Dear Mister Obama,
Are you as good as you say you are? Can you really change Washington? Are you really as non-partisan as you say you are? Will you really do what is best for America? What do you think is best for America? How will you bring about this change? Exactly what will you change?
I, like many Americans, want to believe in you. We want to believe that you can make a difference. The problem I have with you is two-fold. First, your words and your actions often aren't congruent. You say that you will be non-partisan and that you represent a new kind of politics, yet you vote primarily along the lines of your political party. If you were truly non-partisan, wouldn't your voting record not resemble that of a sycophant? Second, I believe that you have misdiagnosed the ills that America faces. The problem with America is the government and its intrusion in every American citizen's life. We have strayed so far from our Constitution and its provisions that protect our natural rights that it is difficult to see the true cause of most of our problems.
I have read your plan for America. It was a difficult read at times. It offered nothing new that I could see. You call it change, but it really isn't change. It is more of the same old broken politics of more government, more taxes, more regulation, more government oversight, and more socialism. The problem I have with you and your plan is that it penalizes people like me, those who work hard and are personally responsible for our lives and our decisions. It seeks to take more and more of our money and freedoms and give them to others for perceived injustices. Your plan violates my God-given natural rights to be free of arbitrary decisions of the government or decisions that seek to arbitrarily restrict my freedoms. I think it is rather ironic that a black man, who should understand the injustice of a majority suppressing and taking advantage of a minority population, would so willing to pay for all his ideas by taking advantage of another minority, the rich. I would think that you, of all people, would understand the danger in taking this position. When is it ever right for the majority to take advantage of the minority solely because they have the numbers do so?
In summary, I leave you with my rebuttal to your plan. I hope that you consider honestly the historical failures of the policies that you wish to pursue. Confiscating money from a minority to pay for programs that you believe are good or for redistribution of income is unconstitutional at best and immoral at worst no matter how laudable your efforts. Slavery taught us that the majority has no right to abuse a minority's natural rights, of which private property is one.
Regards,
Todd Benson
p.s. I would love to have this conversation in person. I know there are tens of millions of Americans who harbor these same feelings and beliefs about freedom and liberty. Our voices will be heard in Washington. That is the America way. Please do not shut us out with your rhetoric. I can be reached at todd.benson@dearmisterobama.com.