Ask not what your country can do for you....

I've always disliked using a parent as a metaphor for government. It's always seemed dangerous to me to think of the government as having that much control over my life. But I think the metaphor has relevance for the current political situation in the United States, for reasons that have been disturbing me.

Right now, the American people don't feel good. They hear a steady drumbeat of bad news. Despite rising real incomes and standards of living across income groups, people feel like things are getting worse. Americans don't want prosperity; they want security. They want to know that no matter what happens, they'll be okay. They want the government to make sure they are secure. This, I think, is why Barack Obama is so popular; Americans want a man as president whom they think will protect them from anything bad that might happen. In this country, voters don't want to be independent and accept all the risks that come with that. We don't want to grow up; we want to be Toys 'R' Us kids.

Obama has been compared to John F. Kennedy, but the senator's message of a government that protects its citizens like children is a far cry from JFK's plea: "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for you country." Are we going to be a nation of adults or of children? This election could answer that question, and I have a feeling I know the answer.

America will never be great because of who is in the White House; it will only be great because regular, everyday Americans make it so by taking risks, improving themselves, working hard, and helping each other without being forced.