This:
is disgusting. The United States, for all of its flaws, is a representative republic and although the office of the president is to be honored, as he is the head of state, we do not show this type of deference to the president. It is against the law to insult the monarch in Thailand, but Obama is no monarch. Pictures of Kim Jong Il adorn the homes of loyal (or coerced) north Koreans and festivals are held in honor of the Eternal President. We are not subjects of a communistic monarchical hereditary dictatorship. This is majorly disturbing. This type of cult of personality has no place in the American system and as a citizen and a Christian, I reject it.
Conservatives are well known for running off half cocked on cockamamie conspiracy theories, especially those involving Obama. But really he makes it a bit too easy, or rather his supporters do.
And I guess that is the answer some would give. Obama is not responsible for the things his supporters do. But with lyrics like this:
Lyrics: Songs About President Obama
The following are the lyrics of two songs reportedly taught to a class at a New Jersey elementary school full of praises for the “great accomplishments” of President Obama.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Song 1:
Mm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein ObamaHe said that all must lend a hand
To make this country strong again
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein ObamaHe said we must be fair today
Equal work means equal pay
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein ObamaHe said that we must take a stand
To make sure everyone gets a chance
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein ObamaHe said red, yellow, black or white
All are equal in his sight
Mmm, mmm, mm!
Barack Hussein ObamaYes!
Mmm, mmm, mm
Barack Hussein ObamaSong 2:
Hello, Mr. President we honor you today!
For all your great accomplishments, we all doth say “hooray!”Hooray, Mr. President! You’re number one!
The first black American to lead this great nation!Hooray, Mr. President we honor your great plans
To make this country’s economy number one again!Hooray Mr. President, we’re really proud of you!
And we stand for all Americans under the great Red, White, and Blue!So continue —- Mr. President we know you’ll do the trick
So here’s a hearty hip-hooray —-Hip, hip hooray!
Hip, hip hooray!
Hip, hip hooray!
is it any wonder that folks would become paranoid. In the meantime, the media is busy running around throwing predictable rocks at ex-Governor and private citizen Sarah Palin:
If Palin can arrange to make all her future speeches in Asia, with no reporters present and tons of money falling out of the ceiling at every stop, I think she has a real shot at rehabilitation.
Thanks Gail… that really advances the national conversation!
The Truth in Black and Right 
It is worthy of note that in the examples you cited — Thailand, North Korea — adoration of the state is compulsory. The instance you cited here in the U.S. was voluntary, and unsolicited by the government. It’s still the land of the free, including the freedom to praise the president if you want to.
http://thecentersquare.wordpress.com/
I would agree with you except adoration of the state (as far as I know) is not compulsory in Thailand; insulting the monarch is a crime however. However, it is a bit disingenuous to call this unsolicited or voluntary when it involves very young children in a public, tax supported school and led, or at least encouraged by government employees.
I meant unsolicited by the Obama administration. Surely there is no argument to be made the administration is out there, causing kids to sing songs of praise to the president. In other words, this is spontaneous praise, freely given. Freedom is good.
I so agree that it’s creepy, though. But the creepiness falls on the teacher or school officials or whoever put this together. There is a hint of disapproval of Obama in this post which I think is unwarranted.
I noted in my post that it is Obama’s supporters who are to blame for this and that he is not responsible for what they do. This praise is NOT spontaneous however. That’s certainly untrue.
However there is more than a hint of disapproval of Obama generally on this blog though not explicitly in this post. The disapproval here is towards the hypocrisy of those who would (rightfully) be outraged if anything remotely like this had taken place under the previous president.
Thanks for clarifying, that makes more sense. I’m not sure I agree — I can’t recall anyone ever being outraged by schoolkids being enthusiastic about any president, so I’m not sure what the hypocrisy is — but I understand your post better. Thanks.
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One can indeed praise the President, but if it is a demonstration of praise organized, led, and mandated by school authorities then it is scarcely an expression of “freedom” by grade-schoolers. Get real; schoolchildren that age do what they are told.
I wonder what would have happened to any child who decided that they did not want to participate in this particular exercise?
At least they were not instructed to include the appellation, “Dear Leader”.
Well, again, all the “Dear Leader” stuff is what autocrats require of their subjects, so I don’t think applies so much. And of course, you’re right that this was initiated by the teachers, not the kids, which is the part that I find creepy. Again, the teachers being creepy, not the president.
It’s a good thing I’m not a hard-boiled skeptic, though. Otherwise, the refrain of “Barack Hussein Obama” — an appelation used almost exclusively by those virulently opposed to the president — and the somewhat puzzling act of videotaping an elementary school song rehearsal and posting it on youtube would have my legitimacy alarm bells ringing!
Good post. This is spooky stuff. What bothers me most is that, given Obama’s victory last November, there is almost an expectation among his supporters that these things are somehow “OK” now. This is a type of erosion, that takes place in wealthy societies throughout history. Seldom has the outcome good.
Great Blog, I will check back in regularly.
Chuck
Head Muscle
I’m so glad you said that:
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2006/04/17/out-of-the-mouths-of-babes/
Or how about this:
Funny how neither of those incidents caused even a fraction of the hysteria from the left that we’re seeing with the rabid right wingers now…
Good links. The youtube video is, to put it kindly, odd, though I think the kids are praying for the president and not worshiping him. The WSJ article though seems much more innocuous as the song is much broader than praising the president, and seems much more about praising the collected efforts of the American people. In any event though, I think folks ought to be careful to remember that the president is just a man, and not a god nor a monarch.
All I can do is speak for myself. For me, what I might describe as routine praise for the president and the presidency is a good thing. It is good for America if our leaders, and our leadership positions, are held in high esteem.
Likewise, intellectually honest critiscm of the president also is always a good thing. I would say it is the MOST necessary thing. The absence of intellectually honest criticism is what sends a country down the path where its leaders become rulers, and the people become subject to the abuse of power.
However, the same two points work in reverse. Excessive or thoughtless adoration of any leader is bad for us. Those who go past reasonable esteem, and are ready to accept their every word as truth, their every action as good, their every belief as benign — these are people who can do great damage to this country. I could see the teachers who organized this school song belonging to that category, just as I would some devotees of Sarah Palin or Glenn Beck.
Likewise, intellectually DIShonest criticism is bad for our country. This covers a huge gamut, ranging from the ‘George Bush is a traitor’ shouts, to “death panel” criticisms of the health care bill. The examples are innumerable.
In my opinion, our country has become gripped in an epidemic of the latter two categories. Too many people are caught up in a blind adoration of those leaders with whom they share enough ideology, and in intellectually dishonest criticism of those with whom they do not.
This is not unimportant. My belief is that Congress’s descent to near-total ineffectiveness is a direct result of this behavior. It is easy to be elected and re-elected by pandering to these destructive impulses. It is hard to sustain a political career without doing so. In the end, we get exactly the failed government that we voted for.
http://thecentersquare.wordpress.com/
“as a Christian, I reject it”?
I’m sorry, but there’s so much wrong with that sentence I don’t even know where to start. As much as I’m troubled by the video and agree with your comments, your reference to being a Christian is just totally off. I feel the exact same unease watching this video as watching people praise God. I think nobody should be worshipped; worship in itself can be a dangerous thing as it shifts responsibility from yourself to somebody or something else. I do not see any difference between this eery Obama-worship as Christian worship. Thus, I do not get your specific remark that you reject this worship as a Christian – unless you’re offended because you think only God can be worshipped. Now that I find much more scary than worshipping Obama.
Chantal, may I assume from your comment that you are not a Christian? It does not matter. I am a Christian and Christians reject the worship of anyone other than God. The worship of anyone or anything other than God is idolatrous. If you are not a Christian, this certainly makes no sense to you.