Newspapers / Brevard College Student Newspaper / Sept. 25, 2009, edition 1 / Page 4
Part of Brevard College Student Newspaper / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Page 4 ■ ■ The Clarion \ Sept. 2 Opinion Politics, under Obama, even more partisan by Tim Hadaceck Kansas State Collegian U-Wire Content If you open the current issue of The New York Times Magazine, you are greeted with the headline, “Who is Barack Obama?” You would think perhaps a happy, fluffy human- interest piece about our president’s past will follow. You would be wrong. The subheader gives a much more accurate description of the article’s point: “And why do people say such loopy, ugly things about him? The enduring rot in Ameri can politics.” That “enduring rot,” of course, is refer ring to the growing majority of Americans who do not approve of the job our dear president is doing. This is a wide umbrella, and covers everyone from Glenn Beck to those of the “Birther” movement (who claim Obama is not a naturalized citizen), to the tea party participants, to the peaceful protesters in Washington, D.C. It’s currently very fashionable to decry the “nasty tone” in American politics, and pundits are quick to jump at explanations. Former President Jimmy Carter even chimed in claiming the animosity is rooted in rac ism toward our black president. At least the Obama administration had the good sense to distance itself from that claim. Liberals are only shocked and outraged by the protests because they’re not used to seeing it from the other side. Joe Wilson stepped over a line by yelling, “You lie!” at Obama during a speech. But during the Bush years, how many protest ers carried signs proclaiming “Bush Lied, People Died”? How many signs put our then-president’s face on wanted posters? What kind of person would have the gall to hold up a sheet of cardboard proclaiming “George Bush: World’s #1 Terrorisf’? Surely saying that “Osama bin Bush is in the White House” is worse than calling Obama a liar. In fact, if you replace Bush’s head with Obama’s and substitute flag wav ing instead of flag burning, today’s protests are exactly the same as those during our previous president’s term. These protests and supposed animosity are simply the symp toms of a struggling political party during difficult times. Yes, it seems that media out lets like Glenn Beck are orchestrating and fanning the flames of many protests. But the same was true of a few liberal blog gers during the Bush years. And besides, the organizers of a protest aren’t really important — they don’t create the dissent; they just channel it. Sure, it seems that some of the people protesting today have only the feeblest grasp on their protest methods. Putting a Hitler mustache on Obama’s face doesn’t really match up with the point they are trying to make. But the same ploy made just as little sense on Bush’s face a few months earlier And the Birther movement might be crazy, but so was the “Tmther” movement, which claims that Bush and Co. were complicit in the 9/11 attacks. I suppose the real fear is that afl of this anger will incite someone to take violent action against the president. This is always a concern, of course, but Bush made it through five odd years of liberal protests, so why should right-wing protests be more risky? Protests and marching that only espouse a narrow political ideology rarely have the intended results anyway. Bush didn’t sud denly wake up one day and say, “You know, I did lie!” and I doubt Obama wifl either Reasoned debate is stifl a much more power ful political tool. This ruckus merely serves as a vent for frustration and a galvanizing force for the party base. Dissent, it is said, is the highest form of patriotism. It’s important that we recognize this as true from both ends of the political spectrum. What do YOU think? E-mail us your opinions at Clarion@brevard.eclu to get them published in the newspaper! Celebrate banned books week!! Banned books week is a week which celebrates the first amendment rights and the intellectual freedom we enjoy as Americans. This week, lasting from 9/26-10/3, celebrates our ability to access unpopular or unorthodox information, a right which we all enjoy. This week is sponsored by the American Library Association.
Brevard College Student Newspaper
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Sept. 25, 2009, edition 1
4
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75