A soldier's heart

By Cindy Simpson

A fitting quote of G.K. Chesterton came to mind as our nation honored our fallen soldiers this past Memorial Day: "The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him."

In the political arena, Chesterton's famous statement could be paraphrased into something like:

A true leader is inspired not by his vision of the future, but by his love for the nation he represents.

Perhaps never has this country witnessed such a clear embodiment of that assertion than in the comparison of two opposing politicians — the one who appears more motivated by his vision of what's in front of him: Barack Obama; and the leader who seems more driven by love for the nation behind her: Sarah Palin.

Obama's 2008 campaign slogans, like "Hope," "Change We Can Believe In," "On the Road to Change," and the new slogan of his reelection campaign: "Winning the Future," all point to a central theme of change. Consider that Obama himself plainly told us that his vision is to "fundamentally transform" our country. As Dr. Jack Kerwick wrote for American Thinker:

[C]hange that promises fundamental transformation is emblematic of death. Every change involves loss, it is true, but dramatic changes of this kind are designed to destroy the being upon whom they are visited...When Obama pledges to fundamentally transform the United States, he is not pledging to improve upon his country, but to replace it with another entity altogether...

[T]he desire to fundamentally transform a country is the desire for a new country.

Carol Negro, in her essay, "The Secret of America," beautifully described America as an idea:

...that man is created with certain inalienable rights...the right to self-government, to be left alone, to the fruit of his labors,...created equal under God and the law, and that no man can take away these rights, and that the sole duty of government is to protect them...

Ms. Negro asserts that the left seeks "to promote a replacement 'idea'" and boldly concludes: "Since America is the idea, plotting the overthrow of the idea is plotting the overthrow of America."

In his article, "Liberal vs. Conservative: A Spiritual Battle" Lloyd Marcus perceptively made the case that "Obama's promise to 'fundamentally transform America' is a spiritual attack on our freedom, liberty, and culture."

With these definitions in mind, it is hard to argue that Obama's primary political motivation is the love for what is behind him.

Whether or not Obama has been successful in transforming our country into the audacious vision of his own or his father's dreams, current measures of the worsening economic recession, nonwars, and thousands of pages of new government regulations combined with rampant cronyism have resulted in an administration that is likely dramatically different from the one his voters may have hoped for. The article, "The Picture of Barack Obama," submitted that Obama, who described himself as a "blank slate" and declared: "We are the ones we've been waiting for," effectively became a mirror for his fans who "found Obama an inspired artist with a vision...but few bothered to evaluate his talent or experience, examine a blueprint of the transformation, or even understand his perspective."

Even though the Obama campaign sells t-shirts that proudly display the President's picture with the caption: "Made in America," many wonder, even though Hawaii is Obama's birthplace, if, as the saying goes, "Home is where the heart is": Where is his heart-place? Was Obama, as his wife admitted, ever proud of this country before his party nominated him for the Presidency? Does he love or hold allegiance to America, or the transformed nation of his dreams?

While Obama endlessly campaigns — not just in the US, but across the world — to "win the future" and essentially votes "present" while the rest of the nation suffers, his schedule for next few weeks is filled with: fundraisers.

Over the clink of the fancy china of millions of dollars' worth of "key donor" dinners, in the background — we hear a roar, and see, just over the horizon, Sarah Palin's huge bus. Dwarfing even The Beast, it rambles through the countryside as she visits historic sites while shunning the media and with little advance notice, yet still drawing huge and adoring crowds everywhere she goes.

Across her red white and blue bus are emblazoned the words, "We the People" (recently covered with graffiti of "I Media Whore," which is ironic, considering that the media are complaining that she isn't giving them the time of day). Her lovely daughter Piper pushes back at the reporters that get in the way as Sarah seeks to shake hands with the real people she came to see.

What kind of America does Sarah Palin envision for those she loves? Writer AWR Hawkins describes the country under "President Palin" as "far less intrusive and much, much smaller. Taxes would be lower, borders would be stronger, and more and more of the oil required to fuel our economy would come from here, rather than OPEC."

In her brilliant American Thinker piece that "channeled" Piper Palin writing from her mom's "One Nation" tour, Betsy M. Galliher writes: "I can't imagine why President Obama is so hung up on change. From what — being American?...[This is] why my mom talks so much about restoration, and not transformation."

Pamela Geller, in her review of the new Sarah Palin documentary, "Undefeated," writes:

[Sarah Palin] has character and spine like no one else. Obama would melt in one day under such relentless attack. The left does not realize that they have trained this woman for D-day battle...America needs to see this movie if, for no other reason, to know what a real leader looks like and acts like...Palin has the stuff of true greatness. She has grit and courage and love of country.

Speaking at Hillsdale College, Rep. Mike Pence rightly noted that a president is "tasked not to transform and work his will upon us, but to bear the weight of decision and to carry out faithfully the design laid down in the Constitution and impassioned by the Declaration of Independence."

Barack Obama continues to dream of a new and different America.

Sarah Palin loves and fights for the America she already has.

© Cindy Simpson