Obama or Romney: The republic fails either way
Mar 30, 2012 13:58:42 GMT -5
Post by PrisonerOfHope on Mar 30, 2012 13:58:42 GMT -5
Obama or Romney: The republic fails either way
Exclusive: Alan Keyes applies words of Christ to 'lesser of 2 evils' dilemma
Published: 19 hours ago
Once a high-level Reagan-era diplomat, Alan Keyes is a long-time leader in the conservative movement. He is well-known as a staunch pro-life champion and an eloquent advocate of the constitutional republic, including respect for the moral basis of liberty and self-government. He has worked to promote an approach to politics based on the initiative of citizens of goodwill consonant with the with the principles of God-endowed natural right.
This saps credibility from the notion that there is any starkly fateful difference between GOP Republicans and Obama-faction Democrats. They are opposite wings of the same elitist faction, flapping in unison as socialism takes flight. … (“Is Republican infighting a bad thing?”)
As I anticipated, “the elitist machinations of the sham party system are predictably moving America toward another false choice between an avowed socialist Democrat and a prevaricating socialist Republican.” Marco Rubio’s endorsement of Mitt Romney kicks off an orchestrated wavelet of “influential” endorsements, signaling an end to the sham competition that culminated in a not very credible “dramatic face-off” between Romney and one of his 2008 cheerleaders, Rick Santorum. After a brief flash of truthfulness in which Santorum admitted that the “choice” between Romney and Obama is a falsehood liable to be fatal to American liberty, the former U.S. senator has dutifully retracted it. Not only will he break out his briefly discarded Romney-for-President pompoms on cue, he manfully allows as how it would be his patriotic duty to consider serving as Romney’s VP if asked to do so.
The only thing breathtaking about this news is the cynical dexterity with which Santorum slips into the costume of patriotism to disguise his sadly not unexpected surrender to expediency. He has the makings of a 21st century Talleyrand, who uses the political capital invested in him by the patrons he intends to betray to buy favor with those to whom he intends to betray them. This is the difference between Judas and a “Judas goat.” To Judas, the 30 pieces of silver were a bitter reproach. He flings them away. To the “Judas goat” they are a fair wage, poised for reinvestment.
In 2008 I refused to support John McCain and rejected the specious argument that made it imperative to support the”lesser of evils.” Christ made it unequivocally clear that it is always imperative to apply the standard of God. (“Be ye perfect even as your heavenly father is perfect.”) Given the inescapable reality of human imperfection, is this just an unrealistic demand? To say so is to reject the offer of God’s forgiveness that Christ represents, for though we all fall short of the glory, by accepting Christ we open ourselves to the one who exists to make up the shortfall. By admonishing us to hold fast to the perfect standard of God, Christ encourages us to act in a way that admits our utter dependence upon God, rather than giving into the false belief that some self-reliant calculus of evil can substitute for trusting only in Him.
The “lesser evil” approach guarantees the triumph of wrong. So in choosing between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama we are like the cornered target of the hit man who says, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” The fatal outcome is inevitable in either case. Obama’s way takes us to domineering socialism along a path that moves more openly and harshly against right, conscience and property. Romney’s way takes us to domineering socialism along a path that reserves the harsher methods, preferring to use deception and prevarication so that we go more gently into the night.
The Obama way challenges the courage of Americans, and if that courage is lacking, it will succeed more quickly. But if courage is not lacking, Obama’s way entails much greater risk of resistance and failure in the short term. The Romney way is slower, but more surely and easily achieves the goal. It exploits the fear of those Americans whose attachment to the comfortable enjoyment of material goods outweighs their concern for abstract moral and spiritual goods such as God-endowed rights and decent liberty. Increase tyranny by smaller steps, and the petulant desire to live undisturbed in a shiny wilderness of toys and little joys will war against the moral indignation that rises as right and conscience are sacrificed, along with the decent sense of pride enjoyed by a people willing to accept individual responsibility for the common good.
Along either path, the American republic fails. Either way, the Providential opportunity to vindicate mankind’s capacity for self-government is lost. Either way, the brief greatness of the United States disappears from history.
Right now a film of futuristic fiction predicated upon the dissolution of the United States is breaking records at the box office. Once the stuff of cult films, this bleak vision is now titillating the masses. Is “Hunger Games” also preparing the subconscious mind of rising generations to see themselves in a future where the USA (and the vision of God-endowed human dignity it was founded upon) has ceased to exist?
www.wnd.com/2012/03/obama-or-romney-the-republic-fails-either-way/
Exclusive: Alan Keyes applies words of Christ to 'lesser of 2 evils' dilemma
Published: 19 hours ago
Once a high-level Reagan-era diplomat, Alan Keyes is a long-time leader in the conservative movement. He is well-known as a staunch pro-life champion and an eloquent advocate of the constitutional republic, including respect for the moral basis of liberty and self-government. He has worked to promote an approach to politics based on the initiative of citizens of goodwill consonant with the with the principles of God-endowed natural right.
This saps credibility from the notion that there is any starkly fateful difference between GOP Republicans and Obama-faction Democrats. They are opposite wings of the same elitist faction, flapping in unison as socialism takes flight. … (“Is Republican infighting a bad thing?”)
As I anticipated, “the elitist machinations of the sham party system are predictably moving America toward another false choice between an avowed socialist Democrat and a prevaricating socialist Republican.” Marco Rubio’s endorsement of Mitt Romney kicks off an orchestrated wavelet of “influential” endorsements, signaling an end to the sham competition that culminated in a not very credible “dramatic face-off” between Romney and one of his 2008 cheerleaders, Rick Santorum. After a brief flash of truthfulness in which Santorum admitted that the “choice” between Romney and Obama is a falsehood liable to be fatal to American liberty, the former U.S. senator has dutifully retracted it. Not only will he break out his briefly discarded Romney-for-President pompoms on cue, he manfully allows as how it would be his patriotic duty to consider serving as Romney’s VP if asked to do so.
The only thing breathtaking about this news is the cynical dexterity with which Santorum slips into the costume of patriotism to disguise his sadly not unexpected surrender to expediency. He has the makings of a 21st century Talleyrand, who uses the political capital invested in him by the patrons he intends to betray to buy favor with those to whom he intends to betray them. This is the difference between Judas and a “Judas goat.” To Judas, the 30 pieces of silver were a bitter reproach. He flings them away. To the “Judas goat” they are a fair wage, poised for reinvestment.
In 2008 I refused to support John McCain and rejected the specious argument that made it imperative to support the”lesser of evils.” Christ made it unequivocally clear that it is always imperative to apply the standard of God. (“Be ye perfect even as your heavenly father is perfect.”) Given the inescapable reality of human imperfection, is this just an unrealistic demand? To say so is to reject the offer of God’s forgiveness that Christ represents, for though we all fall short of the glory, by accepting Christ we open ourselves to the one who exists to make up the shortfall. By admonishing us to hold fast to the perfect standard of God, Christ encourages us to act in a way that admits our utter dependence upon God, rather than giving into the false belief that some self-reliant calculus of evil can substitute for trusting only in Him.
The “lesser evil” approach guarantees the triumph of wrong. So in choosing between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama we are like the cornered target of the hit man who says, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” The fatal outcome is inevitable in either case. Obama’s way takes us to domineering socialism along a path that moves more openly and harshly against right, conscience and property. Romney’s way takes us to domineering socialism along a path that reserves the harsher methods, preferring to use deception and prevarication so that we go more gently into the night.
The Obama way challenges the courage of Americans, and if that courage is lacking, it will succeed more quickly. But if courage is not lacking, Obama’s way entails much greater risk of resistance and failure in the short term. The Romney way is slower, but more surely and easily achieves the goal. It exploits the fear of those Americans whose attachment to the comfortable enjoyment of material goods outweighs their concern for abstract moral and spiritual goods such as God-endowed rights and decent liberty. Increase tyranny by smaller steps, and the petulant desire to live undisturbed in a shiny wilderness of toys and little joys will war against the moral indignation that rises as right and conscience are sacrificed, along with the decent sense of pride enjoyed by a people willing to accept individual responsibility for the common good.
Along either path, the American republic fails. Either way, the Providential opportunity to vindicate mankind’s capacity for self-government is lost. Either way, the brief greatness of the United States disappears from history.
Right now a film of futuristic fiction predicated upon the dissolution of the United States is breaking records at the box office. Once the stuff of cult films, this bleak vision is now titillating the masses. Is “Hunger Games” also preparing the subconscious mind of rising generations to see themselves in a future where the USA (and the vision of God-endowed human dignity it was founded upon) has ceased to exist?
www.wnd.com/2012/03/obama-or-romney-the-republic-fails-either-way/
