The baby of political ideology in the world today is less than 400-years-old. It is the successful American Tradition. Remember, that is the one where individual freedom and legitimate self-interest is superior to community interests. The bathwater is the slurry formed in the tub for almost 100 years. It is the dirty water of privileges, corruption and a desire by some to return to the Old World tradition of community interests being superior to individuals. The fear of 2008 is that we will vote to throw out the bathwater and with it the baby.

The candidates are lining up to run the track. Both lean heavily to tossing the baby out and promising changing to a new nation. They will save some of the residual bathtub slurry of Old World politics to build on, so a few elite can rule the many. Both candidates believe the community is superior to the individuals in it, and that the few in the know must guide the many. From the many that have, the few who do not will profit. They believe those who have must give to those who have not. It amounts to almost a meaningless election if both sides promise the same result. Neither candidate has any experience running anything. One is rigid, self-centered, and arrogant. The other gives great speeches as his justification for the office sought.

With the baby tossed out, America can start to look like all the other nations in the world, where we sacrifice independence for security. Few really care where the country and its people are going. It is all about style and never substance. It is about getting my share before the treasury dries up. Will anyone try to find the baby once tossed out, or will the world become one big sewer in constant turmoil?

What will our world look like without America and its baby tradition? What will prevent the tyrants and bullies from stepping on toes and creating chaos? Has anyone really thought about a world without American power and individual freedom? Every swell-speaking petty tyrant will have his or her time with a crown, until deposed by another seeking to crown himself. The many will have to return to the days when food was in short supply, war and famine the daily fare, and the king’s men pounding on the door. What a wonderful way to stiff the house.