Obama and Forced Labor

Barack Obama’s change.gov web site recently changed its language from requiring compulsory community service work from young people to having only a goal that they perform such “service”, perhaps in return for college tuition subsidies (listed on the site as tax refunds, but most college student don’t pay income taxes, so the meaning is unclear). This is a welcome change. It seems that we will not have the strangely ironic spectacle of America’s first black president working to nullify the 13th Amendment*.

The disturbing thing is that the original version was ever written and posted. We must judge politicians not only by what they do or try to do, but also by what they would like to do, because we never know when they might get the chance to fulfill their deeper desires. It is evident from this posting that some of the people in the Obama organization would like to bring forced labor to the United States. We cannot tell if the president elect shares this view or if the posting reflects only the hopes of some of his staff. Either way is bad enough.

It may be a good sign that Obama’s people rushed to modify the posting (and, it is said, others like it) when they were called on it. It suggests at least an awareness that they can’t get away with that sort of thing yet. Meanwhile, people need to vigilant. Many conservatives have accused Obama of being a socialist. This seems unlikely. Very few people other than professors are these days. However, there are disturbing whiffs of European-style fascism in both the substance (such as punitive “green” initiatives and a domestic security corps) and the style (such as salutes and mass rallies) of what we’ve seen from him. Of course during campaigns politicians say all sorts of things that they do not mean and engage in all sorts of odd activities to stir up their supporters. It is way too early to know what the man will try to do, but it won’t hurt for people to be careful and stay skeptical.

* 13th Amendment - Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Section 2. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.