I welcome the viewpoints of others regarding the benefits of the Obama presidency. The more I study current events, the more I am convinced that the President is misguided as to the true nature of the American promise. I was confused, at first by his speech to school students September 8 calling for personal responsibility when I hear him often claim adults cannot take care of themselves. Unfortunately, I am reminded of his interest in forming a youth brigade reminiscent of Hitler and Orwell's '1984.'
I got a kick out of my fifteen-year-old granddaughter agreeing that teenagers would like to be granted more relevance than their elders, and am comforted by her opinion that the idea just won't fly.
This morning, after hearing the President again calling for his version of Health Care reform, I wish I could share with him the perspective of Thomas Sowell. I consider Sowell's September 8 article, "Listening to a Liar" on tsowell.com as a highly useful check point. Although the title of this article sounds harsh, I believe it targets the problems caused by the President's mixed messages. For further information as to Sowell's compelling viewpoint, I am including biographical information below and two of his pre-election "Random Thoughts" that sum up the cure for what ails politics:
"Most of the problems of this country are not nearly as bad as the 'solutions' -- especially the solutions that politicians come up with during election year" and "The way to get people's votes is to say that all their problems are caused by other people, and that you will stop those other people from giving them trouble. But if you really want to help, then you can tell them the truth and risk losing their votes."
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Thomas Sowell was born in North Carolina. His father died before he was born. In his autobiography, 'A Personal Odyssey,' he recalled that his encounters with whites were so limited he didn't believe that "yellow" was a hair color. He moved to Harlem, New York City with his mother's sister (who, at the time, he believed was his mother). Sowell attended Stuyvesant High School, but dropped out at age 17 because of financial difficulties and a deteriorating home environment.[2] To support himself he worked at various jobs, including in a machine shop and as a delivery man for Western Union. He applied to enter the Civil Service and was eventually accepted, which prompted a move to Washington DC. He was drafted in 1951, during the Korean War, and was assigned to the US Marine Corps. Due to prior experience in photography, he worked in a photography unit.
After discharge, Sowell passed the GED examination and enrolled at Howard University. He transferred to Harvard University, where in 1958 he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics. He received a Master of Arts in Economics from Columbia University in 1959, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Economics from the University of Chicago. Sowell initially chose Columbia University because he wanted to study under George Stigler. After arriving at Columbia and learning that Stigler had moved to Chicago, he followed him there.[3]
Sowell has taught Economics at Howard University, Cornell University, Brandeis University, and UCLA. Since 1980 he has been a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, where he holds a fellowship named after Rose and Milton Friedman.[4]
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I also highly recommend Walter E. Williams' compelling bio and perspective regarding what I believe we all have hoped for in the Obama presidency.
And for what I see as the truth that sets all men free, from a 19th century abolitionist activist and escaped slave:
"Everybody has asked the question. . ."What shall we do with the Negro?" I have had but one answer from the beginning. Do nothing with us!
Your doing with us has already played the mischief with us. Do nothing with us! If the apples will not remain on the tree of their own strength, if they are worm-eaten at the core, if they are early ripe and disposed to fall, let them fall! I am not for tying or fastening them on the tree in any way, except by nature's plan, and if they will not stay there, let them fall. And if the Negro cannot stand on his own legs, let him fall also. All I ask is, give him a chance to stand on his own legs! Let him alone!" --Frederick Douglass (Found through PBS.org)
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