Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
Commentary: So who is our Keeper, Mr. President?
Commentary: So who is our Keeper, Mr. President?
Nov 23, 2024 5:21 PM

In a recent speech, President Obama invoked Scripture to justify his ambitious spending plans. In this week’s Acton Commentary (published May 25), Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg notes that the president said nothing about the role of munities and associations in helping our brothers and sisters in need. What’s more, “our leader hasn’t noticed that even some European governments, many of whom have been handing out as much pork as possible to politically-connected, politically-correct crony-capitalists over the past 15 years, are concluding many of these projects aren’t likely to be economically-viable either now or in the distant future,” Gregg writes.The full text of his essay follows. Subscribe to the free, weekly Acton News & Commentary and other publicationshere.

So who is our Keeper, Mr. President?

bySamuel Gregg

In case you missed it, President Obama visited the People’s Republic of Vermont in late March. It was, as the Presidentremindedhis adoring fans at a rally, the first time a sitting president had visited the land of Senator Bernie Sanders (Independent-Democratic Socialist) since 1995 (when another Democratic president was running for re-election).

To the delight of his audience, POTUS engaged in all the familiar rhetoric about investments in clean energy (Solyndrais, it seems, now an “investment”), the gallant rescue (a.k.a. bailing-out) of the Detroit panies (driven into the ground by an-out-of-control UAW and decades of management acquiescence), and how a second term is asine qua nonfor ever-lasting change. Hidden in the text, however, were a few lines which revealed a great deal about how President Obama understands how we actualize our responsibilities to our neighbor.

Describing his conservative opponents’ position on this subject, the President insisted:

Their philosophy is simple: You are on your own. You’re on your own. If you are out of work, can’t find a job, tough luck, you’re on your own. You don’t have health care, – that’s your problem – you’re on your own. If you’re born into poverty, lift yourself up with your own bootstraps even if you don’t have boots. You’re on your own. They believe that’s their — that’s how American [sic] has advanced. That’s the cramped, narrow conception they have of liberty. And they are wrong. (Applause.) They are wrong.

With these straw-men of neo-Darwinian advocates of what the President called “you’re-on-your-own economics” firmly established in his audience’s mind, the Commander-in-Chief then claimed that, unlike his dastardly rivals, he and his disciples recognized that “I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper.”

But who is the “I” that President Obama has in mind? Looking carefully at his speech, it’s most certainly not the free associations munities that Alexis de Tocqueville thought made nineteenth-century America so different pared to his own already state-centric native France. No: our number-one “keeper,” in our president’s mind, is the federal government.

This much es evident as we look at the ideas for “rebuilding America” listed in the speech. It was all about government investment in things that went far beyond the type of public works that no less than Adam Smith thought governments should undertake. Virtually every proposal involvedmoregovernment expenditures on things like clean energy (again) and that perennial favorite, high-speed rail (sigh).

Even when the President proposed something sensible, such as stopping “taxpayer giveaways to an oil industry that has been rarely more profitable,” he quickly added that now was the time to “double down on clean energy that has never been more promising – solar and wind and biofuels, and energy efficiency, electric batteries.”Apparently, our leader hasn’t noticed that even some European governments, many of whom have been handing out as much pork as possible to politically-connected, politically-correct crony-capitalists over the past 15 years, areconcludingmany of these projects aren’t likely to be economically-viable either now or in the distant future.

Leaving, however, all these blind-spots, it’s especially noticeable that when insisting we must take care of our neighbor the President saidnothingabout the role of volunteer associations – or any non-state formation whatsoever – in addressing social and economic challenges. Nor did he mention anything about the often-selfless work of loving our neighbor undertaken by the same religious organizations whose constitutionally-guaranteed (and natural) liberty to live, act and serve others according to their beliefs is being unreasonably constricted by the more ghoulish segments of his Administration in the name of “choice.”

Like all good Rawlsians, President Obama finds it hard to conceptualize the possibility that munities and associations might often be better at helping our neighbor in need than governments. Instead, his instinct is to search immediately for a political state-focused solution. If the President invested some time in exploring the concept of social justice, he would discover that its earliest articulators – mostly mid-nineteenth century Italian Catholictheologians– thought it should be primarily realized through associations and institutions of civil society with the government playing a supportive, but normally background role.

One of the limits of our President’s moral imagination is that he can’t seem to recognize that his opponents aren’t a bunch of narcissistic Randoids. The vast majority of themdoin fact believe that weareour brother’s keeper. They also recognize that therearesome – even many – problems that markets can’t solve.

But they also don’t think Americans should somehow delegateen massemost of their personal concrete obligations to those in need to elected officials and civil servants. Rather, they understand, as Tocqueville wrote, that “The morals and intelligence of a democratic people would be in as much danger as merce and industry if ever a government wholly usurped the place of free associations.”

This, it appears, is something that progressivists will never understand.

This articlefirst appearedon National Review Online.

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Verse of the Day
  Commentary on Today's Verse   Commentary on 2 Timothy 1:6-14   (Read 2 Timothy 1:6-14)   God has not given us the spirit of fear, but the spirit of power, of courage and resolution, to meet difficulties and dangers; the spirit of love to him, which will carry us through opposition. And the spirit of a sound mind, quietness of mind. The Holy...
Verse of the Day
  2 Corinthians 6:14 In-Context   12 We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us.   13 As a fair exchange-I speak as to my children-open wide your hearts also.   14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?   15...
Verse of the Day
  Ephesians 6:14-16 In-Context   12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.   13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to...
Verse of the Day
  Commentary on Today's Verse   Commentary on James 5:12-18   (Read James 5:12-18)   The sin of swearing is condemned; but how many make light of common profane swearing! Such swearing expressly throws contempt upon God's name and authority. This sin brings neither gain, nor pleasure, nor reputation, but is showing enmity to God without occasion and without advantage It shows a man...
Verse of the Day
  1 John 4:19 In-Context   17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.   18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect...
Verse of the Day
  Romans 16:17-18 In-Context   15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the Lord's people who are with them.   16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.   17 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are...
Verse of the Day
  Commentary on Today's Verse   Commentary on 1 John 4:7-13   (Read 1 John 4:7-13)   The Spirit of God is the Spirit of love. He that does not love the image of God in his people, has no saving knowledge of God. For it is God's nature to be kind, and to give happiness. The law of God is love; and all...
Verse of the Day
  Commentary on Today's Verse   Commentary on Ecclesiastes 5:9-17   (Read Ecclesiastes 5:9-17)   The goodness of Providence is more equally distributed than appears to a careless observer. The king needs the common things of life, and the poor share them; they relish their morsel better than he does his luxuries. There are bodily desires which silver itself will not satisfy, much less...
Verse of the Day
  Commentary on Today's Verse   Commentary on Titus 2:1-8   (Read Titus 2:1-8)   Old disciples of Christ must behave in every thing agreeably to the Christian doctrine. That the aged men be sober; not thinking that the decays of nature will justify any excess; but seeking comfort from nearer communion with God, not from any undue indulgence. Faith works by, and must...
Verse of the Day
  John 1:32-34 In-Context   30 This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.'   31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.   32 Then John gave this testimony: I saw the Spirit...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2024 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved