I am beginning to think America deserves what is inevitably going to happen if Barack Obama becomes president. Notwithstanding the fact that there will be a literal liberal thugocracy in Washington, America will have voted a true blue socialist into the highest office in the land. Barack Obama is the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate, and has very publicly and in no uncertain terms announced his economic plans for the country. Very few people seem to grasp the gravity of the situation currently brewing. These same people also seem to fail to comprehend some of the most basic economic truths.

Raising taxes is not the right thing to do. Raising taxes on small businesses making over $250,000, regardless of any promised tax break for operating said small business (How contradictory is that?) is absurd given the country's current economic state. However, this simple concept seems to evade the Obama Christ and his throngs of diciples. When a business incurs costs (Read: taxes) greater than those for which they planned, more often than not they simply transfer that cost onto the consumers. Businesses can only remain in business if they are profitable. Well, that is, of course, unless they are a bank that offered ridiculously dangerous loans to people who couldn't be trusted with safety scissors. But I digress.

It seems the trendy thing to do at the moment is to decry capitalism and the greed that invariably powers it. Greed caused the meltdown on Wall Street. Greed is what almost led the global financial markets to collapse. Greed is evil. Ok, sure. I'll grant you greed is sometimes evil. Greed leads people to do horrible things to other people. But that is only one side of the story. Greed, or, more accurately, the desire to succeed and become wealthy, has led to many of mankind's greatest discoveries. Insomuch as greed leads to evil, it also leads to good. It is really hard to have success without desire. If you stifle someone's desire, you inhibit their ability to succeed.

This all comes back to Barack Obama and his desire to "spread the wealth around". This, I believe, will ultimately lead America into the darkest period of its history. When you take away a person's desire and motivation, what reason does he or she have to try to be successful? If Obama wants to increase taxes on those people making more than $250,000, why would anyone strive to make that much money? It is as if he is punishing an individual's success. This seems to go against everything for which America stands. Individual achievement is no longer something to laud, it is something to be hidden and suppressed, lest it be discovered and taxed.

If Obama is elected and the Democrats in the Senate obtain a filibuster-proof majority, prepare for four years of rubber-stamped, institutionalized socialism the likes of which this country has never seen. Prepare for the rise of unions and the villainization of the business owner. The upper class will be increasingly be seen as not paying their fair share in taxes, even though the top 1% of economic earners in this country will pay upwards of 90% of the country's taxes. It doesn't matter really. The poor and middle classes will demand the upper class pay more. Sixty, no, 70% of their income will go to the IRS, all the while the poor and middle classes, which often pay little to no taxes at all, will continue to get increasingly larger rebate checks from the government.

This generation will become known as the entitlement generation. Personal responsibility and achievement will be cast aside for the greater benefits the government can provide. And Obama and his cadre of liberal yes-men will be all too happy to provide it. I know it seems like government can't get any larger and more intrusive than it already is, but just wait. I have complete faith in the power of the Obama Administration and the do-nothing liberal Congress to expand the government into heretofore unseen levels.

Oh, there will be voter's remorse. Once Obama's shine dulls and we tire of his eloquent, yet empty speeches, we will realize we have elected a socialist as the president of America and the leader of the free world. And we will have to endure four years of hell and suffer irrevocable damage to our country's economy and our livelihoods before we can rectify our incredible shortsightedness.

But, like I said, it might be good for the country. We need a wake-up call. We need to realize we can't place our faith in every snake oil salesman that comes into town making promises he has no intention or power to keep. Platitudes and niceties sound good in a speech, but "Change" and "Hope" do not make for good legislation or a platform to run for president. However, we are a fickle and all together unintelligent people prone to fits of fancy and who are often caught up the latest trend. It seems that George Bernard Shaw was right when he said "Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve."

Election years always seem to bring out the worst in people. The last few elections in particular have been exceptionally charged with polarity. Perhaps the shock comes from my age and the fact that this year is only the third presidential election I can honestly recall with any clarity, but people seem angrier than ever. This anger often leads to irrational behavior on both sides. Friends will engage in heated debates, often calling the very nature of their relationship into question. A person's common sense is almost summarily ignored during the progressively increasing amount of time known as a presidential campaign season.

Everyone is guilty of this. Heinous acts are committed on both sides of the debate. However, it does seem like one group, in particular, plays to a more juvenile and all too disgraceful manner of trying to convince people of the folly of their political ways. I am speaking, of course, about liberals.

Just recently, I returned from a vacation with my girlfriend and her family in Las Vegas. Naturally, a good time was had by all. We took in a show, did some gambling, enjoyed some fine dining, and generally enjoyed ourselves. Once we returned home, however, our moods changed slightly. My girlfriend and her family are very political and staunchly Republican. Their front yard is adorned with various signs for conservative candidates for office and propositions backed by conservatives. Yes, they had a McCain/Palin sign there too. It was a rather unique sign that was purchased with the family's own money. Sadly, this sign was now gone.

Not only was their McCain/Palin sign gone, but so was every other McCain/Palin sign on their entire street. The neighborhood in which they live is a very conservative one and had many yards with McCain/Palin signs. This is not the first time the issue of stolen yard signs has been addressed. Indeed, a quick Google search revealed it is fairly common. Other, more infantile actions have also been reported. Fox News reported on a man who had dog poop thrown in the bed of his truck because of the large McCain sign on his truck. When the man and his family confronted the culprit, all he could say to explain himself was that he "hates McCain."

I do not understand these type of tactics. Liberals are supposed to be the bastions of acceptance and tolerance. They are supposed to respect the views of others and welcome diversity. They, ostensibly, defend free speech and the unhindered flow of ideas. Those who pay attention know this to be almost universally false. Liberals welcome debate, as long as the debate is orchestrated according to their demands. They welcome free speech, as long as no one is offended. They are beholden not to the Constitution or the American people, but to the radical special interest groups that regularly fill their coffers. They would rather stifle debate and admonish nay-sayers than to encourage true dialogue and bi-partisan agreement.

I know that some Obama signs have been stolen. I know that there are some on the conservative side who have acted childishly towards Obama supporters. But the point I am trying to make is that there is simply a difference in mentality for most liberals. There is no decency. There is no respect. Those in the liberal mainstays like California, New York, and New England believe themselves to be far better educated and, thus, know better for the country than the vast, unwashed masses of the red states. They can't respect us because they truly believe they are better than us. We just don't know. We do not understand. They have to save us from ourselves.

The troubling thing about this mentality and these tactics are that they aren't just the tactics of the liberal elite, they are the the brick and mortar that any true liberal uses to establish a foundation upon which to view the world. This is the problem. You with your yard signs and bumper stickers just don't understand the implications of your associations. Therefore, the compassionate, understanding, tolerant liberals have a duty to protect you from yourself and remove the offending material. It isn't really your fault. After all, you are a Republican.