Monday, July 14, 2008

Earned Reputation

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The cover of the latest issue of The New Yorker magazine has a caricature of the Obamas (Barry & Michelle) that depicts them as Muslim radicals in the Oval Office. Barry is dressed in traditional Muslim garb fist-bumping his fatigue-wearing, gun-toting wife while a portrait of Usama bin Laden hangs over the fireplace where an American flag is burning.

The cover artist, Barry Blitt, intended the illustration as a parody, saying that “depicting the concept [that the Obamas are unpatriotic] would show it as the fear-mongering ridiculousness that it is.” While it may be over the top it is not altogether untrue. The Obamas reputation is not a product of the mass media or some vast right-wing conspiracy. They have only themselves to blame.

It’s the little things that add up. Telling people you think the United States is “just downright mean”. Having associations with unrepentant terrorists. Claiming that wearing a U.S. flag pin is a substitute for real patriotism. The real patriotism the Obamas favor appears to involve “dissing” your country.

This new practice of bad-mouthing the U.S. to express your love for it is puzzling. I love my wife. Should I go around bad-mouthing her? No thank you. I’m a traditionalist. This new wave of patriotism is not for me.

As for the Obamas, your reputation wasn’t manufactured overnight. You earned it through many years of being “patriots”.

2 comments:

SGM said...

OH MY GOD, I love that image.
I am so having a t-shirt made of that!

LOL LOL LOL!!!

Anonymous said...

Love the double standard that's come out on this one. Liberals are pure so they can not be insulted. And a parody of them is right out! But you can dress W in a Nazi outfit and that's ok.

If this guys has to be handled with kid gloves all the time, he certainly isn't ready to be the Chief Executive of the most powerful democracy on the planet. What is he going to do when he's sitting across the table from the Iranian I-need-a-job or eyeball to eyeball with a Russian leader.

Given his history and complete lack of any experience, it is obvious this kid will flinch. Or worse, over-react.