PrintJuly 12, 2009
Ghana speech cognitive dissonance
The following excerpts of President Obama's speech to Ghana's parliament on Saturday contain some revealing and perhaps self-indicting characteristics of what the President considers to be hallmarks of "good governance":
As I said in Cairo, each nation gives life to democracy in its own way, and in line with its own traditions.
Sage observation. In our peculiar American tradition, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit and Happiness." "Good governance" depends on limited government upholding these rights, and not "repressing them" (as you later say) under the pretense of "pro-choice," "spreading the wealth around," or "redistributive change."
This is about more than holding elections - it's also about what happens between them. Repression takes many forms, and too many nations are plagued by problems that condemn their people to poverty. No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves, or police can be bought off by drug traffickers. No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20 percent off the top, or the head of the Port Authority is corrupt.
So by what authority will the President and his political posterity do exorbitantly more than "skim 20% off the top" of future American generations in the name of "hope and change, "climate change," "good green jobs," "bailouts," "stimulus," and community reinvestment? He's right about one thing, these misguided policies "will condemn our people to poverty." As he rightly says, "Repression takes many forms."
Make no mistake: history is on the side of these brave Africans, and not with those who use coups or change Constitutions to stay in power. Africa doesn't need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.
How about those brave Hondurans and Iranians? Didn't Zelaya try to illegally "change his Constitution to stay in power?"
For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." Matthew 12:37
