Happy New Year

Well, my kitchen is clean, which means I’m avoiding novel writing. (I have only one resolution this year: at least 1,000 words a day, which is 4 pp.) Let me put it off a little longer by writing my first blog post of 2013.

I just read Obama’s election night speech because a recent PJTV show reminds us of a remarkable passage:

What makes America exceptional are the bonds that hold together the most diverse nation on Earth, the belief that our destiny is shared — (cheers, applause) — that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations, so that the freedom which so many Americans have fought for and died for come with responsibilities as well as rights, and among those are love and charity and duty and patriotism. That’s what makes America great. (Cheers, applause.)

This is one of Obama’s many explicit statements of collectivism. He doesn’t hide his collectivism; it’s out there for anyone to think about and judge.

He is saying that because Americans have rights, they also have the responsibilities to love, be charitable, be duteous and be patriotic. Because America protects its citizens’ rights, they owe the state. The individual must sacrifice to the collective. It’s only fair!

So all those people who came to America from Cuba, China and the rest of the world to escape collectivism did so… to be bound by more collectivism. Sure, they did.

Obama calls these collective responsibilities “bonds.” Bonds are chains. Perhaps the word “bonds” can have a legitimate metaphorical meaning in one’s personal life. You could say there is a bond between man and wife, or between parent and child — but even those bonds can be broken if an individual so wishes. Between the individual and the state, however, bonds can only mean chains put on the individual by the state.

As I said, Obama puts his beliefs out there for anyone to judge. He knows he can do this, just as he gets away with all his lies, because America is no longer a nation of people who can think independently. 12 years of public education, four or more years of college, and a culture of political correctness forge a nation of conformists, not thinkers. The mainstream media now function as the propaganda arm of the Democrat Party.

As Ayn Rand said, today’s absurdities become tomorrow’s bromides. Obama states his collectivism clearly. Tomorrow his statements will be business as usual. The day after tomorrow the state will begin passing laws that forge the bonds of love, charity, duty and patriotism — for our own good. Those who shirk their responsibilities as a citizen will be thrown in jail.

Look for a law demanding two years of mandatory “service” from young people to the state in the next four years. Obama has mentioned it several times that I know of. He wants it. He equates sacrifice to the collective with the highest moral ideals. I believe he is waiting for the next crisis to test the idea. Perhaps we should be thankful that he is still careful enough to wait for a crisis. Hey, I’ll take any silver lining!

And Obama’s policies, both foreign and domestic, make future crises certain.

My blogging has diminished during the Obama years. To the two or three of you out there reading this, I’m sorry. One of the keys to being a successful blogger is to do it every day. Feed the monster, as Stephen Green says. I will never be a successful blogger.

Part of the reason is that it’s just too depressing. The naked cynicism of the left gets me down — which is precisely what they want. Perhaps if blogging were more than a hobby I would find the courage to persist, to fight every day. There are other reasons, such as those 1,000 words a day that I hear calling right now.

I don’t expect my political blogging to pick up in 2013. I do expect to finish the fantasy/adventure novel I’m writing. If I can’t find a publisher, I’ll have to publish it myself. I’ll let you know when there is news to report.

Okay — kitchen is clean, blog is written. As they say at Writing Excuses, you’re out of excuses, now write.