“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” – Thomas Paine
Dear President Obama (and those who are paying attention):
Congratulations on the series of legislative victories you have achieved in your first 2 years as President. By any measure your political victories in gaining passage of the (i) Stimulus Act (ii) Health Care Reform and now (iii) Financial & Regulatory Reform designed to curb Wall Street abuse are significant achievements and evidence your ability to get things done. Were these any other times you could coast into 2012 your reelection virtually assured. These are not, however, ordinary times. The people can’t eat Caviar for policy wonks without bread or a spoon. Most citizens will not be able to hang a hat on your administration’s achievements, hence the reason that these legislative victories have not thus far translated into voter approval. Please know that in terms of full disclosure, I am but an ordinary citizen who supported, rather enthusiastically, your candidacy for President but I am concerned in a manner diffferent than those others who have written letters offering encouragement or historically inaccurate critique.
War on Capitalism & Free Enterprise
Whether the problems are of your creation or prior administration(s) no longer matters to the American people. Our country is divided, idle and angry. In fairness to you, the wind is not at your back largely because of the disinformation campaign to discredit you and your progressive agenda which only gained steam the morning after your victory in the Presidential election of 2008. Despite your legislative successes there continues to be considerable pain and suffering in the heartland as well as America’s urban centers from the used to have’s, nor long have’s and still have not’s which has eroded much of the “Hope” generated by your campaign. The Great Recession will continue to feel like a modern Depression until the vast majority of our unemployed citizens are put back to work in a substantive and constructive fashion to rebuild America. In the words of Nouriel Roubini, the NYU economist credited with predicting the global financial crisis, Obama needs to “Treat Americans like adults”.
Of even greater concern is that in the push to create a more “equitable” society the successful entrepreneurial and investment classes, many of whom are highly philanthropic and have invested in America now feel under attack. Painting these folks as gluttonous, selfish, robber barons or villains who deserve to be more heavily taxed and scrutinized simply because they have succeeded and live the American dream may help score populist points but aside from being an unfair characterization, it is creating deep wedges in our Society from which we may never recover. Your administration’s rhetoric is dangerous in that it creates an environment where it is politically correct to demonize and condemn wealth creators, if not capitalism itself. My fear is that a continued rhetorical and policy assault will cause many of these people to hold on to their chips, remain on the sidelines and disengage if not bail entirely on further investments in the rebuilding of American society.
Equity vs. Efficiency: Individualism vs. Collectivism
Truth told, the problem with equity vs. efficiency arguments in running a Capitalist Democracy is after a while, folks will begin to question who’s deciding what is equitable as the inefficiencies mount. The crash of free markets and the Madoff Economy provided the perfect opening for the proponents of equity to come forth, preach for more economic justice and fair play. To a certain degree this was necessary to resintill confidence in the markets. There is, however, a danger of going to far the other way in attempting to manage the capitalist system. Where the government serves as referee, judge and intervenes to create designated or preferred outcomes picking winners and losers, moving us further away from “survival of the fittest”, that is truly when we all lose. My fear is that we will in essence create a society that punishes the strong and that props up the weak with entitlment programs, in effect reversing the laws of evolution and in effect the American Dream.
I will know that we are on the verge of better times, however, if the forces of efficiency take hold once again and fewer people are worried as much about equity as they feel empowered enough to create their own. Perhaps our country must go through these cycles so that the have-not’s look at the have-more’s with a bit less contempt when they come to the realization that their elevation is going to come not from the President or Congress but by the sweat of their own brow.
Symbols of Freedom Rendered Irrelevant By Elite Political Class
In the words of Daniel Pipes: “Islam remains the world’s leading anti-democratic force.” (See also: Is Islam Compatible with Democracy?). As we attempt to remake America, my concern is, however, with the unquestioned subtle seeping of Islamic Collectivism and creeping Sharia Law into the American psyche, which will lead ultimately to the destruction of individual rights, freedom and democracy. Criticising Islam is not racist. The myth of Islamophobia is however a way to stifle debate and is evidence of the coming Caliphate and its effort to use political correctness to silence critique under the veil of religious freedom and to get the public to ignore the warnings issued to the world’s democratic governments by the rise of Militant Islam.
What kind of messages are we sending when the members of our elite political classes, incuding Mayor Bloomberg and Community Board 1 President Julie Menin, will not even listen to the majority of our citizens and (i) stand up to support the Rebuilding of the Twin Towers (which still have not been rebuilt almost a decade after their collapse on 9/11), and (ii) instead members of these same political classes expend more time and energy, with all due respect to arguments about religious freedom and tolerance, on fast tracking and expediting the building of a Mega Mosque at Ground Zero that is widely opposed by a majority of New Yorkers and Americans and even Muslim intellectuals. The ruling political classes along with the mainstream media continue to paint the opposition as that of right wing fringe radicals, Tea Party members, random 9/11 Families, Islamophobes or simply bigots. Fact is that the dissent is far more widespread and has been largely uncovered and the rationale for their opposition misstated. Are a majority of New Yorkers really idiots or bigots? The Mosque project has also been condemned by some leading Muslims but that is irrelevant to folks like Julie Menin who was silent on rebuilding the Twin Towers, not seeing it as at all central or relevant to her mission at Wall Street Rising, but outspoken on the building of a mosque at Ground Zero. Do we even pledge allegiance to the same flag Julie? With the growing Muslim population in Lower Manhattan, this is simply about votes, money, the branding associated with being the well styled voice of tolerance for the financially well healed community of Muslims downtown and to extend one’s media persona. It would be harder ultimately to sell a nuanced position to that voting bloc and maintain your standing. Just like how London has become Londonistan, I hope you will always remember who was behind the creation of NewYorkistan.
How can it be considered so politically incorrect to question the sources, funding and motives of a quasi political organization called the American Society for Muslim Advancement spear headed by Feisal Abdul Rauf (a guy who is somewhat of a critic of contemporary American Society)? Furthermore, how can someone who claims to want to build bridges of understanding and interfaith dialogue with non-Muslims, not understand that building a headquarters near Ground Zero might actually open new wounds and otherwise be perceived as being an effort to erect a political symbol or planting a flag of Islamic conquest at Ground Zero? What would the Voices of September 11th be saying to us now, were they to realize what we had allowed to rise in their place 10 years after they died for no good reason at all?
A revolution is brewing because people have too much time on their hands and the government seems to be ignoring the will of the people and/or finding ways to de-legitimize it. Symbols of freedom, democracy and free markets need to be elevated and reinstalled where necessary, not sacrificed as inconsequential in the reinvention of an America. Have we no national pride? Are we ashamed to be “too” American? Recreating a European styled caliphate state in place of American democracy is not the answer. Islam deserves critique. In my estimation, Political Islamists have no standing nor are they in any position to lecture the west about democracy.
Dare I Ask? The Vulnerability of America
Truth is that I do not believe our political classes are naïve. So I am left to wonder, do the Globalists really intend to bring about the collapse of America by suffocating the independent spirit of our citizens, free enterprise and our national pride and silencing those who dare offer critique? Have we (America) become so weakened financially, structurally and our value system so compromised by our thirst and dependence on foreign oil, particularly from the Oil Producing Export Countries in the Middle East and financing from the House of Saud, the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia that our leadership is willing to discard most of what America is based or founded upon to appease and accommodate NWO Globalists who have become empowered by the current state of the Global Economy and the vulnerability of the United States of America and the opportunities that it presents? Are we on the verge of a new paradigm rebuilt on Saud(i) House of Cards with an Islamic quid pro quo at Ground Zero? Is this the end of the American Dream for many of us? Perhaps the establishment of a new currency is not so far fetched.
REBUILD AMERICA: The Clock is Ticking
The time has come to Rebuild America. If America’s political elites have not already cashed in their chips, we can still rebuild America’s future through rebuilding it’s infrastructure. Doing so is the only thing that will unite laborers, entrepreneurs, architects, engineers and reinvigorate the nation’s economy by getting the engines of commerce, banking and finance working in concert with the American worker.
We ought to Rebuild America with the same sense of urgency and determination that we have sought to Rebuild Afghanistan. We are headed to the point where celebrities will head to Detroit to adopt abandoned children rather than flying to Africa.
The clock is ticking on America. Mr. President, if you want to reinvent or re-engineer American Society through central planning you might want to do so while putting folks back to work, engaging entrepreneurs and financiers. Not every capitalist is a crook and I fear alienating them will be the End of America. Furthermore, sewing resentment of the entrepreneurial classes in America may misdirect some anger and score political points but in terms of the people who create jobs, we need to stop demonizing them.
Like most Americans, I would rather get a paycheck from a “greedy capitalist” who built an enterprise than food stamps from Uncle Sam. Capitalism does NOT suck. Try not to forget that. If I were you, I would get more CEO’s, Business Owners and Investors on your side. That more are not worries me.
