// November 4th, 2008 // 4 Comments » // POLITICAL ARENA
By a High School Student Named Alyssa
I am a high school student who had to write an argumentative paper on anything we wanted. The topic I chose was why we as Americans should not vote for Barack Obama. The information that I have is cited and factual. I did a lot of cross referencing. I think anyone who is undecided or for Barack Obama should read this, and hopefully it will open their eyes.
Why not to vote for Barack Obama
The 2008 Presidential Election is right around the corner. Some people are voting for Senator John McCain, some are voting for Senator Barack Obama, and some are still undecided. Choosing one of these men to run our great country should not be taken lightly, but done very carefully. Those voting for Obama and those undecided should take Senator Barack Obama’s stances into consideration.
One of the many reasons Barack Obama should not be voted for is because of where he stands on abortion. This is a very sensitive issue with many Americans. Not only is Obama pro-choice, he also voted against banning partial-birth abortion which is abortion that can take place after the first trimester in pregnancy up until a day before the baby is delivered. Obama strongly criticized the decision upholding the partial-birth ban by the Supreme Court. He also opposed a bill that would give medical attention to infants mistakenly left alive by abortion in the Illinois state Senate (Washington Post). According to abortionist Dr. Martin Haskell who has performed over 1,000 partial-birth abortions, approximately 80 percent are done for “elective” reasons. Many who are pro-choice might try to argue that the fetus feels no pain at this stage. Professor Robert White, director of the division or neurosurgery and brain research laboratory at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in Cleveland said “the fetus within this time frame of gestation, 20 weeks and beyond, is fully capable of experiencing pain. Without a doubt, this is a dreadfully painful experience for any such infant subjected to such a surgical procedure.” Abortions and partial-birth abortions are both horrible, but partial-birth abortions are dangerous and horrific. If the woman wanted to have an abortion, why wait until the first trimester is over? If Obama has that little regard for a human life, people need to rethink their support for him. Taking a human life is the worst crime that can be committed.
Barack Obama wants to “spread the wealth around”. Joe Wurzelbacher, a plumber from Ohio, was playing ball with his son when he saw Obama in his neighborhood (New York Times). Joe, who was considering buying the plumbing company he worked for, approached him and asked him, “Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn’t it?” (Joe Wurzelbacher)”. Obama answered, “It’s not that I want to punish your success. I just want to make sure that everybody who is behind you, that they’vegot a chance for success too. My attitude is that if the economy’s good for folks from the bottom up, it’s gonna be good for everybody … I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody” (Sen. Barack Obama). “Spreading the wealth around” may sound like a good idea to some, but to others it means not working hard and relying on those with higher incomes for money. We live in America where we have the opportunity to be anything we want to be. Men and women go out, earn money, and are entrepreneurs. We should not havea government that takes from one to giveto another. Senator Obama contradicts his “spread the wealth around” statement by saying “We need to steer clear of this poverty of ambition, where people want to drivefancy cars and wear nice clothes and livein nice apartments but don’t want to work hard to accomplish these things. Everyone should try to realize their full potential.” (Barack Obama). If America is going to become a country where we spread the wealth around, what would the incentive to work hard be? This is America where anyone can be anything and all they want to be.
One more reason not to vote for Barack Obama is because of his relationships with radical people. William “Bill” Ayers was a leader of a homegrown terrorist group called Weatherman during the 1960’s. Ayers summed up the ideals of the organization by saying “Kill all the rich people. Break up their cars and apartments. Bring the revolution home. Kill your parents “(Bill Ayers). In his book Fugitive Days Ayers brags that he “participated in the bombings of New York City Police Headquarters in 1970, of the Capitol building in 1971, and the Pentagon in 1972? (Bill Ayers, Fugitive Days). Ayers and Weatherman were responsible for thirty bombings that were aimed at destroying the United State’s defense and security infrastructures. Ayers said in 2001 “I don’t regret setting bombs. I feel we didn’t do enough” (Bill Ayers). In his book Fugitive Days, Bill Ayers said on whether or not he might use bombs against the U.S. in the future, “I can’t imagine entirely dismissing the possibility” (Bill Ayers). Even though Ayers admitted to these attacks by saying he was “guilty as sin, free as a bird”, he could not be charged with anything because of improper surveillance. When Barack Obama decided to run for the Illinois Senate in the 1970’s, Bill Ayers welcomed him into his own home, invited neighbors, and helped launch Obama’s campaign. Bill Ayers joined the Woods Fund of Chicago in 1999 and served as director alongside of Obama. Ayers also made presentations to board meetings which were chaired by Obama, and spoke for the Chicago School Reform Collaborative before Obama’s board. Obama and Ayers are neighbors and Obama has spent time in his home, yet Senator Obama says he does not have a relationship with this man and was “ignorant of Mr. Ayers’ past terrorist acts” (Barack Obama). Is this the kind of man we want as president of the United States? Do we want someone who has a relationship with a former terrorist who wishes he would have done more? This is just one of several radical persons who Barack Obama calls his “friends”. Obama said of these relationships “Frankly, when you live the kind of lifestyle that I have, it’s hard to make friends. You take what you can get, and you don’t ask a lot of questions. These guys are the best I could do.” I would hope that our next president could do better.
These are just a few of the many reasons as to why we as Americans should not give our vote to Barack Obama. During his campaign, he has not been clear on where he stands and has not been detailed in any of his viewpoints. He has flip-flopped on so many issues that it’s hard to figure out what he stands for. Obama’s main slogan is “change”. Is this change for the better or the worse? The United States of America is the greatest country in the world. Is change really what we want?
