WHAT'S WRONG WITH A MARXIST?

boblonsberry.com

10/29/08

Bob Lonsberry

In 2001, Barack Obama said he saw aspects of Nazi Germany in American society and government.

He also said the U.S. Constitution was fundamentally flawed.

And that he was disappointed that the Supreme Court had not ordered federally administered financial equality as part of the civil rights movement.

He also called for a political coalition to be formed that would force "redistributive" policies on the American people - using the power of government to equalize wealth across the society.

In 2008, that political coalition is about to take power.

It's called Obama '08.

And more surprising than the fact that a candidate for American president should harbor these political views is that nearly half the people in the country don't see any problem with them. The fact he holds such anti-American views is attributable to his own particular history and values. The fact tens of millions of people can be taken in by such views is attributable to a social and educational system that has failed to teach a love of country and an understanding of its unique history and values.

Unfortunately, we have raised a generation - and a candidate - steeped in Karl Marx instead of John Locke.

Karl Marx was a German philosopher of the middle 1800s who believed that property should be communal, that the money and labor of everyone should be thrown into one government-controlled pot and then passed back out to people based on their need.

He said, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need."

His teachings are the foundation of Communism and the governments of the Soviet Union, China and Cuba. He inspired Josef Stalin, Fidel Castro, Ho Chi Minh and Mao Tse Tung.

John Locke was an English philosopher of the late 1600s. He believed that people were only free if they were economically free. If you are not free to control the fruits of your own labors, then you are not truly free - you are a slave to whoever can take possession of what you produce.

His philosophy was, "Life, liberty and possession of property."

His teachings are the foundation of the government of the United States of America. He inspired Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, various other Founding Fathers, Voltaire and Rousseau.

Nowhere are John Locke's teachings better encapsulated than in the Declaration of Independence. Nowhere are Karl Marx's teachings better repudiated than in the Declaration of Independence.

Karl Marx taught that the individual is inferior to the state. John Locke taught that the individual is superior to the state. Karl Marx preached the collective will. John Locke preached the individual will.

Karl Marx called for central planning and control of society and its members. John Locke called for a society comprised of members planning and controlling their own lives.

The philosophies of Karl Marx and John Locke are mirror opposites. They are irreconcilable and mutually exclusive.

The Founding Fathers wrote a Constitution for our Republic that reflected, among other things, the values of John Locke. The supporters of Karl Marx have, for some 150 years, been the enemies of America and its Constitution.

The Constitution is the core of America. It is both the agreement that binds the states together and the rulebook that defines what this country is. It includes a Bill of Rights that guarantees liberties - listed and unlisted - to American people as individuals.

When people go in the Armed Forces - or become presidents of the United States - they swear to uphold and defend the Constitution.

It does not seem that Barack Obama could honor that oath.

If he considers the Constitution fundamentally flawed, and his own personal views contradict its very nature, how can Barack Obama uphold and defend it? How can a man who sees parallels with Nazi Germany in American society possibly love this country?

Barack Obama said that he believes the Supreme Court has the power to control all property in the United States and order its redistribution equally to everyone in the country. That means he believes you don't have a right to your property, or to the money you earn. He believes the government can take that from you as it will, and parcel it out however it sees fit.

That's "sharing the wealth."

He also said that he wanted to organize a political coalition that would be - using his favorite word, again - "redistributive." At the very foundation of his political career and philosophy is the belief that government-guaranteed equal rights isn't enough, what really counts is government-guaranteed equal wealth.

The problem with that is that people are different. People have different talents, and work ethics, educations and ambitions. To assure equal outcome requires you to extinguish individual rights and opportunity.

When you guarantee that one citizen will not fail, you likewise guarantee that another citizen will not succeed. Without freedom to do the one, there is not freedom to do the other.

The Obama way is not the American way. The American way values individual freedom and encourages individual success. It honors self-reliance and recognizes that the government is our servant, not our master. It abhors tax slavery and considers that any man who takes another man's money is a thief.

In 2001, speaking freely on public radio, Barack Obama was a Marxist.

In 2008, playing word games on the campaign trail, Barack Obama is still a Marxist.

Shame on him.

And shame on a society so ignorant of its very nature that it neither notices nor cares.