[This first appeared at RedState.com this morning.]
Dear Mr. Obama,
You probably don't know that I am a relative new-comer to RedState, though my recent subscription, so to speak, does not mean that I am new to conservatism. If it means anything, it means that I am relatively new to expressing myself in an explicitly conservative forum. Hence, I ask for your patience as I, a conservative, struggle to make sense of the movement you've permitted to snowball around you. For surely it is a movement -- and not really a campaign -- and you have, indeed, fomented this fervor, this great adulation.
This morning I imagined running for president myself, which is perhaps my wont these days, since you and I are the same age and I can't resist feeling inadequate when I witness the phenomenon which is you. I can hardly manage the complexities of domestic living at my age; you, on the other hand, are ready to "issue in a new birth of freedom on this earth" (or so you said when you announced your presidency on 2.10.07). In my apparent weakness before your apparent strength, I wonder: How can this be, and are you really certain a presidential candidate should be talking about "new birth"? Are you here to help the world be born anew a second time?
Forgive the digression. As I said, I was imagining running for president myself. And part of my reverie included a debate between us; I imagined that great moment in the debate when I could make my concluding remarks:
"I am not here to save your souls, America; I am not even here to tell you that your souls are broken. But Mr. Obama has used such rhetoric, and hence I will as well, but only for a moment.
"I am here to tell you that we have forsaken the greater institutions of church and creed, of temple and Torah; we have rejected so much of the inherited wisdom of the ages that we have gutted our lives. The state, I am afraid to say, cannot fulfill you; political and public service will not give your life meaning and purpose. Meaning, as the prophets and poets have always told us, does not come from institutions or governments, nor does it come from prosperity. My opponent in this election, who has indeed invoked many times such imagery and metaphors that can only be described as religious, has offered you a hope that no prophet would promise: he has offered you hope in the very things the poets proclaim cannot give hope. God gives hope; Christianity proclaims that hope is in a Risen God. But there is no hope in hope; there is nothing optimistic in mere optimism. We need hope to come from something not only external to ourselves, it must be bigger than our own collectivized efforts. Hope is in transcendence; meaning's domicile is not in a group effort, it is in the transcendence of a personal relation with the God of the universe.
"Alas, forgive this foray into religion, but religion is what Mr. Obama is all about. Note that my political campaign is merely promising that I will work hard to execute the laws of the land, and the principles which you have entrusted to my care. I am not here to lead you; I am not taking you to a promised land. That land is already here; my job is to preserve this land so that YOU might enjoy the abundance at your fingertips. Moreover, I am not here to make your life easier; I am not here to remove barriers -- other than those that are unconstitutional or illegal -- that have thwarted your personal quest for purpose and fulfillment. I am not here to suck out of life all of its adventure and risk, which is what my liberal peers want to do; for I know a life worth living is only that which is filled with enough risk to make living interesting. That which is dynamic is so because it works against the forces that would knock it off course; a dynamic skier is one who utilizes the forces working against his success, turning them to his advantage. Modern liberalism wants to destroy what makes living dynamic; to the skier, Mr. Obama's promise is that he will remove gravity. To such noble pursuits, I say that Mr. Obama actually wants to destroy the skier's mountain.
"My job as president is to preserve the mountain I've inherited, one that is open to all, of all abilities. I will not make the mountain flat. I will merely make it public. For it already is public, and all you need is to take a risk and discover what makes that mountain so thrilling: It is up to you.
"Finally, I am here tonight to say that while Mr. Obama calls himself a Christian, I announce that I find his Christianity wanting. For any Christian would not permit the cult of adulation surrounding him (or her) to last a single minute. That Mr. Obama is seemingly blind to his deification does not bode well for his aspirations as president, for a man of clear vision should not be blind to such idolatry. A serious Christian would stop this enthusiasm, directing his admirers to the true deity this candidate claims is "redemptive."
"And a candidate for president would urge his supporters to show some degree of proportion: that what a president does is not as important as some -- even many -- believe.
"I am here because I am seeking inauguration, not coronation. I do not offer you inspiration, but I promise you my perspiration: I shall serve you with blood, sweat, and if necessary -- and may God spare us tragedy -- the tears of compassion and grace. I will not be your idol, nor shall I for any instant be idle. I am not like my counterpart -- who is building his Obama Nation. Instead I am here to serve a united nation, one united not in a "vision" but in a time-proven creed, the creed which is greater than any visionary, and yet not so great as to exclude anyone who has vision: that creed is the Constitution of the United States and its Bill of Rights. Permit me to serve you according to law, the laws WE have made, and I promise to execute the demands of this great nation with honesty, integrity and wisdom. But do not elect me if you want me to direct this nation according to some vision, some dream or hunch or audacious hope. Please, spare me that. I am seeking a presidency in a country ruled by law and an informed and free people. I am not seeking a crown and a throne, or a people I must lead to a coming kingdom.
"Thank you, and good night."
Of course, my reverie must come to an end. It ends, I think, with the realization that perhaps the only votes I could ever get would come from that very odd set: politically conservative downhill skiers.
And my daydream also ends with this simple fact, Mr. Obama: I don't want to be inspired, for it implies that I lack inspiration. I don't. But if I do, such business is none of yours.
Peace.
©Bill Gnade 2008/Contratimes. All Rights Reserved.
