A power over a man’s subsistance amounts to a power over his will.  Alexander Hamilton

President Obama and his campaign team have shown us his vision for the American people with their “Life of Julia” campaign ad. It’s not a flattering vision; what the President offers voters in the ad is a lifetime of dependency. Conservatives have been pouring scorn on the “Julia” ad, while very few liberal pundits have been willing to defend it, because the ad is so obviously insulting to anyone with an ounce of self respect. 

“Julia” is a fictitious character whose life is profiled from age three to age sixty-seven. She is dependent on federal government assistance every step of the way, from pre-school through retirement. The government forces her parents’ insurance company to pay for her “health care,” (including the contraception that her boyfriends apparently refuse to pay for) until she’s twenty-six years old. After that, the Obama government dictates the kind of health insurance her employer provides.

The benevolent Obama dictatorship also decides what kind of salary her employer will pay her: “Because of steps like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, Julia is one of millions of women across the country who knows she’ll always be able to stand up for her right to equal pay. She starts her career as a web designer.” 

At thirty-one Julia “decides to have a child,” apparently without a husband. She depends on the Obama government to fill the role of provider and protector. When her son is born he immediately demonstrates the multi-generational nature of the dependency culture by looking to the government for all his needs.

At forty-two Julia wants to start a web design business. Since she doesn’t have any savings, she depends on the government for start-up funding.

At age sixty-seven Julia gives up her web business, confident that government benefits will provide her with a long and happy retirement.

I smiled at the career the Obama campaign people gave to their fictitious character. Making her a web designer was probably supposed to make her sound hip, and it’s no secret that the President is depending on the youth vote to help him in his re-election bid. But I know at least one hip young web designer who finds the Obama vision offensive.

As soon as I read the Obama ad I just had to call Laura Blaine of Signature Designworks, the self-employed web designer who built this website for me. I knew from conversations we’d had while she was building my site that she’s the responsible and self-reliant type. (BTW I recomend Laura to anyone who’s looking for a web designer; she does great work and is easy to work with.)

I can now report from first hand knowledge that there is at least one web designer who has no use for the “Julia” model of dependency. Laura stated quite emphatically that she and her husband expect to pay their own way in the world. Laura’s first reaction to the ad was that she will be one of taxpayers who have to pay all of Julia’s bills from cradle to grave.

The really scary thing about all this is that there might be people in America who will find the Julia ad compelling.