Once upon a time, in a most wondrous country one could ever imagine, a man from a faraway land met a fair maiden, they fell in love, got married, and had a first-born son bearing the name of his father, Barack Obama. The young boy grew up big and strong in lands of many islands and when he became of age, he sought education in the finest schools in the country, by the names of Columbia and Harvard. They taught him many things, but other things not so clearly: they told him the wisdom he now knew were not known by the many. He understood: those who are "bitter" of their economic plight "cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment". When others disagreed with his practical suggestions, Obama said, "It's like these guys take pride in being ignorant."
Now Barack Obama has a gift: a strong, supple, melodious voice. He found a church, unlike all those others, its pastor his mentor. He met a young woman and took her as his wife, and they had two young daughters. He was elected leader from a state called Illinois. Then that one awful day late one summer, some zealots from the East swooped down on the great cities and to those whom had done no wrong, destroyed their happy homes. While the rest of the country mourned and put their differences aside, Jeremiah Wright, Obama's mentor, a man of God, stepped forward and shouted, "God damn this country!" He said we were all to blame for the alleged sins of our leaders against our own people. And during all this, Obama sat silently by; for all the gifts of his voice, he could find no words, for there was always the next election.
And when it came time to elect the Great Leader, Barack Obama stepped forward, for he had all the answers. When they cried out loud, "Iraq!", Obama said, "I told you so." He knew the magic words: "Change!" and "Yes, we can!" He spoke of post-partisan politics and debates in a respectful tone. For all life's problems, he blamed the great leader; he made grand promises he knows he can't keep. He drew great crowds, and many people would faint; and though they knew no accomplishment on his part, they marveled at his fine words.
His wife, Michelle Obama, who attended the great schools Princeton and Harvard, said, reflecting on the reaction of those people, "Let me tell you something. For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country, because it feels like hope is making a comeback." She later added, “Sometimes it’s easier to hold onto your own stereotypes and misconceptions. It makes you feel justified in your ignorance. That’s [our country].”
Barack Obama then went on a grand tour of faraway lands where his implied criticism of our unpopular great leader, behind his back, drew very loud cheers, and coming back home to the leaders in the people's house, using his royal voice, said, "We are the moment we have been waiting for."
And so it came to pass that Barack Obama visited Elkhardt, Indiana, and a 7-year-old girl asked Barack, "Why do you want to be [the great leader]?" And Barack Obama, a trained lawyer from Harvard, an articulate orator and veteran of many debates, answered, "[Our country] is …, uh, is no longer, uh … what it could be, what it once was. And I say to myself, I don’t want that future for my children.”
I wonder if the child said aloud, to all those present, "The politician has no ideas." But I'm sure even if she had, all there would deny her, for otherwise others would consider them stupid for having gone there.
How will this fable end? I don't yet know. Will the Pied Piper of Stealth Liberalism lead us to the water's edge?
