Father Barack

I have found myself returning to reread Mark Steyn's article Live Free or Die in which he warns of the infantilization of America.

What Washington has done is to turn the US into a nanny state -- where ostensibly grown adults start acting as helpless, needy children, instead of responsible, free citizens. Where's my subsidy? Where's my bailout? Shouldn't someone else take care of me? Plan my retirement? Provide my health insurance? Pay my mortgage? Buy my food? and on and on it goes. There's no end to our needs. Thank goodness paternalistic government is there to bear the heavy responsibilities of adulthood for us. I'd hate to think I had to be responsible and live as a free man. I can remember an old skit on SNL where a poor person looked around at all the affluence of the 80s and, exasperated, said "Where's my stuff? I want stuff." We've been well conditioned to turn our eyes on Obama as Savior and Provider. We ask much of him, because so little is expected from ourselves.

I read and saw some of Dear Leader's speech to America's children yesterday. As he told them to wash their hands and stay in school, I thought of Steyn's article. And what Obama said to the kids, we can hear being said to us 'adults': wear your seat belt, don't eat trans fats, and whatever you do, for God's sake, don't leave your cell phone charger plugged in. And oh yeah, and get a tune up for your car. Maybe Obama could be piped into classrooms, shopping malls, elevators and workplaces across the country each day to inspire his children to floss and exercise as we work and dream for a better America. What a perfect Union that would be.

I don't know about you, but my hope does not reside in Washington, D.C.


Update (10/29/09): Check out Reason.tv's Nanny of the month