The Hammer

I called Obama’s speech anti-American and have gotten some heat about not being specific.  Using the transcript at zimbio.com (http://tinyurl.com/o3xcbu) as my source.  Here we go…

Now, some graduating classes have marched into this stadium in easy times - times of peace and stability when we call on our graduates to simply keep things going, and not screw it up. Other classes have received their diplomas in times of trial and upheaval, when the very foundations of our lives have been shaken, the old ideas and institutions have crumbled, and a new generation is called on to remake the world.

Old ideas and institutions have crumbled?  Remake the world?  When you control the language of a discussion, you control the field of battle.  This is exactly what the left has done.

All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.
- Sun Tzu, the Art of War

Obama and the left are using deception (controlling the language) to control how the discussion is viewed and where it is led.  The “old ideas and institutions” Obama is talking about is conservatism and finanical/automotive institutions.  Obama wants the new generation to “remake the world.”  This means welfare states, total equality (except for those in power), and the end of dissenting views (take a look at how the left attacked Carrie Prejean).  These things are not what our great country was founded for; the United States was founded to get away from this!

 You can take that road - and it may work for some of you. But at this difficult time, let me suggest that such an approach won’t get you where you want to go; that in fact, the elevation of appearance over substance, celebrity over character, short-term gain over lasting achievement is precisely what your generation needs to help end.

I want to highlight two main problems with that old approach. First, it distracts you from what is truly important, and may lead you to compromise your values, principles and commitments. Think about it. It’s in chasing titles and status - in worrying about the next election rather than the national interest and the interests of those they represent - that politicians so often lose their way in Washington. It was in pursuit of gaudy short-term profits, and the bonuses that come with them, that so many folks lost their way on Wall Street.

“Celebrity over character” describes Obama to me, but I don’t want to be mean.  So, capitalism and competition (the so called “old ideas”) may lead our graduates into compromising their “values, principles, and commitments”?  I think greed and sloth do that; two things that push us to find quick fixes to complex problems… hmmm… Isn’t the stimulous a quick fix to a complex problem?

The leaders we revere, the businesses that last - they are not the result of narrow pursuit of popularity or personal advancement, but of devotion to some bigger purpose - the preservation of the Union or the determination to lift a country out of depression; the creation of a quality product or a commitment to your customers, your workers, your shareholders and your community.

The trappings of success may be a by-product of this larger mission, but they can’t be the central thing. Just ask Bernie Madoff.

So the UAW’s narrow pursuit of its own advancement using strong arm tactics to destroy GM, Chrysler, and maybe Ford is okay?  FDR’s failed attempt to quickly bring the Union out of a deep depression was a good thing?  What about ACORN and its racketeering practices?  ACORN and its “affiliates” gave millions to the Obama campaign; what’s happening now is just quid pro quo giving the blood sucking unions the power they’ve always wanted… Bernie Madoff is a chump compared to the billions unions have suckered from the public.

We’ve become accustomed to our economic dominance in the world, forgetting that it wasn’t reckless deals and get-rich-quick schemes that got us there; but hard work and smart ideas -quality products and wise investments. So we started taking shortcuts. We started living on credit, instead of building up savings. We saw businesses focus more on rebranding and repackaging than innovating and developing new ideas and products that improve our lives.

Oh really?  We forgot hard work and smart ideas make us dominent?  Who else is living on credit?  The government.  Who’s taking shortcuts?  The government.  This isn’t Bush’s government, its your’s, Mr President.   Is GM’s failure because of rebranding and repackaging?  No, it is due to high overhead and the inability to compete with non-unionized alternative brands because of declining profit margins.

When government gets involved with private industry, bad things happen.  When the government required banks to give out specific amounts of sub-prime loans to high risk debtors, the attempt to balance that bad debt with something else is what led to the financial institutions to fail.  If government stayed out of finance, it wouldn’t have happened.  When finance fails, everything else crumbles too.

You may disagree with me, but I believe I am accurate in stating Obama is anti-American.  He does not want us to earn our way to prosperity, but steal it from those who have already made it and give it to those who don’t deserve it.  The American Dream is just that, a Dream, something to aspire to, something to work for.

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