Crash the train

Today, a friend of mine, a Libertarian who is a self-proclaimed extremist, posted the following on facebook:

"The focus of the American people should be on making sure that Obama does crash the train - he's driving now. And, of course, looking for the next engineer to drive in 2012."

Am I overreacting to this, or does it sound like he is advocating concerted efforts to make sure America crashes and Obama gets blamed? It sounds to me like this man, who claims to be a patriot, is hoping for harm and damage to this country, in order to assure that the President isn't re-elected. And not only is he hoping for it, he's willing to help make it happen and to encourage other Americans to do likewise. This goes beyond a call for the defeat of the President's proposals, which is of course a given in American politics. This is much more than that. This is a call to eliminate President Obama's hopes for re-election by sabotaging the nation, to make sure we are worse off in 2012 than we are now. This strikes me as a most unpatriotic and dangerous position, and hopefully confirms that he is an extremist. I would hate to think that anyone in the mainstream of American politics, even the most right-leaning of them, would advocate such a course of action.

By the way, one might ask how this reflects on my religious beliefs. My church teaches me to believe in "being subject to kings, presidents, rulers and magistrates, in obeying, honoring and sustaining the law." (Articles of Faith 12). I am also taught to believe "that all men are bound to sustain and uphold the respective governments in which they reside, while protected in their inherent and inalienable rights by the laws of such governments; and that sedition and rebellion are unbecoming every citizen thus protected, and should be punished accordingly;" and that "every man should be honored in his station, rulers and magistrates as such ..."(Doctrine and Covenants 134:5-6). My church teaches me to be a patriot, and to work for the benefit of my country by sustaining and upholding its leaders and its laws. It doesn't condone sedition, nor does it condone or encourage working to damage one's own country.