President Johnson pushed the civil rights act of 1964. A law that simply confirmed the words of the constitution and gave definition to the idea of being equal under the law, LBJ did not change the rules just forced everyone to follow them. LBJ did not say that our prosperity was equal but that our start was. Then to complete the circle he concluded with the election reform that confirmed this equality.
President Obama wrote a law that takes money from wealthier people and gives it to poorer people and calls that equal, it is not. LBJ wanted an equal beginning and President Obama wants an equal outcome, they are very different in nature.
An equal beginning allows us all to make the decisions that will make us wealthy or poor and gives us the ability to try, not succeed. An equal outcome means that no matter how hard you try you can have this much no more and defines your success for you. President Obama spoke about Martin Luther King’s quote “It may be true that the law can’t make a man love me but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that’s pretty important.” Even Mr. King understood laws place among the changes that needed to come.
Civil change is not directed at the hands of the law, the law can only offer an even playing field, change comes from those that keep fighting forward not in the legal arena but in the minds of men and women. It begins with an idea and it grows from there. No law today will make us more equal only we as a people can affect that change upon our society by living that equality each day. The playing field is leveled now and now it is up to each of us to make the changes in our lives that will spur others to change to. Any law that tries to accomplish equality by taking from others will only cause more inequality through bad blood.
Each and every one of us has a responsibility to make this world better in some way, We each can work hard and earn what we need and many of the things we want and although you may have more or less than others it is your journey to make and then rewards are based on the effort not what you are entitled to, to be honest no one is entitled to anything more then what we work for.
This system has been slowly eroding since the turn of the 20th century with progressive ideas of equality. Remember in conservative thought you can go as far as you talents and work ethic will take you but in progressive thought you can go as far as they say is equal. This thought creates a poverty of knowledge and ability. People will only live up to what they need to survive not what they dream they can. Conservatives say dream and when you think it is big enough work harder and dream bigger.
I appreciate LBJ and his gifts to our society and I believe the Martin Luther King Jr. is a great man but they both only gave you a level playing field it is up to us on what we do from there. President Obama would have you believe it is up to him, whose dream would you prefer?