By David Limbaugh
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
President Obama must have been stunned at the
"audacity" of Dr. Benjamin Carson in challenging his core assumptions
right to his face in front of thousands of people at the National Prayer
Breakfast.
Obama is not used to being challenged, especially in public,
even if indirectly and without being specifically named. From the look on his
face, it was obvious Obama was none too pleased with Carson's message or with
his "presumptuousness" in presenting it in that forum, while he had
to sit still and -- remain silent.
I think we can best understand Carson's message in light
of his opening statements, which laid the foundation for the thematic body of
this speech.
He began citing scriptural passages that he said would
put his upcoming remarks into context. Three of the passages were wisdom
sayings from the book of Proverbs, admonishing that the godless destroy their
neighbor with their mouths, that a man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor
and that a generous man will prosper.
The final passage was God's promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14
that if his people will humble themselves and pray and seek his face and turn
from their wicked ways, he will hear them, forgive their sins and heal their
land.
Carson also decried the chilling effect of political
correctness that makes people afraid to express certain opinions on important
issues, lest they incur the wrath of society's thought and speech police --
those who presume to be the guardians of all moral and acceptable opinions. He
then proceeded to boldly articulate a number of ideas that clearly fall in this
category of disfavored speech.
Specifically, Carson offered a ringing endorsement of
America's founding principles and its unique constitutional liberties. He
decried the moral decay in our society and our government's grotesque fiscal
irresponsibility.
He took aim on our ever-expanding welfare state, not only
by championing hard work, self-reliance and personal responsibility but also in
invoking his own personal experience as an example.
He related how his mother worked multiple jobs to provide
for him and his brother and imparted critically important values to them. She
made them read and improve themselves and absolutely refused to let them make
excuses and claim victimhood for their plight.
Carson, I believe, was illustrating that we have a moral
problem in this nation and that the instilling of good values begins in the
home and is neither the responsibility nor the prerogative of a caretaker
government.
He denounced the practice -- refined to an art form by
President Obama -- of politicians employing class warfare to deride the wealthy
with accusations that they don't contribute enough while treating the less
fortunate as helpless and expecting no contribution from them at all. This, I
think, is where he was dovetailing the scriptural texts warning against
deriding one's neighbor. He was saying, in effect, that political demagogues
who pit people against one another on the basis of income and wealth harm
society, including the very people they pretend to help.
In a television interview, Carson expanded on some of
these thoughts, explaining that the Founding Fathers were afraid of an
out-of-control government that would "get to the point where it couldn't
subsist without taking everything from the people." Next, he linked,
though not expressly, the scriptural passage on generosity in challenging
today's conventional wisdom that the wealthy are necessarily greedy. He pointed
to the remarkable generosity of some of America's historically wealthiest
individuals. America, he said, "has always been a very generous nation.
Look at all the foundations that have been created for the purpose of taking
care of people."
He also expounded on his comments on political
correctness, apparently criticizing the president's selective assault on
religious liberty. He said, "If the president would exercise anywhere near
the sensitivity about religious freedom in this country as he does about Islam
and offending them, we wouldn't even have these kinds of problems."
There is also no question in my mind that in citing the
passage from 2 Chronicles, Carson was expressing his view that America has
strayed from its godly roots and replaced God's absolute moral standards with
those that seem right to a man but are wholly destructive of our moral fabric.
We must turn back to God, reject this man-made ethic grounded in covetousness,
envy and greed, and recommit ourselves to godly values and right living.
In his speech, Carson did not criticize President Obama
by name, but he roundly condemned his philosophy of and approach to governance.
He did so with abundant forcefulness but equally strong respectfulness.
It was an admirable display of forthrightness and courage
and a virtual seminar in how President Obama's political opponents should
boldly, directly and publicly dispute his wrongheaded message and block his
destructive agenda.
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