Did you “choose hope over fear”? If so, you’re not getting it.
Well, not entirely, anyway.
Maybe it’s because I’ve had a day similar to Michael Douglas’ character in the 1993 movie Falling Down (remember the “Whamlette” scene?), but something I saw earlier this evening after I had waited 20+ minutes in line at Walmart to make a return just rubbed me the wrong way.
After I spent about 15 more minutes shopping, and waited another 15 or so minutes in the “20 items or less” line – behind one person, I proceeded to my car when I just so happened to notice a sticker on the back of a rather large SUV (not a hybrid, I should note) that read “Hope Over Fear – Obama 2008” (or something along those lines. I thought to myself, “Has this person gotten that hope over fear” ever since the candidate they voted for won last November?
The answer, I knew immediately, was no. I also felt quite confident that the person, like so many millions of others duped into voting for the guy who was a State Senator a little over 4 years ago, probably has no idea that they’re not getting that “hope over fear” that they “chose.” Either that, or they, like so many other True Believers, believe that it’s “ok” for the Obama administration to use the fear card because the administration “means well.” Uh huh.
—– Barack Obama and his administration – alongside Democrats in Congress – have made it perfectly clear that if we don’t do something NOW about the health coverage situation, we’ll have a crisis of epic proportions not later, but sooner, with the sick getting sicker, more people not having coverage, etc. Where’s the hope over fear in that?
—— The Obama administration made it clear right after the President’s inauguration that if we didn’t get a stimulus plan passed “soon,” that the economy would collapse and we’d be looking at the Great Depression II. “Worry about the details later,” they demanded. Well, the stimulus has long been passed, and unemployment continues to grow, the economy is stagnant to worse, the administration has to spin jobs numbers, while Joe Biden says earlier this week that the admin “misread” the economy and that it was “worse” than they initiall thought it was – which paved the way for opening the door to a second multi-billion dollar stimulus package, now being pushed by at least one Obama advisor, as well as a leading Democrat in the House. Why? Because, according to the advisor, the first one was “a bit too small.” Where’s the hope over fear in that?
—– Global warming alarmists within the administration, in Congress, and elsewhere, proclaim that the world faces imminent “catastrophe” if we don’t do something NOW to combat so-called man-made “global warming.” The Goracle, who is not in any way, shape or form a scientist (which is the main measuring stick for “credibility” amongst staunch global warming alarmists, unless you happen to agree with them, which in that case means it’s ok to spout off various doomsday scenarios as often as you please), escalated the rhetoric today by comparing the fight to combat global warming to the fight against … Nazism:
Al Gore invoked the spirit of Winston Churchill today by encouraging political leaders to follow the example of Britainβs wartime leader and unite their nations to fight climate change.
The former US vice-president accused politicians around the world of exploiting ignorance about the dangers of global warming. He said lack of awareness among voters allowed governments to avoid taking difficult decisions.
Speaking in Oxford at the Smith School World Forum on Enterprise and the Environment , sponsored by The Times, Mr Gore said: βWinston Churchill aroused this nation in heroic fashion to save civilisation in World War II.β He added: βWe have everything we need except political will but political will is a renewable resource.β Mr Gore admitted that it was difficult to persuade the public that the threat from climate change was as urgent as the threat during World War 2.
βThe level of awareness and concern among populations has not crossed the threshhold where political leaders feel that they must change.
βThe only way politicians will act is if awareness raises to a level to make them feel that itβs a necessity.β Mr Gore, who brought the issues around climate change to a mass audience with the 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth, said the great hope for the future lay in the high level of environmental awareness among young people.
Translation: Let’s fan the flames of fear, regardless of whether or not mankind can actually do anything about global warming in the first place.
Where’s the hope over fear in that?
I could go on and on, but ya’ll get the picture.
“Is there hope anywhere, ST?” you may ask. Sure – sure there’s hope. The Obama administration is hoping you won’t see right through their game-playing and scare tactics. The Obama administration is hoping that by playing a passive role in relations with Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia, that no one will notice the fear in their eyes over the very thought of actually having to take a strong stand on, well, anything.
The rest of us are just hoping like hell we can get through the next four years with only minor injuries. Highly unlikely.
Depressing? Irksome? Enraging? Baffling? You betcha.
Two quotes I leave you with:
“A failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into a catastrophe.” — President Obama, 2/4/09
“You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.” — Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, November 19, 2008 (video here)
‘Nuff said.