By Douglas V. Gibbs
The Pledge of Allegiance that we hold so dear to our hearts was originally written by a socialist. He wrote it with the intent of turning America into a nationalistic nation with a loyalty oath. Originally, the Pledge was given with a salute that was exactly like the Nazi salute.
The greatness of America overcame that attempt to change who we are. We took the socialist oath, changed the salute to a hand over our heart, added the words "Under God," and changed the nationalistic loyalty oath into a patriotic pledge to our country.
And that is one of many attempts to change America into something the Founding Fathers never intended it to be.
The thing is, Americans have tasted liberty. We know what freedom is in ways that the rest of the world doesn't.
Obama, many believe, is destroying the country. Some even say this destructiveness is on purpose. Others believe he is simply a product of his ideology, and doesn't realize that liberalism is such a failure.
Perhaps he is so inexperienced, he just doesn't realize what he is doing. Or maybe Obama is a puppet, just following the orders of some evil group of globalists.
Regardless, he is the product of liberalism. He grew up during a period of history when the American left was in its hey day. Post-60s liberalism taught him that exceptionalism is a bad thing, and that America is evil because of its indulgence in militarism, racism, sexism, corporate greed, and environmental disregard. America is great, he was taught, because America stole it.
Money, he believes, belongs to government. Therefore, the wealthy has taken it from its rightful owner, and it is up to government to get that money back and redistribute it in a socially just manner.
Never mind if all indications point at such policies being unsustainable.
The liberals, however, are upset with Obama, too, because once in office he made a few changes. On some things he backed off completely. In fact, some of these people even see him as being more like George Bush, than the guy that campaigned in 2008. He has a devotion to big government, but it is not radical enough for these people. The progressives in America truly want Obama to apply his presidential powers into growing government, embark in a greater program of the redistribution of wealth, and up the ante on his scolding of Congress, Wall Street, and the big corporations of the private sector.
The liberals preach tolerance, but are intolerant. They say they support the freedom of speech, but ridicule you if you dare disagree with them. They preach the joys of collectivism, while damning individual initiative as the engine of development within our society. They trust government bureaucrats over individual choice, and doing so the liberals are among the greatest enemies of individual freedom.
This kind of statism is nothing new. Alexander Hamilton preached similar philosophies. John Marshall used his position in the courts to subvert the Constitution at every opportunity. Woodrow Wilson shredded America's exceptionalism, inserting his progressive ideas at every opportunity. Franklin Delano Roosevelt instituted socialist program after socialist program with his New Deal. Yet, despite these attacks against American liberty, our great nation has overcome those attacks, and has continued to be a great nation despite the leftist onslaught of failed liberal policies.
Time has proven that Americans are exceptional. The entire world seems to be at odds with us, sometimes, yet America always rises to the challenge, and emerges with a continued greatness unrivaled by any nation in history.
This is how America became so prosperous. Americans failed to settle for second best. We fought for every inch, and then fought some more. Innovation is an American standard. Overcoming attacks against our system, and coming out stronger, is what we do.
Individual initiative and individual responsibility are the fuel for our engine of exceptionalism. Freedom is our drive. Liberty is the fruit of our labors.
No matter how the enemy works to take down America, we prevail. That is what Americans do. Obama, try as he might, cannot fundamentally change America forever. We have tasted liberty, and we will not stand for losing it.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
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