During first 36 days of Katrina, Bush made 7 visits to Gulf Coast...
So far on Day 36 of BP oil leak, Obama has made 1 visit to disaster area...
There are days – with increasing frequency – that I want to slam my head into a wall. If I had a dollar for every time I saw these factoids from my Republican friends I could take us all to the most expensive restaurant in Charlotte. So Bush went to the Gulf seven times. So what? Only the most reclusive non-observer in the world could have missed the fact that the Federal government’s handling of the Katrina crisis was an unmitigated disaster of galactic proportion. Billions of taxpayer dollars thrown away on food, trailers, and sundry accoutrements that never made it to the Gulf or were never utilized in any meaningful way. Thank God that Obama has had little involvement with the BP oil spill; otherwise it would turn into a global catastrophe.
Broken window fallacy, indeed!
My friend’s comment belies the underlying and persistent belief that afflicts many Americans: the notion that the government should do something. Compound this with loyalties to whichever jersey the president happens to be wearing. Can anyone seriously defend the administration of George W. Bush?
Shortly after Obama’s election another life-long Republican friend, quick to establish his PC cred, opined that, “he shows he is serious about providing this nation with leadership.”
Families, armies, businesses and ball teams have leaders. In the Bible there are but two great leaders: Moses and Christ. David was not so much a leader as a shepherd – first for his father’s flocks, then for God’s people. “Leadership” is not the main objective of human government. At best its primary responsibilities are the protection of life and property from sundry interlopers, and the arbitration of disputes.
Political “leadership” leads nations into debt and/or war – regardless of which jersey is worn.
1 comment:
Greetings. Popped over from the Underground Pewster and your comment there.
As for this post, I could not agree more fervently. There's no doubt that many, if not most, people believe not only that government should do something, but that government has the ability to fix whatever mess happens to exist at the moment. What people refuse to realize is that when one abrogates one's own personal responsibility to take care of one's self and one's family, one merely signs away his/her freedom and autonomy in favor of the (soft?) shackles of bondage.
I'll take my chances and the responsibility, including possibly screwing it up, primarily because the odds of some government entity doing a better job are minimal, in my view.
Cheers.
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