Obama's Indiana Comments Are Terrifying

At a San Francisco fundraiser last Sunday, Obama played on the fears of well-cultured urban people towards folks in middle America. From Politico:

And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

Sure, whatever. Obama is simply playing politics here, since he is seizing on stereotypes held by city folk that people from middle America are lovable rubes who have a gross misconception of an ideal life. No worries, there. When I moved to California from the Midwest, the most common question was what was it like to grow up on a farm and if I was in-bred. I'm not characterizing myself as some whinyass victim of Bay Area elites, since it would be impolite to the people of San Francisco to discuss on this blog what we thought about them growing up. This cultural disparity in America has been around for eons, and it is not necessarily a bad thing as it makes America more cosmopolitan. So no need to get the proverbial panties in a bunch over the Senator's statement, IMHO.

However, reading what he said in Indiana to clarify his remarks was what truly scared the bejeezus out of me. From Reason:

People don't vote on economic issues because they don't expect anybody is going to help them. So people end up voting on issues like guns and are they going to have the right to bear arms. They vote on issues like gay marriage. They take refuge in their faith and their community, and their family, and the things they can count on. But they don't believe they can count on Washington.

This wordplay implies a collective submission to the enterprise of the state, while downplaying the importance of other entities (and I'm not even religious!). Even if the state bears free health care, guaranteed jobs, and smiley faces, it should still be feared as it rules with overwhelming force. Call me old-fashioned, but I thought government's role outlined in the constitution was to guarantee the rule of law, provide for the defense of its citizens, and something about delivering the mail. How far have we drifted from that document that we, as Americans, now want the government to provide everything for us in Nurse Ratched-like fashion. Are we so short-sighted that we don't see the inherent danger in granting the state such vast powers over its own subjects? Obama certainly makes a good case to need the right to bear arms at a time like this. Anyone who knows where I can stash an AR-15 with 12 boxes worth of ammo and my zombie-survival equipment, feel free to drop me a line.

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