What Is Really at Stake in this Election: Liberty and Personal Independence

For those of you who wish to prosper, for those of you who wish to be financially independent, for those of you who desire to contribute to society in the way you desire—in the field you choose, for those you who do not want to be slaves to the powers that could well be...

Ensure that you vote.

Listening to the rhetoric of the Obama campaign, one clearly sees that this candidate wishes to create a society in which each person becomes dependent on the government in all ways and for all things: from healthcare to retirement, education at every level, even jobs and income. In such a society, individuals are not to be responsible and provide for themselves, but they are to look to the government as provider, as the master and creator of jobs, as the healer in healthcare, as dean of education, as caretaker of the elderly.

Do not be fooled, the sovereignty of the individual ends where the sovereignty of government begins. Hence, as the power of government grows, individual liberty fades away. The Obama government will respect neither the freedom of the individual nor his property, and the strides one may take to prevent or overcome a dependency of government--whether through hard work, innovation, success, or the accumulation of wealth--will only penalize and marginalize him in this society. You can see this in Obama's definition of wealth: wealth is measured only in terms of income. What about savings, assets, or net-worth? In the utopian society these are not necessary, and the one who has them is deemed covetous and evil. "He's greedy and his selfish hoarding withholds from us our rightful due! We are entitled the result of his work--he is to work not for himself but for us all!"

Why strive to succeed if the prize of your success will only be stripped from your hands in the name of equality?

Stop and ask yourself, What does it mean to say that all men are created equal? Does equal mean equally entitled or equally free? Freedom and entitlement cannot coexist, for entitlement is nothing more than dependency, and dependency is slavery. To call government handouts "entitlement" and "compassion" is nothing more than sophistry and propaganda. The government's "compassion" comes only through the confiscation of another's gain. You cannot call charity that which is actually theft and coercion.

This utopian dream has one fatal flaw: human nature. It assumes that people are altruistic and selfless. The assumption is a wonderful picture and it might work in the movies, but it doesn't represent reality in the slightest part. Our founders understood that all people are self-seeking and greedy—perhaps to varying degrees, but selfish nevertheless. They designed a market and political system that kept this flaw in check through practically natural mechanisms, and Obama has expressed frustration and hostility in the constraints on government set forth in the wisdom of the constitution. In fact, he sees the Constititution in terms of the rights of government, not the rights of the people.

If people were altruistic, this utopia of socialism would just "happen." People would voluntarily spread the wealth around, and it wouldn't have to be forced upon us by the governmental powers that be. However, socialism has never "happened" without force, and the ones who wish to subject us to it act as is they do not suffer from the same greed as the corporate executives. Trust me, they do, and they will use socialism to their own gain and our expense.

"You can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig!" These remarks were Obama's reference to Sarah Palin. It matters not if it refers to her person or to her ideas; the comment is nothing more than hypocrisy when he is putting lipstick on a different pig. One can dress oppression in terms of hope, change, and opportunity, but is it still oppression. To "spread the weatlh" will only ensure universal poverty. Governments are no different than corporations in the fact that both are institutions composed of individuals. Therefore, governments are as susceptible to greed as corporations; the only difference is that the former is expressed primarily in the quest for power and domination, the latter in the pursuit of money. Unfortunately, this thirst for power hasn't an ounce of accountability other than the vote, and this vote shall have been bought by the redistribution of wealth. Socialism is nothing more than political bribery and economic slavery.

A veil is being passed over our eyes by the Obama campaign, and we must see through it. This election has more at stake than the hypnotized masses realize.

Vote wisely, and know what you are voting for.