"The greater the pretentions to righteousness, the greater the potential for evil"

If Barack Obama is the savior, then salvation can be found only in becoming a follower of Obama and his government allies. Herbert Schlossberg explains in Idols for Destruction that the state becomes an idol in the hands of the "theologians of political redemption." As much as we might prefer to live in a free society, we must now learn to accept a social order in which some people force their conception of the "good life" on the rest of us. This coercion is necessary for the achievement of "progress." Try as you might to hold on to your freedom, you must come to realize that we have many "crises" from which we need to be saved. Schlossberg writes that "it was once considered immoral to take a person's property for the benefit of others by threatening the use of force, but now inequality is advanced as a greater evil than theft." State confiscation is advanced to the "pinnacle of moral rectitude."

Although Obama seems to be in large part a pragmatist, he, Reid, and Pelosi do seem convinced that what they are trying to do in nationalizing health care will be good for us, thus strengthening their determination. Schlossberg reminds us that "Jesus told His followers that their persecutors would think they were serving God (John 16:2). Solzhenitsyn tells of Eleanor Roosevelt's visit to the labor camp where he was incarcerated. Schlossberg notes that "she reported that it was a humane institution for curing criminals."

What is the affinity evil has with professions of good? C.S. Lewis, in an essay he called "Lillies that Fester," argued that the more pretentious the visions of rulers, the more defiling the rule is likely to be. If there were ever a ruler more pretentious than Obama, I cannot think who it might be.

Schlossberg writes,

"The paternal state not only feeds its children, but nurtures, educates, comforts, and disciplines them, providing all they need for their security. This appears to be a mildly insulting way to treat adults, but it is really a great crime because it transforms the state from being a gift of God, given to protect us against violence, into an idol. It supplies us with all blessings, and we look to it for all our needs. Once we sink to that level, as Lewis says, there is no point in telling state officials to mind their own business. "Our whole lives are their business," (C.S. Lewis, in God in the Dock). The paternalism of the state is that of the bad parent who wants his children dependent on him forever. That is an evil impulse. The good parent prepares his children for independence, trains them to make responsible decisions, knows that he harms them by not helping them break loose. The paternal state thrives on dependency. When the dependents free themselves, it loses power. It is, therefore, parasitic on the very persons whom it turns into parasites. Thus, the state and its dependents march symbiotically to destruction."

Obama's Director of Communications, Anita Dunn, gave a speech to high school graduates in which she extolled Chairman Mao for his determination and perseverance. Mao, like Obama, was expected to save his people from all problems. A common proverb was, "We must study the works of Chairman Mao each day. If we miss only one day the problems pile up. If we miss two days we fall back. If we miss three days, we can no longer live."

How about the way Obama is ubiquitous as our Big Brother or our Father, Mr. Cool, while Rahm Emanuel's obscenities propel the engine driving the bus and pulling the strings. To these builders of utopia, everything is possible, and they feel free to attack anyone who raises questions (Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck). Schlossberg warns us that "the greater the pretentions to righteousness, it seems, the greater the potential for evil."