Liberty, Adoration, and Consistency

In the Federalist Papers James Madison argued that our liberty would be more likely to be protected if there were more competing factions across our far-flung land. With the likes of Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid now being united with the new president, our liberty may be more threatened than it has been in any time in our lifetimes. Additionally, Obama has apparently picked hardliner Rahm Emmanuel to be his Chief of Staff. Emmanuel is not a unifer! We must be prepared for some real struggles in the months and years ahead. We must clearly articulate the principles upon which we stand, in hopes that, as George Washington phrased it in his inaugural address, the "sacred fires of liberty" will prevail.

One of the things that might surprise Barack Obama, given the emotional outpouring of love he has received from hundreds of thousands of adoring fans, is the fact that the adoration may be short-lived, and many of those same people may turn against him. MoveOn.org is already making threats and mentioning how much money they have raised for him. George Washington experienced similar adoration of wildly cheering Americans as he made the trip from Mount Vernon to New York for his inauguration. He remembered, though, that he had received adoration before, only to see those same people try to remove him from his post as commander of the army, when things were looking bleak.

We must be consistent, and we must offer solutions to the real problems our country faces. Obama can no longer get away with saying one thing and doing another. He must learn to be consistent, too.