On Sunday, the President gave the commencement address at The Ohio State University.\u00a0 In his address, Obama included the following:<\/p>\n
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\u201cUnfortunately, you’ve grown up hearing voices that incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity that’s at the root of all our problems. Some of these same voices also do their best to gum up the works. They’ll warn that tyranny is always lurking just around the corner. You should reject these voices. Because what they suggest is that our brave, and creative, and unique experiment in self-rule is somehow just a sham with which we can’t be trusted.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n We have never been a people who place all our faith in government to solve our problems. We shouldn’t want to. But we don’t think the government is the source of all our problems, either. Because we understand that this democracy is ours. And as citizens, we understand that it’s not about what America can do for us, it’s about what can be done by us, together, through the hard and frustrating but absolutely necessary work of self-government. And class of 2013, you have to be involved in that process.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I appreciate the President\u2019s comment that \u201cwe have never been a people who place all our faith in government\u201d and that \u201cwe don\u2019t think the government is the source of all our problems.\u201d\u00a0 The balance of those isolated statements seems prudent indeed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n However, the Intramuralist is concerned about one aspect contradictory of our mantra…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201c… nothing more than some separate, sinister voices…\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n No, I don\u2019t care about that.\u00a0 There are people on the right, left, middle, all-over-the-place who call certain somethings \u201csinister.\u201d\u00a0 That doesn\u2019t alarm me.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201c… tyranny is always lurking just around the corner…\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lurking?\u00a0 Lurking?!<\/em>\u00a0 Well, maybe.\u00a0 But that sounds more like an emotional plea designed to drum up passion.\u00a0 The President, his opponents, and supporters all seem to resort to emotional pleas when unfortunately deemed necessary.\u00a0 I, for one, believe arguments should be debated more on their logic than on all the accompanying emotion.\u00a0 But alas, I again digress…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201c… And class of 2013, you have to be involved in that process.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Excellent!\u00a0 We need to get the younger generations involved!\u00a0 You need to understand how government works!\u00a0 … it\u2019s efficiencies and inefficiencies; it\u2019s up to you to change this… to improve it… to be involved.\u00a0 Well said, Pres. Obama.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What concerns me?\u00a0 One line:\u00a0 \u201cYou should reject these voices.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As long apparent amidst our postings, the Intramuralist always \u2014 yes, I said \u201calways\u201d<\/em> \u2014\u00a0 encourages dialogue.\u00a0 The only way to encourage dialogue is to also encourage active, sincere listening \u2014 and active, sincere listening of those who feel differently than you.\u00a0 If your argument is solid \u2014 absent of logical loopholes \u2014 there should be no reason to outright reject opposing voices.\u00a0 While there is no doubt Pres. Obama is an articulate, intelligent man, his admonition that the younger generation should simply reject the voices of those who passionately advocate for limited government seems unwise to me.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If \u2014 and I realize that\u2019s a mighty big \u201cif\u201d \u2014 if we would entertain why<\/em> there is a vocal desire for limited government \u2014 if we listened to those voices \u2014 what would we learn?\u00a0 Would we learn about where government is both efficient and<\/em> inefficient?\u00a0 Would we learn about history? … where some governments have overreached and thus prompted national demise?\u00a0 What\u2019s wrong with listening to those voices as opposed to rejection?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Listening, my friends, is wiser.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Respectfully…<\/p>\n AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On Sunday, the President gave the commencement address at The Ohio State University.\u00a0 In his address, Obama included the following: \u201cUnfortunately, you’ve grown up hearing voices that incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity that’s at the root of all our problems. Some of these same voices also do … <\/p>\n