This is old news for many, but I still find it amazing that Obama finds himself in this situation. While the national anthem is being played Americans normally face the American flag and place their hand over their heart (or salute if you’re in uniform). For some reason Obama thinks he’s beyond that. Check out the article at snopes.com.
8 users commented in " Anti-Anthem Obama? Or Simply Unpatriotic? "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackI was at a hockey game a while ago, and due to an incident happening on the bleachers in front of me (a fight) I didn’t realize they were playing the national anthem until about 30 seconds in. Someone could have easily snapped a photo of me during that 30 seconds, and then you would be posting about how unpatriotic I am. What I still find amazing is how something like this becomes a larger, more “noteworthy” incident for conservatives than the deaths of our soldiers in Iraq, and the rise of the Taliban in Pakistan.
Also, the article you link to says nothing about Obama “thinking he’s beyond that.” It mentions only that the photo exists.
We’ve got to have a more adult and honest debate than this, out of simple respect for our Democracy, if not for each other.
I can understand your situation, but actually the link has a video (hope you played it). The national anthem is being sung and sure enough, Obama has his hands in his lap the entire song, not just a “snap,” as you suggest. We all learned in elementary school that the pledge of allegience and the national anthem are the basic things we do, in ceremony, to outwardly show our commitment to the nation. To drag it further, Obama’s press corp actually made a statement regarding this specific incident and yes, they admit he regularly does not place his hand to his heart. Apparently he’s above us all. This is just like the act of burning the American flag as a demonstration of free speech. Oh brother.
Chad,
Actually, there’s no reason to hold your hand over your heart during the anthem except at “patriotic and national observances”. Does a steak fry count? Anyway, the protocol also says to face the flag, and so clearly, the others weren’t. Were they also “anti-anthem”?
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2007/11/obama_nabbed_by_the_patriotic.html
- Misty
P.S. It’s really annoying to have to sign up with your blog to be able to post a comment, you might get more of them if you changed that.
Hi Misty. Well, you have to give all four of them credit for the possibility that there very well may be a flag out there in front of them, since they all seem to be looking that way. Regarding the “PS,” Sorry you are annoyed with the sign-up process. It helps eliminate BOTS from writing all over the blog. Thanks for taking the time for the sign-up. Hope to see you back here more. I love discussion.
Chad,
Yeah, I get the BOT stuff, they’re a pain. I normally just don’t ever sign up to be able to comment on blogs with proprietary sign-ups, although there have been a couple of exceptions.
Anyway, I came back because I got a link to this in my inbox this morning.
http://obama.3cdn.net/bd741716c892f7b788_eum6iycah.PDF
It’s a letter from Gen. Merrill “Tony” McPeak, USAF (Ret), Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration, USAF (Ret) and Richard Danzig, Secretary of the Navy (1998-2001), where they defend Obama’s patriotism in light of this anonymous letter that is circulating.
- Misty
It’s an easy read, Misty. Thanks for sharing.
I was at the steak fry this year, and there were a number of people that didn’t cover their heart while the Star-spangled Banner played, myself included.
I’ve never really put too much stock in the symbolism of America - America isn’t a flag and it isn’t a song, it’s the people.
The people in the crowd that didn’t have their hands on their hearts are no less patriotic… they were there because they were trying to decide who the next leader of the free world should be.
Thanks for the note Jeremiah. I remember a parade I attended for a 4th of July celebration when I was a teenager. I distinctly remember the man next to me who did not raise his hand to his heart as the flag passed, but understandably so, as he is a family friend from Canada. For me, though, it made me realize just how important the symbols of our lives really are — The flag, the pledge, the anthem, etc., all reflect the deep ideals of our nation’s founding. They represent the blood and tears shed by my forefathers, including several of my grandfathers and great grandfathers. They represent the freedoms our nation has fought for ourselves and for others. So whenever I have the opportunity to raise my hand to my heart I take a moment to ponder these things.
So if I understand your argument correctly, the symbolism does not mean much to you or to some who attended the steak fry event, including Obama. Well, it does mean a lot to me and will remain that way. I guess it just means symbolism is important to some while it is not to others. I wonder how the forefathers of our country would think on the subject?