I have been reading Obama's platform materials on his web site, trying to deconstruct what he is all about and actually, I am finding a lot of stuff that I think I like, except that I don't think that it is possible for a lot of people to implement because they don't really have the resources. However, many Republicans do, and for them, messages of individual responsibility, ring true. Really, they should for all of us, but we just have not set up the support networks we would need to be able to be independent yet. For example, many of us are still dependent on jobs and the kinds of healthcare that are available to us to purchase or get through our jobs, which are no longer affordable. However, those healthcare services ARE available on the free market, in places like Mexico and India, at affordable prices. That is why Obama proposes to make the practice of buying prescriotion drugs overseas legal (although I see his GOP backers not wanting that, as that is an issue that sends them ballistic, because it cuts into the profits of American pharmaceutical companies. They wlll have to work that one out while we wait, I suppose.

Another form of individual responsibility is self-sufficiency. If you get sick, and can't afford to go to the hospital, I suppose that means 'fix it yourself'. I saw a trailer for the movie 'Sicko' where a responsible and thrifty young man stitched up an injury himself. Sure, it would leave a scar, and might get infected, but if it doesn't, he would probably save a few thousand dollars. You get the picture.

I see why Louis Farrakhan is endorsing Obama. The Nation of Islam has always promoted self-sufficiency, and they have built a network of businesses that all use each other. They tap into an earlier survival strategy that people fall back on during hard times, rallying around your own community. There is a lot of pressure in those commmunities, perhaps to contribute to the group. Sometimes it can be oppressive, like with the Mafia, but it often is not, its a good thing. Contributing to the welfare of the group, as long as it isn't coercicve or illegal, can be good. Many people depend on churches for things like childcare. Bush has stirred up a lot of controversy with his push to replace government services like education with 'faith based' services like parochial schools, but their aid has been a shot in the arm for institutions that were struggling. During Victorian times, and the Depression, churches had soup kitchens and you could receive a bowl of soup and a piece of bread if you were willing to stand in line for a few hours and then listen to a sermon. That is what faith-based services are all about.

A kinder gentler nation. One thousand points of light, and so on. The magic of the marketplace.