The President of The United States of America bows to no one and the US Flag is dipped in deference to none. It isn't arrogance or hubris or bravado. It is homage to and acknowledgement of a revolutionary concept that has changed the face of the world several times over.
That this fundamental precept of our raison d'etre has been abandoned by the office holder of the moment is personally deeply painful. Sorry. I cannot go on without violating decorum.
17 comments:
Right, because Nixon didn't bow to the leader of China. Eisenhower didn't bow to DeGaulle (DEGAULLE FFS!)
Just in case:
http://www.stltoday.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=7870388
And here are a whole bunch of Republican presidents bowing and planting sloppy kisses on foreign leaders.
http://messageboards.aol.com/aol/en_us/articles.php?boardId=551411&articleId=321350&func=6&channel=Member+Guided+News&filterRead=false&filterHidden=true&filterUnhidden=false
I don't get why any President would bow to Royalty. That seems counter to the premise of what our country stands for. But I guess you do what you need to when you go to the bank for a loan.
The Emperor was heard to say "where's my ipod?"
Really? With everything else going on in the world, THIS is what you find important?
Obama can bend over every f'in day as far as I'm concerned.
It's a nice change. Usually it's the American taxpayer doing the bending over.
I suppose you also know O bowed to the Saudi king. Totally disgusting, so when I saw this picture on the Internet, I almost threw up.
(Just saw your Tues PM post on CR re CA deficit and came over here -- thanks for the good work.)
Perhaps he feels a tinge of guilt for representing the country that incinerated half a million innocent people in his host's country. He could have just puked on his leg, I suppose.
Come on now Lost Cause, the Japanese were every bit as bad as the Nazis and had to be brought to their knees through terrible force. I would say that Hirohito's heir should be the one puking and asking for forgiveness.
Looking at China's king, he doesn't look like he demands a bow. Why are we doing it?
It's all suck-up, all the time.
It should be clarified that bowing in Japanese culture is a sign of respect that is not automatically indicative of deference to authority. The depth of the bow can be an indication of relative social status, however. What's problematic about this is not the bow--the Emperor is himself giving a polite, short bow--but the deep bow, which is an unmistakeable sign of deference.
Likewise for titles. Officially recognized heads of state can be addressed by their title--President Putin, Colonel Gaddafi, President Mugabe--without it being a commentary on their legitimacy. But when you start using honorics or aristocratic titles, however, those carry with them an unspoken validation of the system that awards those titles.
That's why it bothers me to no end when Americans, but especially political leaders, use honorifics and non-political titles--"Your Highness", "Your Majesty", Duke Windsor, Sir Elton John, etc. We fought a war where our soldiers died so that we would not have to suffer under a system that treated people differently based on their social class, and when our leaders go right back to subscribing to that system in an ill-advised attempt to curry favor with the international elites, it sickens me.
Jim the Realtor - China doesn't have a king.
Holy Christ! I'll give you, Rob, you were not blogging when Nixon and Ike were president, but you were when Bush kissed and held hands with a Saudi prince, and I don't recall a peep from you. You know why Bush held hands and kissed that Saudi prince? Because that is the tradition where the Saudi prince is from, and that is called diplomacy. This bow is tradition as well, and this is diplomacy. Wise up.
Rob
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_I3Q1kT0tz2A/Sf_GIk0b6jI/AAAAAAAAC50/DGchXQwPHPc/s400/Bush_Prince_Abdullah_kiss_hold_hands.jpg
Why was it okay for bush to swap spit with a saudi?
that was disgusting
Churchill said:
"When you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite"
I suppose if we were in a position of almighty power, it costs nothing to bow to someone else. I have no problem with walking softly and carrying a big stick.
Sadly, we are pushing our bravado around and hoping people bow to us just because. This country HAS lost something, and it's not because of our presidents... they're just a reflection of the people.
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