by Ray Newman, radio and television commentator, attorney, educator, author

Thursday, November 19, 2009

1 COUNTRY, 2 VIEWS

From the beginning, there have been two fundamental, and divergent, ways of seeing man:

1. One way is to see each man as an independent individual who is sovereign over his his life, with no unchosen obligations to anyone. A person with such a view favors freedom and equality, believes it is moral to act in his own rational self-interest, and would tend to politically support capitalism.

2. One way is to see man as a link in a social chain, a member of a group, with sovereignty resting with the group. A person with such a view favors altruism, the moral code that denounces acting in one's own self-interest rather than in the perceived common good and tends to favor some form of political socialism (fascism, communism) with government ultimately in control of man's life.

The first view was the prevailing view of the Founding Fathers, hence their emphasis on the unalienable rights of individuals, and the limitation of the powers of Government to those expressly granted to it by the people.

They extended this view of man's independence and sovereignty to man's political agency, the United Colonies. Hear the deep meaning of their words:

In the name and by the authority of the good people of these Colonies, we declare that these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states...and alll political connections to Great Britain (their enemy) be dissolved.

President Obama manifests the other view of man and of his Government. He befriends, and supports agreements and alliances with, terrorists and known enemies of America. He favors lessening our defense capabilities, placing us in greater danger of those who would welcome our destruction. He sees America as but an indistinguishable link in a chain of united nations, no better, no worse, than any of the others, and with obligations to all. He believes America must redistribute its wealth and resources around the world. He has moved the Government toward socialism, taking over sectors of industry and financial institutions, seeking to influence what we eat, how much we drive, how we heat our homes, what health insurance we must have, etc. He is repeatedly apologetic for our country and its freest, most productive, most charitable, people on the planeT.

Maybe not for long.

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