Where O Where Has ACORN Gone? Have the Nuts Multiplied? | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Reno suggests that the plight of the lower class can be improved by emphasizing moral values. "Murray shows that if people at the bottom of the economic ladder have high work satisfaction, are married, experience levels of social trust, and engage in weekly worship, they have exactly the same self-reported happiness as upper class types who have the same qualities. This suggests that there is no inherent barrier to happiness for a person with a low level of education holding a low-skill job." The problem, Reno writes, is that lower class communities do not have enough political and social support to encourage the sorts of attitudes and behaviors necessary for happiness.

    "Far fewer in the lower class than in the upper class are married and go to church. Meanwhile, crime and a lack of communal engagement reduces social trust. One reason for this social disarray is a lack of a strong moral consensus." Our crass and often crude popular culture deforms many lives, often glorified by the nonjudgmental ethic endorsed by the upper class Hollywood types, reality TV (Jersey Shore, for example), and the pop and hip-hop/rap music industry. The lower class desperately needs the sorts of moral statements and investments by the wealthy entertainment industry in order to rebuild and re-focus the youth in their communities and help build the kind of character needed to advance to the upper class. But the entertainment industry continues to let them down. It's a money thing. Hollywood types need their multi-millions, their million dollar estates, their New York penthouses, and their fancy cars and wardrobes.

    This is the reality of America. Times have changed, but more importantly, people and values have changed. But the values needed in a successful marketplace have not changed. The bottom line is that people hold the power over their destiny and the key to their own success.

    And so Americans need to look beyond the distorted messages of "Organizing for America" and "Project Vote" and their distorted statistics and distorted sense of fairness. President Obama's policies are not working. For the sake of redistributing our nation's wealth and opportunities from those who have "earned success" to others less fortunate - without that one little "proviso" (which is "hard work and sacrifice !") - our current administration has institutionalized punishment as its policy towards those who are successful. Success is taxed, berated, underappreciated, regulated, and then taxed some more. After all, Obama has to find some way to pay for the campaign promises he makes. He has to find some way to make a success story out of his unconstitutional, liberty-killing healthcare scheme.

    Obama's policies are causing people to question what our nation stands for. Do we intend to excel, which means competition and reward must be honored, or do we sink to the depths of despair so that the success of some won't offend other's notion of fairness? Do we intend to continue punishing success so that businesses cannot grow and create jobs? Or do we want to push individual self-improvement policies so that more people can contribute meaningfully, feel the sense of pride in earned success, and not become fastened to the government teet? Do we intend to trust ourselves to run our own lives and affairs or do we think a group of political elites in Washington DC can do a better job? Are we willing to use our liberties wisely and responsibly and respectfully, or must government continue to promulgate laws to regulate our every move?

    Obama's policies and rhetoric are dividing us along racial and social lines. He is causing us to point fingers at one another and question the worth of every individual. He is creating classifications such as liberal vs. rightwing extremist, black vs. white, minority vs. non-minority (classifications on job applications are getting more and more numerous and detailed), rich vs. poor, educated vs. uneducated, legal vs. illegal, entitled vs. not entitled, taxpayer vs. non-taxpayer, taxpayer vs. freeloader, contributor vs. taker, "personally responsible" vs. dependent, "those who are part of the problem" vs. "those who are part of the solution," and the "haves" vs. the "have-nots." There are extremes. People are no longer just fellow Americans. They come with labels now. And depending on those labels, we discriminate. At least that's what the government accuses us of. But the fact is that every choice involves a discrimination of some sort.

    Our president's policies are also dividing us along ideological lines. He is a progressive-thinker. There is no doubt about it. He believes in government socialist policies and relaxed social norms. Either you believe in big government or limited government. Either you believe in government-controlled healthcare or you don't. Either you believe the Constitution should be taken literally or you believe it has lost its relevance and therefore can be interpreted willy nilly. Either you believe that government should regulate the economy to ensure artificial results (government picking winners and losers) or you believe in the free market economy (competition determining winners and losers). Either you believe that the government should respect state laws (such as marriage, healthcare, voting integrity) or you believe that the government should require a "one size fits all" approach. Either you believe in gay marriage or you don't. Either you believe in the sanctity of human life or you think the right to be free of an unwanted pregnancy at any time before delivery is more important. Either you believe in amnesty for illegal immigrants or you don't. Either you believe in a fair tax scheme or you believe that only those who make "enough" should be forced to contribute to the funding of the country. Either you see an inherent unfairness in half of Americans paying income tax to provide the revenue to fund the government while the other half pay nothing or you don't. Either you believe Joe Biden's statement that it is the patriotic duty of the wealthy to pay even higher rates of taxation or you see an inherent unfairness in the government confiscation of a person's wealth and property. Either you respect the contributions to this nation by the wealthy or you hate them and blame them for all our country's ills. Either you believe in personal responsibility or you believe the government should relieve you of the consequences of your actions and decisions. Either you believe it is the job of parents to raise their children and make decisions on their behalf or you believe that's government's job. Either you believe in the forced government redistribution of wealth or you believe that the government's job is to protect an individual's life, liberty, and property so that he can enjoy the fruits of his own labor. If you support Obama, you must support his progressive policies. And if you support his progressive policies, then you willingly agree to abandon or erode the noble principles on which our great country was founded.

    In the ambitious quest for votes above the nation's best interests, politics has become a game of extremes rather than common interests and solutions. We've become a nation of deep ideological differences. A house divided cannot exist.

    And the integrity of the house - OUR house - is what is at stake in this election. Our nation's soul shouldn't be for sale because of the opportunity to capitalize on the election of a man that doesn't look and think like the presidents before him.


    References:

    Mike Allen, "Obama 2012 Launches Project Vote," Politico, August 25, 2011. Referenced at: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/62049.html

    "Key People - Barack Obama." Referenced at: http://www.p2012.org/candidates/obamaorg.html

    Anita MonCrief, "Organizing for America: OFA and the DNC: ACORN 2.0," The NextRight, June 3, 2010. Referenced at: http://www.thenextright.com/category/blog-tags/organizing-for-america

    Matthew Vadum, "Organizing for America: The Democratic Party's Community Organizing Campaign to Promote Barack Obama," Capital Research, May 2010. Referenced at: https://www.capitalresearch.org/pubs/pdf/v1272918455.pdf

    Anita MonCrief, "An Inside Look at Obama's Organizing for America Pt 1," Hot Air, February 1, 2010. Referenced at: http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2010/02/01/an-inside-look-at-obamas-organizing-for-america-part-i/

    Anita MonCrief, "An Inside Look at Organizing for America Pt II: ACORN for America?" Hot Air, February 2, 2010. Referenced at: http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2010/02/02/an-inside-look-at-organzing-for-america-part-ii-acorn-for-america/

    Nicholas Stix, " Obama Signs Executive Order Granting Black Students Carte Blanche to Engage in School Violence and Disruption," Nicholas Stix Uncensored, July 28, 2012. Referenced at: http://nicholasstixuncensored.blogspot.com/2012/07/obama-signs-executive-order-granting.html

    R.R. Reno, "The One Percent," First Things, March 2, 2012.

    Diane Rufino has her own blog For Love of God and Country. Come and visit her. She'd love your company.