I watched the election returns last night on television. Moving between channels, it was interesting to observe how, as time passed and it became obvious that Mr. Obama would be re-elected, the various networks reacted. From the muted tones of Fox to the outright drunken joy of ABC, it was fascinating to watch. This morning, of course, pundits of every stripe were busy on television, radio and newspapers extolling the political acumen of the Obama camp and dissecting the mistakes of the Romney effort.
It seems to me that every person I have heard, seen, or with which I have conversed on the subject seems to see it on political terms. Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Liberal, Tea Party, it doesn't seem to matter. The politics of the situation seems to be what is on everyone's mind.
I think that this misses the point completely.
There is no way, whether Mr. Obama ran the smoothest political campaign of all time, or Mr. Romney ran the worst (neither of which is accurate), that the American public could have missed the basic political philosophy of either candidate. To assume that either mans position was mis-understood to the extent of influencing ones vote is to assume that the vast majority of Americans are utter idiots. To me, thinking of Obama voters as idiots would be comforting, but I cannot be honest and state this as accurate.
The sad and much less comforting truth is that America voted for Obama because they prefer Obama and all that he stands for. Since the early 20th century, leftists have sought to influence the country through the political process, the courts and the education system. Their tireless efforts have finally borne fruit in the person of Barack Obama.
We were once a country filled with people who had little use for national government. They understood it's neccesity, but were also deeply distrustful of people who sought to rule their lives while having little or no knowledge of their situations. These people understood freedom intimately, and sought to keep their government local, and therefore within reach. They knew that it's hard to do bad things to a man with whom you will be sitting in church only days later.
Leftists understood this natural inclination towards personal freedom, and knew that in order to defeat it, change would have to be gradual. It took them many years, and they showed great patience. Like the Taliban soldier who told a GI "you have the watches, but we have the time", leftists filled the place where change could be instilled among those most suseptible to influence, children in the schools.
After many decades of effort, we now have a nation whose majority trust the government, but don't trust the church. They see the government as the judge of what is good and right, not as an encroachment that muct be kept in check.
We now have a nation that legalizes marijuana, and criminalizes 17 ounce Coca-Cola. What once was right is now wrong, what was once morally incomprehensible is now right, and we have only ourselves to blame.
