Obama Speaks Togetherness, Means Sovietism

"Such knee-jerk disdain for government - this constant rejection of any common endeavor - cannot rebuild our levees or our roads or our bridges... It cannot refurbish our schools or modernize our health care system; lead to the next medical discovery or yield the research and technology that will spark a clean energy economy." [source]

So said President Obama in his recent address in Springfield, Illinois. We feel unsettled about his choice -- or rather, his speechwriter's choice -- of words, equating "common endeavor" with "government." In our reading of this phrase, we take it to mean that the Federal Government will take direct control over... well, anything it wants, really.

This implies the Federal Government will be vastly increasing its presence in the economy of the United States. This is nothing new per se, of course; the growth of Government spending has been baked into the cake for the past eighty years or so. However, President Obama is a man of change; we really do believe him on that point. Unlike others, though, we do not feel his brand of change will be what the common citizen may expect.

The "change" President Obama claims to be bringing seems to not be systemic change. His "common endeavor," we feel, will probably be closer to the harsh Soviet reality than the fairytale democratic ideal. Prepare for a 'Chicago-isation' of the United States: things will be gritty, cold, and impersonal.