Peachy's Ramblings & Muses

(Update – since I published this on June 14, 2010, my feelings about the Supreme Court are starkly different now…Just a year ago, I was still believing in this country’s system of government, but radical supreme judges have shown me how wrong I was…so, am I ever wrong…yes, and it often hurts)

I believe that too many people are focusing on exactly the wrong things. The great debate seems really to be about economic systems, capitalism vs. socialism. Neither of these are forms of government, as they shouldn’t be. There are pros and cons to each side, and critics who are eager to clarify each concept. Some countries have been able to combine socialism with democracy and capitalism successfully. What is wrong with the current debate is that it has crystallized into an all or nothing situation, equating socialsm as a final step toward communism, and capitalism as immoral. However, there are so many shades of gray, that (I think) it is unproductive to limit the debates to a hard-line stance for each side.

As to why I’m not worried: Our economic system(s) notwithstanding, our government was formed under a set of guidelines that I consider to be the most exquisite government document ever written – the Constitution. It has kept this country solvent for over 200+ years, and unless it is burned at the stake, it will continue to do so. The other reason I’m not worried is our Supreme Court system that finely interprets laws as to their compliance with the Constitution. Unlike others, I don’t worry if a “liberal” or a “conservative” supreme is appointed because the appointees have reached a level of maturity and understanding of the importance of the Constitution, and will make decisions based on its guidelines – whether we agree or not. An example: I don’t like the idea that everyone can carry a gun, but the Supreme Court decided that to prohibit this would be unconstitutional. I respect this, and remember that there are 9 Justices, 5 voted to extend gun rights to individuals, 4 voted not to. The majority rules. That decision can’t be laid on the shoulders of any one Justice, and a lot of people tend to forget that Supreme Court Decisions are not made in a vaccuum.

But, to get to the points Cheri that I think you might be addressing (please correct me if I’m wrong) – we should be worried that our country will become godless, and a communist state, and that Pres. Obama will be the catalyst.

My views on the latter are that communism has no productive outcome, which has been proven by the fall of the U.S.S.R.,. Communism as an economic system has also proven not to be very productive for countries such as China, who claim communism as their economic engine, but in practice deeply embrace a capitalistic economic sysem. Socialist programs within a government body have a necessary place, and this has been proven to be successful, as witnessed by socialist health care systems that far exceed benefits available in the United States.

Because of the religious freedom in this country, the U.S. will never become a godless state. Once I asked the question of why there are so many different versions of Protestant churches, hoping to get people to think. Instead I got trite and very superficial comments as to “some churches like to do things a little different.” While this is true, the real answer to that is when our government was formed as a state that recognizes no one religion, while allowing that choice of worship is up to the individual, it opened the doors to a wonderful expresion of indiidual’s faith. To now try to turn that around would be devastating in that we would lose one of the most tremendous freedoms a counry can have…belief and worship in one’s God or to not believe in a God. Too often, religious groups see this viewpoint as an attack on God, faith, and religion while it is really a cry to maintain a system whereas people are free to choose, without the state making law as to which God, religion will be state sanctioned. Surely, you can see how this would diminish, even destroy, your personal freedom.

Now to Pres. Obama. All of the above is really my explantion of why I don’t worry. Pres. Obama, even if he wanted to, doesn’t have the singular ability and power to fundamentally change our Constitution. All changes must be ratified by 2/3 of the states, and this is no easy task as witnessed by the effort to make a Constitutional change for equal pay for women.

Pres. Obama’s track record has been good, as reported by leading independent economists, and other leaders of industry. The economy is recovering, slowly to be sure. The great debate now going on isn’t really a debate about the facts, it’s a condemenation of Pres. Obama seemigly based on something other than actual results. If one took a logical assessment of Pres. Obama and his motives, one would have to look at the man and his family in the eyes and make a determination of whether he wants to leave to his children a country in shackles, devoid of freedom, or does he want to make sure they have the same opportunities he had, through a capitalistic system. Pres. Obama is a man of faith. His belief in God is strong but he knows that it is not his moral obligation to demand that all others be in lockstep with his personal beliefs. This is a good thing, not a bad thing.An interesting side note here is that whereas Pres. Bush failed to satisfy the religious right who put him in office, Obama has done much to recognize the value of faith and good works in our society. He has spent far more in implementing faith-based initiatives in government than Pres. Bush ever even though about doing. But, that is for the most part, ignored.

Then there’s the spending that everyone is so up in arms against…none of us like that, but this country has foolishly and wrecklessly spent its way to near bankruptcy over the past 20 years or so. It’s not a situation that cropped up right after Pres. Obama took office. What we are seeing now though is an honest assessment of where we stand on debt, and the stark reality is frightening. The key words here are “foolishly and wrecklessly” though. Pres. Obama, obviously, can make choices of how much to spend and where, under the watchful eye of congress…the big difference though is the motive behind proposals. There is such a distinct difference between investing and spending that applies not only to government but to individuals. When individuals run up credit card debt up into the thousands, and never invest in a house of their own, they are being foolish and wreckless. But those who choose to spend large chunks in investing in a house are spending wisely. We are at a turning point in this country where we need to invest in our infrastructures, energy solutions and the like. To not do so would be the death knell. Since I now live in Georgia now, I can tell you I’m very happy that the Fed. Government is investing in 2 nuclear power plants in this state…lots of money, but long term benefits are tremendous. Pres. Obama fully supported this.

When Pres. Bush was faced with the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the complaints about his handling of the matter generally came from the people in the area, and from the “right” and the “left.” The “Center” though realized that all that could conceivably be done by the government was being done, but that government actually isn’t big enough to “poof” away problems of this magnitude. The real responsibility lay in design and plans from many years ago, when it was decided that minimum earth levees would be built to keep Lake Ponchatrain at bay. Pres. Bush tried to deal with it, but it was an uphill battle. Those of us in the “center” did not condemn Pres. Bush, and felt it important to show our support for efforts to mitigate this disaster. I can say the same thing about Iraq. Those of us in the “center” and many on the “left” wanted to believe there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and when the decision was first made to invade, he had even our support. Another interesting side note is that the conservative right wishes for a small government with minimum government intervention yet screams for government intervention at times of catrastrophe and/or great angst. We simply can’t have it both ways.

The support that Pres. Bush enjoyed is not being afforded to Pres. Obama, although he has the more difficult tasks. If we truly do care about this country, we will stop wasting our energy and time on hurling vicious verbal assaults at Pres. Obama, and try to understand better what is actually happening. We need to understand that the solutions Pres. Obama has proposed and implmented are not meant to satisfy a short term ideal, but to insure a long-term vision that will bring the United States back to its original glory. Deleting amdnedments to the Constitution, adding new ones…that is not the answer for these solutions are designed to satisfy core idealism.

A long essay on this but in order to explain why I’m not worried I felt it necessary to go into some details…and this is something I wish more would do. Assess situations with objectivty instead of gut feelings.

Some additional reading:

http://www.diffen.com/difference/Capitalism_vs_Socialism