January 20, 2009
Inauguration day – a day some have dreaded, but a voting majority have yearned for.
Barack Obama has said he wants to be post-ideological and usher in a new era of personal responsibility and accountability. Even if he means what he says (and I want to hear some definitions first), the congressional leadership in his party doesn’t feel that way. It wants people more dependent on government programs in order to enhance its power.
What does it mean to be post-ideological? Obama says he wants to take ideas from every perspective and focus on what works. I agree with that, too, but would he take my ideas that the unborn need to be born and that heterosexual marriage needs to be strengthened, not weakened by endorsing same-sex marriage? Would he accept my ideology that debt is bad and government has contributed to it by spending too much?
Is it ideological to point out we have enemies who want to destroy us and they must be stopped? Some in his new administration think we can negotiate with killers. I hope the new president succeeds in the things I care about. We’ll soon know if this is window dressing, or if he’s serious.
Cal Thomas is a syndicated columnist in Washington, D.C.
