Signs and Wonders in Week One of the Obama Era

American Thinker ^ | January 27, 2009 | J.R. Dunn

[shibumi]

"People basking in a long-sought victory -- a victory that they can bank on -- behave in a certain way. There's a sense of exhilaration, of smugness, of tolerant condescension for the losers. But there's none of that in any of the hardcore left-wing comments. No arrogance, no lofty amusement, but something else entirely, something that can only be characterized as a sense of near-hysteria crossed with frustration. It's an impression of deep insecurity, of people afraid that their triumph is ephemeral and is going to be snatched away from them. In their moment of victory, the American left is no less than desperate."

Considering the manner in which this election was "won" and the office of POTUS usurped, it could be that the left is finding out that Ill-gotten gains are never as satisfying as those honestly earned.


.....or it could be that they're just jerks.

[dr_lew]

What would you call it when someone reacts with outrage--and it's characterized as some major slam against believers --because a segment of Americans who have always been here and contributed to the greatness of of the country is merely mentioned? You don't think that's petty and childish?

They weren't "merely mentioned", they were elevated to the same status as believers, which has never been done in Presidential discourse, AFAIK. Well, unbelievers have their rights, to be sure, but to equate unbelief with belief is indeed a slam against belief. It demotes it to nothingness, to be honest, mere personal whim.

[Darkwolf377]

America was explicitly founded on a belief in God, so it seems to me that if you deny God, you deny the founding principles of America, and indeed the very idea of The United States of America, as conceived. You're left with a rationalistic judgement that everything worked out great, but nothing like a belief in America, AFAICT.

That's a very creative and tortuous logic you've got going there. I happen to not believe any of it, and fortunately it is entirely useless and meaningless, as you are addressing something you know nothing about.

You are free to believe that I don't believe in America--a truly bizarre assertion to make. And talk about judgment--based on a couple of posts, you're able to judge my patriotism and most basic beliefs. I look back with nostalgia your fury at my making a single judgment about a comment, as opposed to a person's soul.

I am still bewildered by your intense reaction to my position, though I have a definite idea as to why you've reacted this way--it's pretty obvious, actually. But let's not get into that.

Take care.

[Darkwolf377]

They weren't "merely mentioned", they were elevated to the same status as believers, which has never been done in Presidential discourse, AFAIK. Well, unbelievers have their rights, to be sure, but to equate unbelief with belief is indeed a slam against belief. It demotes it to nothingness, to be honest, mere personal whim.

Not at all, it points out that belief is a choice. It is that or a form of slavery--you're not making the case that belief overtakes one ala possession? In that case, there would be no freedom of choice, and without that, belief is meaningless, more, it is offensive to the concept of one's god.

To claim that nonbelief is a whim would be offensive were I to care what others think. It is only offensive to the nature of belief itself, which you seem to think is a value on its own(Nazis, Islamists and Liberals believe, too--but then, you're more offended that I, a pro-life, pro-American conservative is allowed to be mentioned in the same breath as Muslims).

You are either confused or playing wordgames here. Belief is a choice of a personal view of the universe, based on personal experience and consideration, one the believer believes is the truth; nonbelief is a choice of a personal view of the universe, based on personal experience and consideration, one the believer believes is the truth.

I must say, your reaction is most interesting.

[Darkwolf377]

Considering the manner in which this election was "won" and the office of POTUS usurped, it could be that the left is finding out that Ill-gotten gains are never as satisfying as those honestly earned. .....or it could be that they're just jerks.

I think their reaction as described above is proof of what we FReepers have always maintained, based on the DUmmie FUnnies comments, for example.

Liberals are miserable, powerless people who believe they should be running the planet, and they would be, if only this world wasn't so unfair.

Combine that with hero adulation, which is a sign in men of a failure of masculinity and maturity, and you've got an anxious bunch who can only be made happy by something that will never, ever happen: They will not be getting phone calls from Obama putting them in some bureaucratic post ala the Soviet Union promotion of party apparatchiks with no experience to positions of authority over those who might have wronged or ignored them in the past.

The Obama fans aren't happy sitting in the basement watching this stuff happen, they want to be in on the decisions--yet I suspect most of them never get off their butts and talk to people not like themselves.

This is why you don't find as many on the right getting as wrought up. A true conservative put in a place of power would react in the exact opposite manner of a liberal. Instead of being thrilled at being in a position to control others, he would be anxious to do his necessary duty and then get back to LIVING. A true liberal would live in DC forever, making laws and more laws, shaping the lives of others too blind to live for themselves; a true conservative would run for office only to throw roadblocks in the way of such people, and hope more will follow him so he can get the heck out of DC and get back to the life he wants to live--without interference from anyone (other than those necessary things only government can do, defense, etc.).

So I guess this is a loooong way of saying yeah, they're just jerks.

[Darkwolf377]

“As the Government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion. . . .” —John Adams, the Treaty of Triploi

You should also look into the beliefs of Adams and Jefferson, whose beliefs in Christ’s teachings were more about their ethical foundation, as opposed to religious doctrine.

I am not saying nonsense like the Founding Fathers were not believers. I am merely pointing out that their belief in what makes an American is a lot broader than your own, apparently.

I’ll go with them over you.

(I suppose I should be grateful you’ve lowered yourself to spend all this time talking to a lowly non-American non-believer or whatever I am supposed to be, but...I don’t really care.)

Have a good day.

[dr_lew]

To claim that nonbelief is a whim would be offensive were I to care what others think. It is only offensive to the nature of belief itself, which you seem to think is a value on its own(Nazis, Islamists and Liberals believe, too--but then, you're more offended that I, a pro-life, pro-American conservative is allowed to be mentioned in the same breath as Muslims).

Muslims are the same wild card as nonbelievers. It's a question of communal understanding, a common language. If individuals have their personal doubts, that's their business, but the community must acknowledge a common spiritual bond, or else there is no community, and this is where we stand today. The "religious right" is a sort of rump parliament.

[Darkwolf377]

the community must acknowledge a common spiritual bond, or else there is no community

So Jews aren't 100% Americans either?

What are we atheists and Jews, 3/5th American?

Goodbye.

[kevinm13]

Although President Bush has left Washington, it seems that Bush Derangement Syndrome lives on at the left’s favorite websites. I hope it eats up the left taking Barry with them.

[MyTwoCopperCoins]

They weren't "merely mentioned", they were elevated to the same status as believers...

LOL, "status"!

[raybbr]

What struck me at last was this: the left are not acting like winners.

Where has this guy been for the last thirty years?

[Carley]

The left is the party of the perpetually pissed off.

[EBH]

We were reminded this week by David Warren that, "The liberal mind -- now fully restored to power in the United States -- is in love with symbolic gestures."

Here indeed is the catch, the importance of symbols to fascist regimes. 0bama is a symbol to the democrats. Listen carefully to them speak of the 0. He represents this, that, etc.

Now we have a group pulling together the 0 Little Blue Book of quotes. Symbols, words and as many here realize, empty rhetoric. Mussolini rose to power on rhetoric.

We didn't have the organization to stop 0bama's rise during the election cycle. The Clinton machine was effectively silenced and defeated. Democrats underestimated Bush, Republicans and Conservatives need to be very wary not to underestimate 0bama. He is slick, savy, arrogant, and plays the game not just to win.

Congressional Republican opposition is not enough to stop them. 0bama already has control over congress. Now he has fired the warning shot across the bow of Free Speech in attacking Rush Limbaugh. He will start to silence his critics and the people will approve.

They will approve because the symbol, the man who represents their future cannot fail. He is not inspiring faith in America, he is inspiring faith in failed men.

We failed to stop his election. There is no shame in failure, but what did we learn and how can we exploit that new knowledge? We know he and his ilk are using Alinsky rules, how does a freeman counter those tactics? We know he is developing a civilian corp., what should freemen be doing? We observe the rise of the challenge to Free Speech, shall we all become pamphleteers? The MSM is know propagandists, why do we still sit and not create our own media for public consumption?

[sirchtruth]

American can not exist without a belief in a creator, because it's the creator who gives inalienable rights. Even as an Atheist you must recognize this.

It's imprinted all over our history some of the founders were deist, but most were Christian. People who try to deny this country was founded on Christian principles, are ignorant of history or just plain try to deny the fact.

My question is "what" do you as an Atheist recognize as your "creator?"

[LS]

What were they promised? Rainbows, unicorns, falling sea levels, global harmony. Oh yeah, pie.

Well, I darn sure know what I was promised, and I'm searching like heck on the government websites for the Office of Individual Bailouts (OIB), but still can't find the dang thing.

[Just mythoughts]

While I should have known better, I was expecting more out of the left in their victory than what they have displayed. The real fight begins as these victors attempt to take the spoils.

The real ugly part is only about to begin as these ‘coalitions’ now have to fight each other over who paid more to get to play. The cast of characters on stage putting on this show do not particularly like each other all that much.

[Moonman62]

As the debt grows and the dollar falls...

That sounds like the W presidency to me.

[sergeantdave]

Leftists are incapable of rational thought. We saw it in Hitler as he overuled his military commanders and sent his divisions into suicide missions on the Russia front. That, arguably, lost him the war.

But leftists are, if nothing else, ego-maniacs. Nobama will crash and burn, along with his followers. Once they are inevitably caught up in their self-designed Blut und Boden rage, mistake after mistake will follow along with their eventual defeat and the movement’s death.

Nobama will mirror Lincoln in at least one aspect - he will be a president much hated in his time. He will go down in history as the anti-Lincoln as he tries to re-institute slavery on the American population with his Marxist philosophy.

This will be followed by a great re-awakening of American liberty and freedom. The pendulum will swing - that I believe. We are watching the imminent death of irrational leftism and blind hatred in America.

[depressed in 06]

True to their anarchist’s roots, the left has no end game. Their only objective is to destroy.

[the invisib1e hand]

this guy writes fairly well and it seems he knows it, which taints his material; he also seems to leverage the unprovable at times which is not good for credibility.

That notwithstanding, an image was called to mind while reading about the disappearing promoter: There's a scene in "Trading Places" in which Billy Ray Valentine invites all his friends from the 'hood to a par-tay in the mansion he's just been given the run of. It's a very socially telling scene.