The Road to Dystopia: As Darkness Settles Over America

While perusing the "dark side" of the blog o sphere I came across the above photo at the DailyKos site and my immediate impression was one of impending darkness.

It was 1984 when we were last recovering from an economic downturn similar to our current events. We were only 4 years removed from the Carter induced malaise/embarrassment of the late seventies but because of Ronald Reagan's steely resolve and an unparalleled conservative optimism we experienced a resurgence, a new dawn so to speak, which he called "Morning in America". It was a transformation that unraveled 40 years of failed progressive policies, ended 30 years of Cold War politics which eventually brought freedom to millions, and ushered in 25 years of unprecedented economic growth and prosperity.

Barrack Obama and his fellow travelers consider themselves the new revolutionaries and they see an opportunity for a counter transformation. They too want to unravel the old order and usher in a new age. How do they tout this transformation? With a metaphor of an eclipse, a darkness being cast over light. Unwittingly their metaphor is all too appropriate to our current moment in history.

After all Reagan is famously remembered for confidence in America's Exceptionalism and our system's ability to weather any storm. As he once said "Let us remember our heritage and, with it, our destiny – the destiny of this shining city on a hill, this beacon of freedom for all the peoples of the Earth." Liberals reject our heritage and exceptionalism. They reject the successes of capitalism despite the proven failures of the alternative. They reject liberty in exchange for social justice. Sadly under this assault America's light is indeed being eclipsed.