From the Barack Obama campaign web site:
“Your own story and the American story are not separate — they are shared. And they will both be enriched if we stand up together, and answer a new call to service to meet the challenges of our new century … I won’t just ask for your vote as a candidate; I will ask for your service and your active citizenship when I am president of the United States. This will not be a call issued in one speech or program; this will be a cause of my presidency.” (emphasis added)
It sounds to me like he’s serious. And it sounds like a warning we should heed. Guess who plans to decide what cause is served. Do visions of arm-band wearing youths come to mind? Probably not, unless you’re at least my age.
The web site outlines Obama’s plan for “universal voluntary public service.” Now there’s an interesting juxtaposition of words. This public service he envisions is going to be both voluntary and universal. I suppose he plans to use our “voluntary” income tax system as a model. Signing up for public service will be “voluntary” but if you don’t volunteer he will come get you.
Thinking about millions of youths and old farts out doing Obama’s bidding frightens me. What he has in mind is an army of community organizers. His army will be trained to indoctrinate and intimidate. Its purpose will be to convince all that it serves to support the great leader. (If Obama is elected how long do you think his team will wait before the two-term limit on presidents is publicly questioned? I suspect that it has already come up internally.)
A very pertinent issue at this point in time is how Obama plans to pay for his legions of volunteers. The scope of the program he is talking about will cost billions of dollars that we don’t have. Will he raise taxes to pay for it? If so, it will all have to come from 5% of taxpayers because he assures us that 95% will get tax cuts. It’s more likely that he will come up with a “universal voluntary support fund,” to which the “wealthy” are expected to voluntarily contribute. That way it doesn’t count as a tax.
It’s interesting to note that Obama’s college service program proposes that students receive a $4,000 tax credit for 100 hours of public service each year. That’s $40 per hour. Most of these students will be disappointed to learn that they won’t get that pay rate in their first professional job after graduation.
I read the comment you made on another site…”I’m often tempted to criticize someone’s speech or writing but then I remember that they might read mine. Apparently that doesn’t bother michelle2005 (”let’s us”). Oops, I did it anyway.”
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FYI—If I were going to give a major speech, or send something to my editor…it first goes to my proof reader. How many folks do you know that go to this length on a blog? Personally, I don’t know a single person that does this. However, the point of having a blog is to get one’s ideas in print.
It appears you don’t use a proof reader either. Yet, I can fully understand the meaning behind your words…which is the point of a blog. Now, if one were to be on a “world stage” that’s an entirely different matter.
If there’s ever been something I’ve written that you do not understand…just ask. (If you did, you’d be the first)
Michelle
Michelle, I was mostly just picking on you. After all, one unneeded apostrophe is hardly a major crime. But I do tend to expect written material, even in a blog, to be more grammatically correct than spoken words. Of course I noticed that Palin mangled a few of her sentences, but I understood what she was trying to say. In the debate with McCain last night Mr Smoothie mangled some of his sentences, but I understood what he was trying to say. Anyway, what would late night TV do without some inarticulate politicians to ridicule.
What really bothers me is the media spending more air time on Palin’s dialect than on Biden’s gaffes: FDR going on TV in 1929 to reassure the people after the market crash. (There was no TV then and Hoover was president.) When we and France chased Hezbollah out of Lebanon… (Hezbolllah wasn’t chased out of Lebanon. He probably meant Syria.)
Where this conversation started.
You are scaring me, Carson, and I’m not kidding. Should I start buying brown shirts? I believe in volunteering and sacrifice (we certainly did that in WWII) and think the acts give us a feeling of some control. That feeling of control pretty much evaporates with “forced volunteering”.
I truly hope I’m wrong about Obama because he has a very good chance of winning. But as much as I fear an Obama presidency I’m not convinced that McCain would be all that much better.
I feel the same. It is somewhat of a comfort to remember that Bill Clinton more or less followed the conservative Republicans’ plans (welfare to work, etc.) and the economy hummed along. Of course, much of that was due to the tech bubble. Presidents have only so much control over the economy, in my opinion. The problem with Obama is a Democrat Congress, too. I say vote for those you don’t agree with. They always do the opposite.