Taxing the Rich - Bringing Down the Bourgeoisie - The DNC Convention

Former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm at the Democrat National Convention. She kind of reminded me of Eva Peron.

For me, watching the Democrats' convention became a study in socialism. Nearly all the rhetoric, nearly all the platitudes, nearly all the promises, pointed in one way or another to defaming "the rich" (i.e., the bourgeoisie) and telling the rest how oppressed we all are. On more than one occasion, I was reminded of a quote by V. I. Lenin: "The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation."

As the Republican candidate for president, Mitt Romney has taken the stage, front and center, as the poster child of the bourgeoisie. If we are to believe those who spoke at the DNC, Romney is the Great Oppressor while Obama is the Great Revolutionary. Of course each side of our two party system attempts to paint the other side in the bleakest terms as possible. That is the nature of US politics.

Yet, within the last 20 years or so, the doctrine of oppression has become mainstream. In this ideology, the government must enforce equality, bring down the rich, and take care of the poor. The government becomes the means of saving the oppressed as well as becoming the oppressor.

This is the deception of President Obama and the Democrat party. With one hand, Obama proclaims the rich and powerful to be the cause of all suffering. With the other hand, he proclaims himself outside of the bourgeoisie and capable of establishing equality and prosperity. Michelle Obama's speech was nothing, if not an attempt to cast herself and Obama as one of the oppressed class, even though their lives have both become those of power, wealth, and privilege.

Too many deceptions lie at the base of Obama's doctrine, not the least of which is the historical failures of governments which became the oppressors. This is the duplicity of socialism. In order for a government to bring down the oppressor, it must become exactly what it professes to despise.

The United States was built on and dedicated to the principle that the government must be controlled by the people, to avoid tyranny and to avoid exercising all authority over its citizens. Socialism, on the other hand, is dedicated to the principle that government authority can cure all ills by bringing down the rich.

The Democrats' convention poses the questions: Do we trust government with the power to enforce equality? Do we trust government which can so casually replace individual wealth with burdensome taxation and government spending?

Remember what John Adams said: "Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing God's service when it is violating all his laws."