COMMENTARY | Rick Santorum was just beside himself at a New Hampshire campaign stop at St. Anselm College on Saturday when he turned to education. He blasted President Barack Obama for having the audacity of wanting a college education for all kids.
Santorum said, "The hubris of this president to think that he knows what's best for you. I have seven kids, maybe they'll all go to college. But if one of my kids wants to go and be an auto mechanic, good for him, that's a good paying job, using your hands, using your mind."
He continued: "This is the kind of snobbery that we see from those that think they know how to run our lives. Rise up America, defend your own freedoms."
When did education become a dirty word? Even an auto mechanic needs specialized training to understand how to deal with today's computerized vehicles. Higher education, whether it's from a college, trade school or community college opens doors that might otherwise be closed to just a high school diploma. But this isn't about Santorum's complaint about President Obama's snobbery. It's about his own. "This is the kind of snobbery we see from those that think they know how to run our lives." Kind of like how Santorum wants to run the lives of people who are gay and women who exercise their constitutional right to an abortion.
If elected, Santorum wouldn't have any problem imposing his social and religious beliefs on the rest of the country, putting big government where it doesn't belong. I have no problem with his unwavering defense in his beliefs, but it's not his right to force his moral views on others who have their own strong beliefs opposite of his. His opposition to contraceptives is his right, but he doesn't have the right to force his contempt of birth control on women who hold a different view. The pill has been used for years for health benefits that have nothing to do with contraception.
Santorum's outrage over President Obama's comments, which were meant to encourage children, is petty and hypocritical. Rick Santorum wouldn't hesitate to impose his moral beliefs in the form of constitutional amendments if he had the power of the presidency. I've often wondered if Republicans are afraid of educating everyone because education makes them less likely to be manipulated by fear.
Santorum talks small government, but when you listen to what he is really saying; his vision of government isn't small and he would strive to make sure his government dictates to us how we should live, who we will love, how we pray and whose moral compass we will follow.
Santorum's "education" outrage is in its own right hubris and snobbery. He apparently doesn't understand the importance of education in an ever changing world and he doesn't understand why we all have a right to our own view of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
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