Thursday, June 5, 2008

HOPE AND CHANGE

Now that the Democrat primary has finally come to a close (maybe), I think it is safe to start taking a more critical look at the policies of the opposing party's candidate. This is no easy task due to Barrak Obama's lack of legislative track record and total lack of experience in any of the areas that a President needs to be familiar with. When asked about any given issue, Obama's favorite retort is to make some vague comment about hope and change. This too makes Obama's plans and policies even more of a mystery.
Admittedly, he actually has spoken about some of his views, but usually in a candid moment when he thought the public at-large was not going to hear it. This is usually then followed by some sort of explanation that makes even less sense than the original comment. And he actually does have somewhat of a legislative track record. That is, if you count his many "present" votes in the Senate. I've tried that whole "voting present" thing with my wife regarding decisions we've needed to make...it's not as well received as in the Democrat party.
Beyond the hypnotic, repetitive use of the words hope and change, it's pretty hard for the average "Joe" to tell you what Barrak Obama has in store for this nation. So taking those words at face value, let's see what Obama's campaign is all about.

Hope. Hope is a word. It may even be considered an idea. But is it a plan? Well, that probably depends on who you are and what you're "hoping" for. Hitler "hoped" that he could rid the world of Jews. Jeffry Dahmer "hoped" that he could find another young man to torture kill and eat before he got caught. Bin Laden "hopes" he can kill more infidels. On the other hand, there are many of us that "hope" the government will stop trying to pull every last penny out of our pockets to spend on scams like man-made global warming.
Is hope a verb? I guess technically, but if you try to "hope" your spare tire onto the hub when you have a flat, you're not going to get very far. Have you every tried to "hope" the grass to get cut, or a bill to get paid? Can you send the electric company an envelope full of "hope"? How far will your car go with a tank full of "hope"? Are we going to "hope" the terrorists will have a change of heart before or after the next attack? Hope is one of those things that people do when the have completely run out of ideas.

Change. Change is a word too. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a mysterious word unless you identify what you're changing from, and most importantly, what you're changing to. If you jump out of the frying pan and into the fire, you have made a "change". If you go from being able to afford gasoline, to needing to ride a bicycle ten miles in the snow just to get to work, then you also have made a "change". If you go from being a sovereign nation, to just another part of a giant global bureaucracy lead by dictators and tyrants, haven't you made another "change"?

In a world where catch-words are all we need to be inspired, here are some of mine:

drill
refine
pump
independence
sovereignty
victory
security
rule of law
the constitution
conservatism
deportation
assimilation
liberty
freedom