This morning, I received another version of the email anecdote by Rick Mathes about a Christian confronting a Muslim at a seminar on diversification. Whether the anecdote is true, is debatable, as www.snopes.com points out here. The email is silly, but that wasn't what bothered me (I have received it several times previously and am immune to its gross oversimplifications). Instead, what bothered me this time is the way the email has been recast. A note was attached to the beginning of the email that said
"With cordial thanks to Wayne Eidson for this enlightening piece. When we see Barrak Obama standing casually as our National Anthem is played...while everyone else is reverently holding their hand over their heart....it is very clear where his loyalties lie. What a tragically dangerous time this election is for the United States!"
Yep, these emailers are connecting a story about Islam ordering all Muslims to kill all nonbelievers to Barack Obama not putting his hand over his heart for the national anthem.
I am dismayed.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
Yeah, that article is trash...but why the hell doesn't Obama put his hand on his heart during the anthem??? (And, that YouTube song was the worst version of the anthem that I've ever heard...)
I think, for one, that Obama is definately a thoughtful Christian, albeit miss-guided on many issues. For a poltician...set the low bar now...he is WAY better than most and WAY more thoughtful. Take a supposed
"Christian conservative" Republican like Larry Craig, aka, Senator Bathroom Stall Lovin', and ask him his deep thoughts on the Sermon on the Mount and you will get the blankest of stares.....
I don't usually put my hand on my heart. Why the hell should I? I stand reverently, and I love my country.
I don't put my hand on my heart, either. I didn't know you were supposed to, but I checked and the official rule is to do it both for the Anthem and the Pledge.
Sometimes I do it if I see everyone else doing it (sometimes not), but Obama didn't have that privilege here. He was in front and didn't turn around to see what everyone else was doing.
I don't know. Take a poll or just go to a baseball game. Most people place their hand on their heart. I just wonder if Obama doesn't do it for some kind of reason.
I don't see why he would. The guy is a politician, after all, and his image is everything. I can't believe that he would purposefully not put his hand on his heart before a debate or rally or whatever that was.
Me, I don't do it out of ignorance but also because I think it's silly. Obama doesn't have that privilege.
"Official Rules?" I can't believe that people are arguing here that faking your vote is ethically acceptable, but not putting your hand on your heart when you sing the anthem is somehow suspicious.
Where do these official rules come from? I imagine it is a simple etiquette prescription. Those kinds of these are always subject to change, and hardly morally normative.
Actually, it is an official government code of conduct or something like that. See http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/36/301.html for more on it. Not just etiquette, Mark.
I think you can argue that a code of conduct IS etiquette (unless you are in the military, where they throw you in the brig.)The code you cite, which comes from the federal flag code, is only a voluntary guideline, and provides no penalties, as that would be an unconstitutional infringement of speech.
There is a lot of stupid shit that is codified, but meaningless. Here are the other subchapters in the section of code you referred to:
# § 301. National anthem
# § 302. National motto
# § 303. National floral emblem
# § 304. National march
# § 305. National tree
I would argue that whether you put your hand on your heart is as meaningful as knowing what the national tree is.
Oak tree. In case you were wondering.
Post a Comment