Barack Obama, bringing people together

"No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots". Barbara Ehrenreich


Barack Obama is campaigning and saying he is the candidate for president who can "bring people together". Obama is a good orator who is inspiring people. People like to be inspired. It makes them feel good. During each election cycle we hear political candidates advocate their ability to "bring people together". I wonder what they mean by this cliché?

President Bush said in an interview with David Horwitz on Salon.com in May 1999, "I showed the people of Texas that I'm a uniter, not a divider. I refuse to play the politics of putting people into groups and pitting one group against another".

They want us to think they will make the government and society a happy place where there will be no dissent or bickering. They want us to think they can get people to agree on the right way to do things.

Does Barack Obama want us all to come together and give up our guns? Does he want us all to come together and worship in the same church, belong to the same party, and agree to his socialist legislation?

I believe this "bringing people together" is a euphemism for getting people to be compliant and sheepish. The candidate simply wants the masses to be cooperative while the politicians do as they wish. The politicians simply do not want any dissent. Dissent means they have to listen. The politicians want to be like the old sea captains who never tolerated dissent, and had the authority to lash a crewman.

Marx, Lenin, Mao and others all had the same message. Come and let us work together for a greater good. In other words, stop resisting me.

Barack Obama sounds like a noble statesman. If he is, he will not change politics, politics will change him.

Obama's election to President of the United States would send a message to the rest of the world that the United States Constitution is still working. His election would send a message to millions of young minorities that failure is no longer an option. His election will inspire those young minorities, but they will be disappointed to find their inspiration is hampered by the government regulations imposed by Obama's legislation. They will find there is no need for inspiration and productivity because Obama and other government politicians will see to it that non producers are rewarded and producers are punished.

We need dissent. We do not need to go along, to get along.

Thank goodness for dissent. Dissent saves lives. In 1979 United Airlines had an aircraft accident. The cockpit voice recorder indicated there was not enough dissent from the subordinate crewmembers. To encourage junior crewmembers to speak up and dissent when they saw something wrong, United Airlines started a program called "Command Leadership Resource Management", CLR, which later became "Crew Resource Management", CRM. Cockpit crewmembers are now encouraged to speak up when they think something is unsafe.

CRM has become standard training in the airline industry. It is being taught to doctors and health care workers, encouraging nurses to speak out when they see something wrong with a patient's care, or a surgery in process.

The same dissent works in a democracy. I disagree with our foreign policy, but I would hate to silence those who support our foreign policy. I just might be wrong.

Charles Tolleson