Between left and right . . . are those who merely want affirmation that all is right with the world. Most important, they want assurance that the president shares their values. So why won't Obama just deliver the one word that would prompt arias from his doubters?
Until recently, I considered Kathleen Parker to be a more hip version of Peggy Noonan, a thoughtful, literate conservative who had a mind of her own (except when it comes to beatifying Ronald Reagan) and hadn't succumbed to the Tea Party brand of discourse.
Based on my assumptions of her reasonableness, I have a hard time understanding her apparent amnesia when it comes to the demonization of the current president, Barack Obama. Her essay pleads with President Obama to say the "one word" and concludes:
Perhaps it is best resolved through a presidential address in which Obama takes possession of the word and settles the question once and for all: What does American exceptionalism mean in today's world?
Ms Parker forgets that Obama has consistently spoken of America's unique role in his life and in the world – easily found in speeches dating back to the 2004 Democratic Convention. Others have commented on the inaccuracy of her essay and I won't duplicate their efforts here. I would refer you to Steve Benen or Robert Schlesinger, among others, if you want to delve into the specifics of that debate.
What interests me is that the essay seems premised on the belief that Obama is somehow responsible for this effort to brand him as un-American – or non-American. Does Parker really believe that incorporating the specific word "exceptionalism" into presidential statements (more than he already has) will somehow dampen the demands of that fringe of citizens who question his legitimacy? Does she believe that a series of speeches from Obama will stop the vilification from the talk-radio Right?
Each time Obama moves to respond to this rhetoric, the ground shifts and a new excuse not to believe he is really a full-throated patriotic American is presented.
During the 2008 campaign, Obama took a stand on the lazy patriotism of wearing flag lapel pins. It became a distraction, so now he wears one regularly. The pin's ubiquity hasn't convinced the naysayers.
The former GOP governor of Hawaii vouches for the authenticity of his birth certificate and the voices cry louder. They escalate to lawsuits that go all the way to the US Supreme Court. Red State legislators draft laws to require that every candidate for President provide "original" birth documents in order to have his/her name included on each state's ballot. (No one seems to ask how many "originals" one person can produce.)
The invective includes claims as simple as the charge that he doesn't place his hand over his heart for the national anthem or pledge of allegiance and move on to conspiracy theories that the president is a Muslim bent on destroying the country by imposing Sharia law and ushering in a "caliphate."
These bizarre claims started early in the 2007-2008 presidential primary season and could have been dismissed as excessive partisan rhetoric. After all, John Kerry was "too French." Standard stuff.
In our so-called public discourse, it's common to call the opposition Fascists and Nazis; so common, in fact, that there is an internet "law" that says, "As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one." That is to say, it becomes close to inevitable. Those who disagreed with Bush-Cheney on the Iraq war and torture called them Nazis. Those who disagree with Health Reform liken parts of the law to the Holocaust. These attacks are within the expected range of silly commentary. Disappointing, but not surprising.
What has been surprising are the continuing attacks on Obama's personal story, starting with his birth and continuing to the present. These attacks include:
· He was born in Kenya, not Hawaii.
· He was born in Hawaii, but since his father was a Kenyan he's either Kenyan or British. · He became a Muslim while a child in Indonesia. · "People aren't recognizing [Obama's] version of Christianity," Glenn Beck, 2010. · "He pals around with terrorists, " Sarah Palin, 2008. · Living wills and health directives are "death panels" that will require us to "pull the plug on grandma," Sarah Palin and Chuck Grassley, 2009.
Yes, I know the last one could be a "policy difference" not a personal attack – if there had not also been a claim during the 2008 campaign that Obama favored infanticide. [18] To me, the two false claims seem related.
So what is all this leading up to? Simply stated, I believe there is an attempt by "main stream" actors to paint Obama as an alien, not 100% American, who does not share or understand or care for the concerns of the American people he was elected to serve.
An almost-humorous example of this can be found in Bill O'Reilly's "interview" on Super Bowl Sunday. O'Reilly asked more than once whether the president would actually watch the game and then came this question:
O'REILLY: You know, like, football, you know, like, blitzes and coverage and all that?
OBAMA: Oh, I know football, man.
O'REILLY: You do?
OBAMA: Absolutely.
O'REILLY: I know you're a basketball guy.
OBAMA: I know football.
O'REILLY: Yes?
Well, I know Dubyah was a "baseball guy" and I also assume that he knows the basics of football. Having a favorite game does not preclude familiarity with other sports. I'd bet that Bill O'Reilly believes this too.
Why would O'Reilly wonder whether Obama really understood football? Was this O'Reilly's personal curiosity or was this a planned question? And why would one be surprised that the answer was "yes" – unless at some level (intentional or not) there is a doubt that the President is simply a bona fide American man who follows sports.
For all the Right's claims that they are "color-blind" and it's the Left that is "racist" I believe much of the confusion over Obama stems from our unwillingness to face our discomfort with a younger man of color as President.
Some of this is generational – I am disoriented by the idea that someone young enough to be my baby brother is Leader of the Free World. Just as I am perturbed that I don't know who any of the musical guests are on SNL (or about half the hosts either.)
Some of it is cultural – I don't have that many friends with names not found in Western history and literature.
Some of it is racial – and some of it just might be racist, that is, an institutional attempt to maintain a separation of the races so that power games between them can divert us from the achievement of common goals.
I grew up in the 1950s, in a society in which races did not mix socially; they barely mixed at work. Those of us from the early days of the Baby Boom traveled in a monochromatic world, black or white, red or yellow. In 1961, the year Obama was born, we inaugurated our first Roman Catholic President. Mixed-race marriages were rare or illegal (depending on your state.) The simple idea that the child of such a couple would be President in my lifetime didn't even enter my imagination. So as an individual who grew up in the 20th century, I can understand the disorientation that many of us may feel when confronting the idea of Barack Obama's name and face among those of previous American Presidents.
What I don't understand is the acceptance of racist images, concepts and language into our civil discourse. I don't understand the continuing use of the mechanisms of the media or government to deny legal rights to Americans because there are some who don't yet accept their claims to full citizenship.
There is a saying that goes, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." The psychotherapist M. Scott Peck wrote a book in which he struggled with the nature of evil. The book was titled "People of the Lie." I'm not saying those who condone these lies about the President are evil; frankly I don't know what lies in their hearts. I believe, however, that (intentionally or not) they are condoning bigotry and are adding nothing positive to our common discourse.
photo credits:
Flag Pin: http://blogs.e-rockford.com/applesauce/2008/10/03/giving-new-meaning-to-the-term-pinheads/
Button: 1920s Klan pin; http://nsm88records.com/theshop/popup_image.php?pID=2141&image=0
