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Sat 5 Sep, 2009 01:13 pm
As far as I am concerned, this is not civics education -- it gives the appearance of creating a cult of personality. This is something you'd expect to see in North Korea or in Saddam Hussein's Iraq.
-- Oklahoma Republican State Senator Steve Russell, on President Obama's plan to address America's schoolchildren next Tuesday
You know something? I've seen a lot of mind-bending insanity from the right since Barack Obama's election last November, but this seriously tops everything we've been inundated with so far. I rarely use this word, because it feels so cliché and therefore so impotent, but it's outrageous. Just outrageous.
I obviously had a real problem with George W. Bush, but even at my most disgusted with his idiocy and his administration's corruption, I never would've marginalized him to the point where I denied him the right to talk to our kids. That's something you don't play politics with; it's above partisanism. And yet Obama's critics don't feel that way. They will turn a simple presidential address to America's kids -- somewhat of a tradition in this country -- into a reactionary dogfight.
He's the president of the United States, which means that if he wants to talk to children, he gets to. That's the way it works. He won the election and therefore, as president, he gets a few perks -- one of them is being able to say, "I want to speak to the youth of America," and not have anyone raise holy hell.
That's really what it's all about, though -- the fact that Barack Obama's political enemies don't actually accept him as president. They consider him an illegitimate -- his presidency some kind of sham, regardless of the overwhelming majority he won back in November of 2008.
They've demonized and marginalized him -- called him a foreigner, a socialist, a threat to the American way of life, a cult leader intent on indoctrinating and enslaving our children through sheer force of personality. They bring guns to places he's speaking; they have so little respect for the man or the fact that he won the office he now holds that they intimate that they're willing to cause physical harm to him and his supporters. Seriously, how many times in your life have you heard anyone refer to a sitting president of the United States as a communist and be taken seriously by an entire, supposedly reputable, network news department and its viewers?
Even John Kennedy didn't face the broadly validated, well-orchestrated onslaught of accusatory derision Obama's seeing.
I never wanted to play this card, but the longer this outright hostility continues -- the further it's allowed to be amplified -- the more I think that the only word Barack Obama's mainstream attackers are steering clear from at this point is "nigger." They're thinking it -- just not saying it.
But even that isn't their main issue with him.
It all goes back to something I expounded on quite a bit before the election: There are many in this country who don't trust Barack Obama simply because he's different from them. He's intelligent, analytical, articulate, worldly; he isn't a mentally-challenged Barco-lounging lummox who robotically chants bumper-sticker slogans to rally the faithful to his cause while giving everyone else the finger.
What's more, he's a guy who -- despite the laughable elitist tag his critics have tried to pin on him -- has fought the odds and busted his ass since the very beginning to make something of himself. He's a black man who became president of the United States. In other words, he's the best person to talk to America's children -- someone they'll believe when he says, "You can become anything you want to in this country."
And it's not that he should be able to do this without having those who refuse to accept him turning it into a topic for debate on cable news. It isn't up for debate at all. The man's president. He gets to do it. Deal with it.
And if you're one of those people threatening to keep his or her kid home from school next Tuesday, ask yourself this: Who's really the one forcing a political agenda on their children?
Oh, and aren't those public schools "socialist" institutions anyway?
-TV News Producer and Blogger Chez Pazienza
(bolded text mine)
@snood,
Look on the bright side, snood. This is what the conservatives have descended to. It's over. They have shot themselves not just in the foot but in a vital spot. I'm sure that the American people can see through this, that the outrage (and, yes, that's an apt word) can only grow. As a people, we might be slow, but we ain't outright dumb. I mean, look, we elected Obama. It's over for the right wing. It's over.
@Merry Andrew,
it is over for the GOP, they will be replaced by a new party unless they reform very quickly. However, the Dems are not far behind. Continued gross incompetence at governing will see them replaced as well.
It is so totally stupid, but, hey: Swift boat worked so well, it is used in variation at every opportunity. No matter how outrageous and stupid the anti Obama tactics, the media carries it in a way that makes it seem worthy of debate.
Republicans hate Blacks and Hispanics. My kids, who will be voting for many decades, understand this on a very deep level.
In a funny way, this is all that really matters.
if i said how i feel about all of this right-wing a-hole bullshit here the way i express it irl, i'd get banned from a2k for life.
suffice it to say; i have zero, absolutely zero, interest in being dragged back into the good old days. and anyone who attempts to do that is my enemy. period.
@snood,
Snood, I too am in the mode you are in...It has to be racist...but also it is because he is different and brainy. God Help US! I mean that! Where in Hell were people allowed to town hall rallies with guns? They couldn't get in if they had a bumper sticker or a tee shirt that said anything against Bush. This is one whole load of conservative horse poop. I am so sick and tired of them but I do think that Obama gave them opportunity to do the "bumper sticker" thing. He needs to step up to the plate ala Teddy Kennedy, LBJ, JFK, Harry Truman, Eisenhower, and the great FDR and Teddy Roosevelt. Tell us what you believe with passion. Explain it to the masses with no understanding in a way that is understanding. Throw some meat to us believers and followers and the people who voted for you for health care reform. Lots of time, money, away from families to help your campaign. Maybe this is your strategy t0 make the right ( only far right now, as there are no middle right moderates anymore) look like the kooks that they are. I am not sure. I gave up 6 months to help out...I want some answers now! The right wing has hate and fear and stupid slogans on their side. We have people that need help. I want a speech from him that is passionate and will leave the right trembling. We won and now we feel we are losing because Obama seems not to know who his enemies are.
You can't govern this country half way...there are too many nuts out there. You have to leave the rhetoric and TELL THEM in ways they understand. This country is so dumbed down over the years since Reagan policies in education. Remember? Ketchup is a vegetable? I have to stop, but do know this...I believe this man is capable...honest and able. He has to stand up to the crazies and I hope that he does. God help us if he doesn't.
The racist crap that has been going on has almost taken over...but no one will admit to it. A BLACK MAN in the WHITEHOUSE! DANG!
@snood,
snood wrote:You know something? I've seen a lot of mind-bending insanity from the right since Barack Obama's election last November, but this seriously tops everything we've been inundated with so far. I rarely use this word, because it feels so cliché and therefore so impotent, but it's outrageous. Just outrageous.
I agree. I try to see both sides of things even if I don't agree with both sides, but in this case I can't even make sense of the argument. It reminds me of a Creation/Evolution debate in which one side is right and the other side is just insane.
@Merry Andrew,
Quote:Look on the bright side, snood. This is what the conservatives have descended to. It's over. They have shot themselves not just in the foot but in a vital spot. I'm sure that the American people can see through this, that the outrage (and, yes, that's an apt word) can only grow. As a people, we might be slow, but we ain't outright dumb. I mean, look, we elected Obama. It's over for the right wing. It's over.
(Sorry if this sounds rather ignorant, but ...) Who exactly is leading the Republican Party these days & are they buying into these sorts of outrageous anti-Obama attacks? Is it mainly the lunatic fringe which is engaging in this type of activity or can we assume most of conservative Americans feel the same way?
@msolga,
Another question, if I may: How is the more "balanced" US media (as opposed to those media outlets with an overt right right wing agenda) presenting the anti-Obama "events" & public commentary.
@msolga,
I think the answer is that there is very little balance left in the U.S. media. MSNBC & Fox are merely coequal protagonists for the left & right respectively. The mocking of the left & right by their oposite numbers among the supposed political commentators and other entertainers goes on with more or less equal intensity on both sides. Many Democrats however, appear to be oblivious of the faults of their own claques in this area, and imagine that they indulge only in rational discourse without any adverse chariactures of those they oppose ... all while calling them gun-toting, red-necked, evangelical loonies.
There is little doubt that there is some latent racism out there, and that folks on both sides of the major political issues before us are indulging in whatever form of character assasination may come in handy. There is a bit of racism among blacks as well as whites ... as the recent revelations of communications among some black political figures concerning the mayoral election in Atlanta illustrated.
There is also a bit of over the top adulation of our new president among his supporters. He is certainly an intelligent, articulate and attractive figure. However his wisdom, deep understanding and political courage have not really been tested. Time will tell.
I think it is this excessive adulation and, in the case of the instructions for teachers prepared by the Education department, the excessive personalization of the president that so irks many people. I wasn't angry about it, however I did think it was over the top, foolish and a misuse of perogative.
@msolga,
Very good question, msolga. In my opinion they have not done very well. Others more have said the same. The main stream media is corporate in its tone. This is not the 1970's with Walter Cronkite or Huntley/Brinkley. If you want balance it is not there. The blogs have taken the place of MSM but then you have the left leaners, the left wing leaners, and the right wing because there is no moderation with the right any more.
@georgeob1,
Over the top adulation, George? I think not. We were hoping for some moderation and some progress against the excesses of the Bush II admin. I wish I had Mamajuana to give a very good retort to you, as I alas cannot. Democrats are not oblivious of faults. We are actually very acutely aware of what is going on and we are not happy. We wish our president to "grow a pair" as in Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Harry Truman, Eisenhower, JFK, and LBJ. The reason we object to people at the rallies as they were, is that they are loonies. Guns? The minute anyone wore a tee shirt or a bumper sticker that didn't support George Bush II , no one was allowed at a public event with the president. Now we have an African American president and they not only call for him to die, they pray for him to die and call him Stalinist/Leninist. PLEASE! Obama is far from any of that and you know it.
No wonder the liberals are upset. I am a proud liberal and not afraid to say it. Socialist/Communist rhetoric is all the right wing can come up with to attack him. It seems to me you right wingers are afraid of good change in America away from the corporations that take the money. The country now runs on a war economy and that is now running on short supply. We need a dose of common sense or this country is going down. The public discourse is poisonous. Mamajuana I miss you so!
@snood,
All President Obama wanted to do was to ask kids to stay in school and get an education. He is a role model for all American children, not just African American children. To make this into something else is really offensive and boarders on racism. No one had problems with George Bush I telling children that taxes needed to be lowered. I have forgotten what President Reagan's message to the children was, but this is disgusting and very political. The right see blood and want to go after it. Sickening.
@georgeob1,
Thanks for such a detailed response, georgeob1.
Quote:I think the answer is that there is very little balance left in the U.S. media. MSNBC & Fox are merely coequal protagonists for the left & right respectively. The mocking of the left & right by their oposite numbers among the supposed political commentators and other entertainers goes on with more or less equal intensity on both sides. Many Democrats however, appear to be oblivious of the faults of their own claques in this area, and imagine that they indulge only in rational discourse without any adverse chariactures of those they oppose ... all while calling them gun-toting, red-necked, evangelical loonies.
Admittedly (not living in the US & seeing all this "second hand", mostly via the internet) I find it considerably more one-sided than that. "The left" appear to me to be merely responding (often not exactly
nicely, I agree) to quite irrational attacks on Obama. Actually, I can't think of how they
could respond rationally to some of the ugly, emotional nonsense I've seen recently. How
can you have a reasonable dialogue with folk whose criticisms appear to be completely over the top & whose motivation appears to be to viciously denigrate
anything Obama? It is as though these "protesters" are simply refusing to accept the outcome of the last election & are choosing to be as abrasive & destructive as possible in the circumstances. If some of these (town hall meetings, etc) "protests" are in fact just small town events which have been given undue prominence in the right wing media, then the right wing media is being extremely irresponsible, in my book. Basically they are endorsing & encouraging divisive & potentially dangerous social disobedience without anything like adequate justification. This is pretty scary stuff to watch, even from a long way away!
@Vietnamnurse,
Thanks for your response to my question, VN.
My perception is that the right wing media is deliberately fueling a lot of this discontent in what it chooses to report &
how it chooses to report particular events. But where is the Republican Party leadership in all of this? I really don't imagine that they'd be winning too many converts to their side if this is the perception of the conservative side of US politics.
@Vietnamnurse,
Vietnamnurse wrote:
Over the top adulation, George? I think not. We were hoping for some moderation and some progress against the excesses of the Bush II admin. I wish I had Mamajuana to give a very good retort to you, as I alas cannot. Democrats are not oblivious of faults. We are actually very acutely aware of what is going on and we are not happy. We wish our president to "grow a pair" as in Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Harry Truman, Eisenhower, JFK, and LBJ. The reason we object to people at the rallies as they were, is that they are loonies. Guns? The minute anyone wore a tee shirt or a bumper sticker that didn't support George Bush II , no one was allowed at a public event with the president. Now we have an African American president and they not only call for him to die, they pray for him to die and call him Stalinist/Leninist. PLEASE! Obama is far from any of that and you know it.
No wonder the liberals are upset. I am a proud liberal and not afraid to say it. Socialist/Communist rhetoric is all the right wing can come up with to attack him. It seems to me you right wingers are afraid of good change in America away from the corporations that take the money. The country now runs on a war economy and that is now running on short supply. We need a dose of common sense or this country is going down. The public discourse is poisonous. Mamajuana I miss you so!
A marvelous example of restrained, objective discourse by one who so evidently makes a serious effort to understand the perspectives of both sides in this dispute.
Thanks for making my point about extreme Democrats who accuse conservatives of extrremisam .... while demonstrating the same thing themselves.
@Vietnamnurse,
Vietnamnurse wrote:Socialist/Communist rhetoric is all the right wing can come up with to attack him.
No, it isn't. And I worry for the left that the majority seem willing to complacently pat themselves on the back and fixate on the right's "loonies".
There's a lot more than racism and crazy in the opposition to Obama, and the left is shooting themselves in the foot by pretending otherwise and congratulating themselves on the demise of the Republican party prematurely.
@msolga,
msolga wrote:"The left" appear to me to be merely responding (often not exactly nicely, I agree) to quite irrational attacks on Obama.
This is by design msolga, they don't go out and highlight the reasonable people who oppose Obama's policies for a reason. It's a way to score political points to highlight the ones who are so out there that calling them bat **** insane is an insult to bat ****.
It's something that bothers me a lot, because it is a self-serving delusion that isn't going to help the causes I care about.
There are plenty of legitimate arguments against the policies we support. These are things reasonable people can disagree with and pretending that the other side is all loony isn't helping. Health care reform is in danger of heading off the tracks while the left pretends they have no political opponents.
Instead, they prefer to score political points by pointing out the idiots. If you go to right wing sites you'll see the same in reverse. Instead of tackling the eloquent opposition they pick straw men to knock down. The level of political debate in America is pretty low, and basically consists of finding sound bytes that make the other side look bad instead of making strong arguments for your platform.
@Robert Gentel,
Quote:There's a lot more than racism and crazy in the opposition to Obama
ummmm... could you provide an example?
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