And then there’s paragraph five, where the President wrote, “as long as some Americans still must struggle, none of us can be fully content. And as America comes ever closer to achieving the perfect Union our founders dreamed, that triumph -- that pride -- belongs to all of us.”
At the end of the message, the President made a pitch for American volunteerism, and in this paragraph he seems to be building-up to that pitch. But he also seems to be downplaying the significance of “struggle,” and assuming that it’s a bad thing if a person ever has to “struggle.”
I’m not suggesting that poverty is a good thing, or that I should allow myself to ignore my neighbor’s sufferings. But I know “struggle.” And “struggle” - the quest to better one’s self, to face risks, to become upwardly mobile, and so forth - is at the very essence of the American way of life.
Unfortunately, President Obama seems committed to ensuring that we all have a risk-free, struggle-free life. I suppose that’s why we’ve seen some people show up at Obama townhall events and, when given the rare opportunity to speak to the President, they ask Obama for a better job, or a new home, or a better kitchen, and so forth. Obama promises to “give things” to us, and some Americans, quite eager to avoid “struggle,” are ready to receive from him.
In ObamaWorld, "struggle" is for other people, like the ones who make all the wealth of the nation who are being forced to give it away.
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