The Preseason

I watched a little bit of a football game in the first round of the preseason last week. I only watched a few minutes because it was boring. I am not enough of a fan to watch a game where no one in the game cares who wins.

The preseason is like that. No one cares who wins. Instead they are taking the important steps of trying out players, testing out strategies, and also very importantly, making sure they don’t risk any injuries that will take them out in the actual season. The preseason is not about winning, it’s about preparing to win when it matters.

At the right time the coaches will shift their efforts into a new gear. They will choose a plan based on the results of all this testing the waters, and then work that plan hoping it will end in victory. For me, the games won’t really hold my interest until the players begin caring about the outcome, when they begin playing to win.

Now some of you will wonder why I am putting this into my column on Monday. Monday is the day that I talk about politics, not sports. So why did I put it in my column now, at the earliest portion of the primary for a presidential campaign?

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Obama’s Legacy

I suspect President Obama was hoping ObamaCare would be his legacy. I am beginning to agree with him.

I think it might well be a benefit to future generations if America learned the lessons of ObamaCare and never made those mistakes again. So for today’s post I am going to try to enumerate what I believe are the top three lessons we can learn from the disastrous legislation.

1)      The idea big government can afford to pay for anything no matter how expensive is simply wrong. The costs may be hidden in the murky waters of a ballooning deficit, but not even government can afford to forever spend more than they bring in.

2)      Allowing legislation increasingly invasive control of how we live is a violation of freedom, which is probably the central point of American culture. Don’t legislate how I eat, don’t tell me I must abandon Biblical ethics, and don’t insist I have medical insurance.

3)      The best use of freedom is to improve yourself and your life, therefore demonizing or punishing people who wish to be successful is nonsensical. A healthy economy requires both employees and employers. Punishing businesses and entrepreneurs with expensive and restrictive regulations is counter-productive.

The Great Car Campaign

I thought I just might run for president.

My platform will be that every American deserves a car, not just a car, but a new government car.

Those that cannot afford to buy their own will be supplied one by the government. Those that can afford to buy a new car and choose not to, will be fined.

The rich will be berated for having better cars than they deserve, and will be asked to sacrifice to help pay for the cars of those who can’t afford them.

When the proposition is being debated I will explain this is the greatest country on earth and surely we can do anything we set our mind to. I will avoid going into real details of what it will cost, impact the economy, or change our culture.

Then when the measure is written into law I will make it massively complicated so that few people really understand how it will work or what changes it will bring. Everyone is getting a car, surely that is a good thing?

My friends will pass it without reading it. My opponents will not be given any chance to review it to see if it even makes sense.

This will make it the law of the land, so I will demonize everyone who disagrees with it.

After this, when it begins to be implemented and things are beginning to look like it isn’t working so well, I will hide as much information about it as possible insisting it’s too soon to tell.

When they begin to see the government cars are not really the same quality, they notice the work was contracted to Canadians, or notice the cars are more expensive than promised; then I will blame the other party for nitpicking.

Finally when it all begins to fall apart, well I don’t know what I will do then. Just let me watch a little longer and see what happens next with ObamaCare.

American Tyranny

I know people who believe Obama never plans to leave office. They think he will find a way to remain and use the powers of government to set in place the first American dictatorship. Admittedly he does have some very creative ideas about the proper use of government resources, and The Department of Homeland Security has been making some curious acquisitions. So I grudgingly admit they could be right.

Yet I don’t believe he will stay in office. At the end of his term he will exit in the same way he served, specifically to the jeers of some and cheers of others. He will then retire to the courtroom of history, where he will be judged as mercilessly as other recent presidents.

What really interests me is what will happen next. I could be wrong on this prediction too, but I think the country which reelected Obama will elect someone else just as unknown, unqualified, idealistic, and liberal. If anyone hopes the nation has learned its lesson and will change its course, I remind you our nation had the opportunity to vote Obama out and failed to do so.

If my prediction proves true, oppression will continue its rise. American tyranny doesn’t need a single autocrat to stay in power. Instead it can thrive under a series of presidents elected by a populace who believe big government and an abundance of regulation can solve all our problems. So I don’t fear the continuation of our current president as a dictator, I fear the electorate choosing to perpetuate tyranny through elections rather than voting for taking personal responsibility for the state of their own lives.

The heart of freedom is taking personal responsibility. Placing responsibility for our lives on government is the opposite of freedom; it is the birth-pangs of American tyranny. Given the choices, personal responsibility rocks.