Posted on 10/18/2008 10:22:15 AM PDT by p. henry
My Dear Fellow Freepers:
My daughter is in the middle of her college semester abroad. I sent her a letter about the election and now share it with you.
Dear Courtney:
It occurs to me that your host family or others you meet during your semester abroad may be interested in our Presidential election and that much of what they read and hear about it is produced by a media that is to say the least heavily biased in favor of one of the candidates. So, to help you help them see things from a perspective not shared by the great majority of those who produce our news, I am writing this letter in which I explain why I will vote for John McCain.
In at least one sense, this election is about who we are as individuals and as a country. During my lifetime, the United States, when compared to the rest of the world, has been a land of opportunity, in which free men making, and taking responsibilty for, the decisions that shape their lives have either prospered or failed as a consequence of those decisions. That liberty created the strongest, most prosperous, most intellectually diverse culture the world has ever known. However, for some years now those who deny the salutary effects of individual choice in all but a few matters have laid seige to our culture in favor of one in which those who prosper are reduced and those who fail are uplifted. The election of Obama with a Congress controlled by Democrats would ensure the final victory of this collectivist philosophy. It would certainly be "change" but not change anyone should believe in.
If enacted, Obama's proposed changes to the tax laws would over time destroy capitalism in the United States. Capitalism requires, and is defined by, the aggregation and application of capital. Obama would raise the top two marginal rates and phase out itemized deductions. He would also uncap Social Security taxes, which are currently applicable to the first $102,000 of earnings. When added to the Medicare tax, Obama's proposed changes would result in a top marginal tax rate of more than 60%. Quite apart from the moral implications of taxing anybody at that level, you could not reasonably expect people to save enough to invest in new businesses when, the moment they earn enough to save a dollar or two, government would take six out of every ten dollars they earn. For much of my career, I have worked with start-up and development stage companies. Some of them failed; some remained small; some became quite large indeed. Altogether they created thousands, if not tens of thousands, of new jobs. All of those companies were started with initial equity fundings from friends and family. Under Obama, those equity funds would be greatly diminished, and without them significantly fewer new companies and jobs would be created. One of the great ironies of this campaign (or perhaps it's a tragedy) is that Obama is drawing much of his support from young people, and they are the ones would suffer the most and longest in the depressed economy that would be the legacy of Obama's tax and other economic policies.
And to what end would Obama do such damage to our economy? In his words, his changes would "spread the wealth around." Assuming for a moment that "spreadng the wealth around" is a good thing either morally or practically, is it a proper function of government? Should government use its police powers to accomplish that goal? Is it a just government that buys one man's vote by promising to give him a dollar he has not earned by first taking it from someone who has earned it? How is that system different from the "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" that is a central tenet of a creed we spent fifty years, trillions of dollars, and more than one hundred thousand lives consigning to the dustbin of history? And finally, how is Obama's philosophy consistent with our American belief that each man is responsible for his own success or failure?
As you can tell from the nature of these questions, I do not believe government should "spread the wealth around." While fortune, good or ill, undoubtedly plays a part in whether any one man propers, over all of American society success or failure is mostly determined by the choices we make. And, because people will usually do what they perceive to be in their own self interest, the more government mitigates the consequences of the choices we make, the less prosperous society will become over the long run. What began 44 years ago as Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty has evolved into Barak Obama's War on Prosperity.
In stark contrast to Obama's platform, John McCain's proposed tax changes would incentivize work and the creation of new jobs. He would extend the tax cuts of 2001 for all taxpayers, not just those in the lower brackets; he would reduce our corporate tax rate, which is among the highest in the world; and he would allow the immediate expensing of new equipment and technology.
Of the two candidates, John McCain has also demonstrated a better understanding of the threat the non-Islamic world faces from jihadist Islam. Our response to this threat has been mischaracterized as a War on Terror. How can we be at war with a tactic? We are at war with those who practise militant, expansionist Islam, represented by messianic Shiite mullahs in Teheran and Wahhabist sheiks in the Hindu Kush; and by "we" I do not mean the United States. I mean most of the non-Islamic world.
This is a very old and long conflict, having continued in fits and starts since the middle of the 7th Century. In 732 its principal front was at Tours; in 1453 it was at Constantinople; in 1529 and again in 1683 it was at Vienna. Today it can be found in Darfur, Somalia, the Balkans, Chechnya, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Thailand and the Philippines, as well as in a number of European Countries in which the demographic trends do not auger well for the future of a Christian culture. Its more recent vitims include commuters in Madrid and London and bond traders in New York. Many Europeans do not acknowlege the gravity of the threat. The French tolerate no-go zones in some of their cities. The British, authors of the Magna Carta and the founders of one thousand years of Anglo Saxon jurisprudence, are beginning to recognize Sharia courts in England. Film directors and authors who offend jihadist sensibilities are not safe in the Netherlands. Among Western Europeans, it seems that only the Danes truly understand the nature of the beast and are willing to stand up to it.
Reasonable people can differ as to whether our invasion of Iraq was justified or advisable. Certainly, most Americans today would judge it harshly. Fifty years hence, historians may reach a different conclusion. What is not honestly disputable is that a defeat or perceived defeat of our forces in Iraq would have had disastrous consequences for us in our battle with jihadist Islam. John McCain was one of the earliest and most prominent supporters of the Petraeus Surge that secured our victory over Al Qaeda in Iraq. Senator Obama opposed the Surge and advocated the moral equivalent of surrender. A good argument can be made that he did so in part to secure the support of the left wing of his party in his contest with Hillary Clinton. If his position was the result of poor judgment, it should call into question his fitness to serve as our President. If it was in fact a calculated political ploy designed to gain advantage over Mrs. Clinton, such a cynical and self-serving act involving our national security and the armed forces of our country should disqualify him from becoming Commander in Chief.
Senator Obama advocates a number of other policies which, if adopted, would reduce our prosperity and slow the creation of jobs. He would sign a bill enacting into law the doctrine of compararble worth, which would vest in federal bureaucrats or the courts the authority to determine the wages a private company could pay for different jobs to avoid alleged gender discrimination arising from the fact that some jobs are primarily performed by men and other are usually performed by women. His national health insurance plan calls for fining employers who do not provide health insurance for their employees. Lifting the cap on wages subject to Social Security taxes would immediatley increase the cost of employing people who earn more than the cap. He favors eliminating the need for a secret ballot when employees are trying to decide whether they should join a union. All these positions are job killers. Whenever you increase the cost or risk inherent in hiring someone, you decrease the liklihood he will be hired. Consequently, the recession we are now entering will be significantly longer and deeper if Senator Obama becomes our President.
There are many reasons I have decided to vote for John McCain, including his demonstrated strength of character and his long record of service to our country. This letter summarizes only a few of them. However, I hope that it will help you explain to your host family and to your friends and our family why many Americans will vote for him and that it will dilute to some extent the biased bilgewater that is masquerading as American journalism during this election.
Much love,
Your Dad
I have no idea why that is important, but it seems to be the only thing nObama is talking about.
You're right he is a bit hung up on pie. I am sure it's a code word against Mrs. Smith and Sara Lee. Good letter P.henry...more parents should school their kids on the election.
A great letter. I wish all parents would advise their college student sons and daughters to learn only what they need to learn and flush all of the Marxist indoctrination and propaganda that they are subjected to by their college “professors” such as the domestic terrorist, Bill Ayers.
Most excellent letter.
“Obama’s War on Prosperity” — excellent!! That is absolutely the best summary of what his campaign and philosophy is all about.
I agree. My conservative parents raised two children. One child was headstrong and broke a lot of rules, but also never let the teachers break her will or dictate her thoughts. The other wasn’t in trouble as much (if at all) but was weaker willed. That child is now a raving liberal, as a product of a “better” education.
She won't listen to you. She has had YEARS of public school indoctrination telling her that CAPITALISM is BAD. Capitalists are GREEDY people. That is why she is voting for a SOCIALIST/MARXIST - it is what she has been told is GOOD. You don't speak her language. You should have taken the time to implant YOUR values instead of leaving it up to the government schools.
Excellent. Do you mind if it is passed along to the folks in our email address books?
Thanks for a super Post!!!...
You cannot judge this dad.
Outstanding, even-handed, judicious letter. Kudos — I’ll be forwarding this along to my contact list. Especially the folks in Europe.
“You cannot judge this dad.”
I certainly can and did.
Values and beliefs are the responsibility of PARENTS not government school teachers. It’s always been that way. To suddenly WAKE UP and realize that a parent has been MIA in this education, is something for other PARENTS to learn from if they are making the SAME MISTAKE.
I repeat:
Dad,
She won’t listen to you. She has had YEARS of public school indoctrination telling her that CAPITALISM is BAD. Capitalists are GREEDY people. That is why she is voting for a SOCIALIST/MARXIST - it is what she has been told is GOOD. You don’t speak her language. You should have taken the time to implant YOUR values instead of leaving it up to the government schools.
Bump for later reading
ping to a FReeper’s letter to his daughter abroad.
Great letter.
You are wiping your feet on his letter with assumption.
Great letter!
Makes me proud to be your fellow FReeper ;)
PS: Don’t pay any attention to the brown noise and static...
And it seems this dad is taking that responsibility seriously. Apparently, you would prefer that he not say anything and let the schools indoctrinate without a solid counter argument, and I'm assuming this letter is not the only such conversation he has had with his daughter about politics.
Your daughter’s college professors could learn a great deal from you. Your letter is excellent, both in content and composition. Do you mind if I share it with my email list?
awesome letter! you did a great job and you sound like a great dad :)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.