Our Philosophical Differences Matter.

 "It is foolish, generally speaking, for a philosopher to set fire to another philosopher in Smithfield Market because they do not agree in their theory of the universe.  That was done very frequently in the last decadence of the Middle Ages, and it failed altogether in its object.  But there is one thing that is infinitely more absurd and unpracital than burning a man for his philsopy.  This is the habit of saying that his philosophy does not matter."
-GK Chesteron.

President Obama's Speech did a fine job of honoring the victims of the shooting in Tucson, and avoided politicizing the issue.  It also celebrated the heroism of some fine people on that grim occasion.  On these three counts I give him credit, however, the speech also reveals once again, the lack of a well thought out animating philosophy behind the Presidents beliefs.  On the one hand he tells us that we need to put aside our differences and try to get along as Americans.  In the next breath he tells us that we have to do everything we can to make this the nation and world that we want for our children.  He seems to have no concept that the second proposition makes the first impossible.  There are deep and meaningful differences between the Left and the Right in this country.  WE DO NOT WANT THE SAME FUTURE. Until the far left or the Radical Americans are subdued the tone and tenor of the debate in this country will not be tempered. 

Obama seems to be one of those people who proclaims that he wants to do what "works" without defining what "working" would be even in his own mind.  He seems to have not the slightest clue that what he thinks works is a radical left wing concept of what it means for a society to work, and that most of this country does not share that concept.  How else can one explain his calls for unity and cooperation?  Perhaps just political grandstanding, but giving him the benefit of the doubt, that he actually believes what he says, one can only conclude that he has totally failed to grasp how radical his own framework of "what works" truly is, or perhaps to grasp that others might have a different framework.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110113/ap_on_re_us/us_congresswoman_shot_memorial