Barack Obama says, during the recent 9/11 forum put on by Time magazine at his alma mater, Columbia U.:
"But, you know, what has built this country is people sense through voluntary associations but also through public service and government that we have commitments that extend beyond our immediate self-interest, that aren’t always motivated by profit, that aren’t simply short-term, that we’re thinking long term to the next generation.
"And every bit of progress that we’ve made historically is because of that kind of active citizenship (emphasis added). And as president, what I want to do is restore that sense of common, mutual responsibility — and I think the American people are ready for it."
"But, you know, what has built this country is people sense through voluntary associations but also through public service and government that we have commitments that extend beyond our immediate self-interest, that aren’t always motivated by profit, that aren’t simply short-term, that we’re thinking long term to the next generation.
"And every bit of progress that we’ve made historically is because of that kind of active citizenship (emphasis added). And as president, what I want to do is restore that sense of common, mutual responsibility — and I think the American people are ready for it."
I may be naive, but I believe Obama when he says this. Not, of course, that what he says is correct or true, but that he believes it to be true. Think about that. Use your knowledge of American history and analyze it logically.
In reality, his negative view of the profit motive and supreme belief in communitarianism, which he expresses at every turn, is fundamentally at odds with what really built this nation and made it great.
When he talks about "building a better life for the next generation," that has not been something done primarily by the government or community organizations. It has been individuals, working under a capitalistic system and motivated by profit, that have made things better for succeeding generations. That is the story of our immigrants.
They didn't, by and large, go to work for the government or some community organization, they went to work for money. They started a business, they bought or built a home, they paid for their children to go to college (back when that was considered an individual obligation, since the individual would gain the most from the education, as opposed to an entitlement).
It wasn't a federal program or church group or Sol Alinsky that built this nation's steel industry, oil industry, shipbuilding, automobile, aircraft, computer, biomedical, etc.
But perhaps Obama believes private industry does not represent progress. That is the implication of what he says, and he also says "words matter."
They didn't, by and large, go to work for the government or some community organization, they went to work for money. They started a business, they bought or built a home, they paid for their children to go to college (back when that was considered an individual obligation, since the individual would gain the most from the education, as opposed to an entitlement).It wasn't a federal program or church group or Sol Alinsky that built this nation's steel industry, oil industry, shipbuilding, automobile, aircraft, computer, biomedical, etc.
But perhaps Obama believes private industry does not represent progress. That is the implication of what he says, and he also says "words matter."
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