I am actually going to say something positive about Barack Obama. I know, I didn’t think it would ever happen either.
I saw the following Obama ad on a blog and I really liked it.
No, not the part about expanding early childhood education. That gave me the shivers. The liberal idea that the government should indoctrinate our kids from birth to adulthood is chilling.
What I liked was how Sen. Obama spoke frankly to the American people about a problem he sees in our culture, for which government cannot provide the cure, and encouraged people to be part of the solution.
As most of you know, I am a proponent of limited (very limited) government, yet I personally have conservative moral values, as well. These are two factions within the conservative movement, and not everyone holds both simultaneously. For those who do, and for those who don’t, they can be hard to reconcile.
How can you be for limited government and also defend traditional values?
Obama nails it (the method) in this ad.
There is more than one way to promote values. Passing laws is one way, but it is not a very good one.
The other way is for the president (any politician, really) to appeal to the people directly. Make the case for why we need to live better.
For example, Republican politicians are always talking about the need to embrace a culture of life, yet the battle is being fought through legislative and judicial channels. All the while, young girls are being taught in school that it is okay to experiment with sex, as long as they use birth control, and if they get pregnant, they can get an abortion because raising a child will ruin their life.
That message is not being countered in any meaningful way while the battle is being fought over whether ending a life is a right and, if so, how much the government can restrict that right.
Isn’t it time that conservative politicians realized that limited government means just that? The fight for more laws is not only a losing battle – with the Supreme Court on the side of abortion – it goes against the principles of limited government.
A president has a lot of power to be a moral leader, to get on TV and talk directly to the American people and appeal to our conscience.
The language of the abortion debate is always about rights and choice and medical definitions of when life begins. Let’s have a conversation about basic human decency, about valuing children with disabilities, about valuing motherhood, and about supporting young parents who choose life.
Cynics, and people on the left trying to drive a wedge into the conservative coalition, will call this “paying lip service” to values.
Not so. We need a leader in the conservative movement that respects the constitutional limitations on government above all else. Really, all the president has the rightful power to do is to talk about values and encourage the American people to do better for ourselves.
I have to admit that I was impressed with Obama’s ad. He understands something I have been wanting to see in a politician.
Unfortunately, he also wants to, among other things, expand early childhood education and “spread the wealth” – use the IRS to take money from people he thinks have enough in order to give checks to those who he thinks do not.
I long to see a time when more modern day politicians, particularly those with limited government principles, begin to understand that they can use their position to influence our culture, instead of merely trying to pass more laws and limit our freedom.
