how easy it is to get emotional about all of it, as the choice of a President affects all of us. With the stroke of a pen, that one person has the power to change the very ways in which we live our lives. And this election has had, and will continue to have, repercussions that in many ways will affect the entire free world. But emotion will only take us so far, and is not only the thing that will keep us from making progress, but is also part of the reason we find ourselves at this juncture in the first place.

Unlike what some have said, he is my president. I didn't vote for him, nor do I support any of his policies. I'm a conservative and not a socialist. Therefore, I have cringed with every decision he's made over the past month. But that doesn't change the fact that he was duly elected by the people of this country, and he holds the position of President. Carter and Clinton were also my presidents, much the same as was Regan, unquestionably one of the greatest leaders of the last century. As for the Bush family, they are not conservatives, and I found myself disagreeing with their policies at times as well. But all of these men ascended to the position of president, and all of them deserved the respect given their office, even when some, especially president Clinton, brought disrespect to it. I may not appreciate the man, but will respect their office.

As to President Obama, his being black actually is part of the issue. It's not a matter of his skin color, as that's a biologic trait that has nothing to do with a man's worth, experience, or ability. But it did shape his experiences growing up, and it molded him into the man he is. Being what used to be called a "half-breed", he found trouble integrating into either world, black or white. His father was a foreigner and his mother was divorced. He was raised by his white grandparents, and felt rejected by both the black and white worlds. So he turned to a community that wouldn't reject him. These were very radical people, and he studied some very radical ideas. If only people would have put their emotion aside concerning electing the first black president, and would have studied this man's life history, they would have seen that he is a committed socialist, having studied the philosophies of and was mentored by Sol Lewinski.

Whether black, white, red, yellow, or green for that matter, it is not the skin color of a person, nor their sex either, that makes for trouble. But trouble we will have. Consider this. The left says we should destroy the rich and take away their wealth to give to the poor. How long shall we do this, until the wealthy themselves are poor? The last I recall, Bill Gates was extremely wealthy, and owns the vast Microsoft empire. And if his income dropped to my own, which is less than $100,000 per year, he would have to sell or close Microsoft. He would lose his home, and he would no longer be one of the "filthy rich". Of course, his software engineers would lose their high-paying jobs too. So they also wouldn't be evil rich people. Oh, and let's not forget the office workers, interns, contractors, right down to the janitorial staff. They get the boot too, and they do have incomes like mine, and depend on those jobs to make ends meet, just like me. And as for selling the company, that would take another evil rich person, though there would be none in the Obama world.

Shall we raise taxes on the evil rich? The top 2% already pay more than 62% of the taxes while the bottom 20% pay no taxes at all. Now Obama wants to give those who do not pay a dime toward any of the public services they use a tax "rebate" check. And this is fair, exactly how? "The rich can afford it." Yea, I've heard that line for ages. But I don't envy the rich. In fact, I would rather become like them. And I also believe when a rich person gets richer, the rest of us fare better. You see, they don't keep their $millions in coffee cans buried in their massive back yards. They put that money to work in either capital investment or in the stock market. If they invest their money, those $millions build factories that employ people, right down to office workers and janitors. If they put the money in the market, that money also builds factories and employs people. And what if they just go out on a wild spending spree . . . I bet there are dozens of store clerks, waiters, cab drivers, and other service workers who will gladly share the wealth spread by the evil rich, right down to the bellboy who accepts a generous tip at a local hotel.

It's called "trickle-down" economics - "voodoo economics" by those who didn't appreciate the Reagan years - and before you say it doesn't work, the 1980's were some of the most prosperous yeas in our history. But let's see how it's working now. President Obama has said he's going to take money away from the evil rich, so we can "spread the wealth". The stock market has heard his call, and is now heading for territory we haven't seen since 1929. Real people are losing their jobs, and those on retirement are hard pressed to keep enough income from their investments to be able to feed themselves. That's what happens when you take money away from the wealthy. In capitalism, if you remove capital, the whole boat begins to sink. Argue as you may, this is being proved even as I write this.

As for "Bush's war", that too has been demagogued beyond reality. Al-Qaeda has been at war with us since the 1970's, so it is really Carter's war. They hate us with a passion, and they have one goal, to make this a Muslim world. They have no intention of compromising this goal, and have even attacked peaceful nations like Spain to achieve it. There is no single entity with whom to negotiate, and they are truly hell-bent on either converting or killing us. So there is only one option, which Bush the elder didn't complete, and Bush the younger took hell for pursuing. Whether in Iraq, Afghanistan, or downtown New York, the war will continue until the last radical Muslim is dead. That has nothing to do with Bush, and having spent all but a few years of my adult life in the military, I can assure you this adversary will not stop because Obama is president.

I remember Viet Nam, and I helped bring the refugees out of that country after we pulled up stakes and let their country implode. I can only imagine now we shall be moving Iraqi refugees when the Taliban returns, or worse yet, Iran takes them. Our president has no foreign policy experience, nor any military background. There will be blood on his hands, and it will most likely come from another attack on U.S. soil. You may argue this if you wish, but I shall let the future news prove out my words.

By removing our forces from Iraq, and by angering some very fragile alliances in Asia, America sleeps less secure these days. Even the media is beginning to say that the next attack is inevitable. Criticize Bush as you will, but at least his swift and forceful actions kept Al-Qaeda at bay for seven years. Oh, and as for Iraq as a foe, and forgetting the chemical weapons found, the scientists collected, bio-reactors uncovered, reams of documents unearthed, and even the facilities where much of these things were stored located . . . it was also in the news that yellow-cake uranium was found in the country, which is the stuff they make "dirty bombs" out of. Sadam was a real threat, like it or not.

I could keep going for hours, but I'm sure you're bored already. My only point is this. Let reason rule the day. While the media was running down Sarah Palin's wardrobe expense . . . which was donated to charity after the campaign, I might add . . . they never brought to light the ties with Tony Rezco, nor the truth about Black Liberation Theology, the founding philosophy of Obama's home church. They didn't point out that prior to this campaign, the only way he made it into the Illinois state senate was by getting his opponents kicked off of the ballots so he could run unopposed. They didn't point out his ties with Acorn, an organization clearly linked through court indictments to voter fraud, nor his tutelage by Sol Lewinski, a devout socialist. These were important issues, but because of emotion, they were tossed aside.

You may argue with me all you wish, though I really don't intend to listen. I shall let history be the judge, and will continue to hold to my conservative ideals. Socialism doesn't work, which is the real reason why the Berlin wall came down. Europe is moving away from it, and there are countries that are actually backing out of using the Euro. Obama will usher in a failed philosophy, and we shall all be the lesser for it. Sure, health care will soon be free. But you get what you pay for, just like those who die in Brittan or Canada, waiting on their rationed system for essential health care. Capitalism spawns innovation. Socialism spawns dependency.

Any questions? If so, you can thank your government-run school system!

David Arthur
Freelance Writer and Devout Conservative