When Better Is Worse
With the announcement of his security team—particularly including the continued service of Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the selection of General James L. Jones as National Security Adviser—President-(pre)elect Obama’s pragmatism is all apparent.
Such pragmatism is a relief for many who feared Obama might be a socialist or even outright Marxist idealist. So, fortunately, he has retracted some commitments and at least delayed others. He will not withdraw troops willy-nilly from Iraq. He will not immediately raise (at least technically) already hefty taxes on the wealthy and on businesses. He will reconsider promises to invest more money in foreign aid and development. The list goes on. On pretty much every issue where the President-prelect has chosen to speak during the transition he has moved dramatically toward the middle—at least for now. While fans of Obama are disappointed (but not too vocally while they are still honeymooning) many opponents have been comforted.
But that comfort should be mitigated by two related realities. First, and fundamentally important, is that the reason PP Obama can act out of pure pragmatism is that ideological values are not central to his way of thinking about the world, nor to those who elected him. That fact is why people who oppose abortion and homosexual marriage (or who simply do not care about those issues) voted for a person who supports those very causes. (California’s vote for Proposition 8 and candidate Obama is a perfect case in point.) The problem is plain: when people care about whatever works to solve their economic and material problems more than they care about what is right and wrong—I don’t even want to think about how that sentence ought to be completed.
Second, and just as important, is that where idealism is present in the President-prelect, it will emerge outside the scope of why he was elected (the economy and such) and it will reveal the only true change, true difference, between him and any other pragmatic candidate, such as John McCain. That is, when he takes office the new president will sign executive orders removing restrictions on abortion put in place over the past eight years, and the number of abortions will begin to rise dramatically. So, effectively, Americans have traded the protection of unborn children for a bowl of porridge. And, more broadly, we have exchanged the value of truth (or ideals, or real values, or absolutes, or essentials, or any other number of words identifying the same unchanging reality) for the value of material success (regardless of its form). Now there’s a change we can believe in–whether we want to or not.
Tags: Politics
“when people care about whatever works to solve their economic and material problems more than they care about what is right and wrong—I don’t even want to think about how that sentence ought to be completed”
i was reading it as if you were saying it on the radio and this was perfect.
it is amazing how quick are minds are to jump from disappointment to comfort at the smallest sign of improvement in ANY area, and we quickly get over BIG issues, such as killing unborn children or protecting biblical marriage, because the “present issues” are “getting better.” I hope that the Spirit’s conviction in my life will keep me from ever falling into that mindset.
Dr. Creamer,
1st, I wish you & Alan Keys were on the 2008 ticket. Common sense, straight talk, & most important…conviction about Christ.
2nd, You made a comment on previous biracial Presidents (i.e., BH Obama is not the first). Can you give me the names of some previous biracial Presidents?
Best Regards,
Damon Good