It’s downright Orwellian the way that Michelle Obama’s words are being parsed by her defenders these last 48 hours. It is a version of “Newspeak” the author would have instantly recognized. Substituting emotion for meaning was one of the psychological tricks of the totalitarians. Hence, we have those who explain away Mrs. Obama’s statement about her husband’s candidacy – that for the first time in her adult life, she was “really proud” of America – by referring to some nebulous feeling Mrs. Obama may have had when uttering the words:
I’m not sure what Michelle Obama meant, but being a black person with privilege and access often makes you more aware of American inequality, not less, and it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s what Michelle was referring to. Try living in say, New Orleans or Newark for a few years and see how proud of your country it makes you.
Being “aware of American inequality” – as opposed to British, French or even Chinese inequality? – is what she “meant?” Perhaps if we were all speaking Newspeak.
And speaking of Newspeak, here’s a fine example – with a little ignorance of the facts to go with it:
They are questioning her patriotism and saying that her statement means she has never been proud or very proud of anything about America before. Their accusations are without merit for many reasons. One reasons is because anyone who is even mildly objective knows that she was speaking in the moment to a crowd. Another reason is that any reasonable person would believe that a woman seeing her husband (of any race) have a real chance to be president would be the proudest moment in her life and no reasonable person would believe she meant she’d never been proud of this country before.
They are questioning her patriotism and saying that her statement means she has never been proud or very proud of anything about America before.
Setting up the strawman while denying in no uncertain terms that she ever uttered the words that she had “never been really proud” of America in her adult life takes a special kind of obtuseness; the kind that doesn’t allow reality to intrude too often into one’s thoughts. The question of “patriotism” shouldn’t enter into the criticism. One can criticize what she said solely on the basis of the idea that both Obama and his wife are extraordinarily self-centered – mesmerized by their own greatness. Like the Clinton’s, “it’s all about them!”
One reasons is because anyone who is even mildly objective knows that she was speaking in the moment to a crowd
Um…no. She made the statement twice. Both times she was reading the speech. There was absolutely nothing “in the moment” about it. If you’re going to excuse stupidity, please get your facts straight.
Another reason is that any reasonable person would believe that a woman seeing her husband (of any race) have a real chance to be president would be the proudest moment in her life and no reasonable person would believe she meant she’d never been proud of this country before
Because she was proud of her husband no “reasonable” person could say she wasn’t proud of America? A logical fallacy if there ever was one. There is no connection between pride in husband and pride in country – none, zero, zilch. But it sure sounds good in Newspeak!
What all this boils down to is that people are refusing to acknowledge the clear meaning behind the unambiguous words of the wife of a man running for president. While Orwell would get a kick out of liberal bloggers employing the tactics of his totalitarians, we are stuck with condemning such “liberalspeak” for what it is – an attempt to use language not as a means of communication but as a means of control. If the words spoken by Michelle Obama do not mean what she clearly intended them to mean then those who can redefine what she meant hold enormous power over the rest of us by having the ability to alter reality whenever it suits them.
I’ve written about this many times over the last three years, perhaps most extensively here. Glenn Greenwald chose to redefine the term “chickenhawk” in order to cut down a columnist who dared take the left to task for their idiocy and illogic in formulating the word in the first place. Greenwald or one of his many fans then altered the definition in less than 24 hours in Wikpedia – more evidence of Newspeak:
Even if Waldo or one of his minions did not rush to alter the Wikpedia definition to reflect his revised, made up definition, the point still stands; when losing an argument, the left invariably tries to change the parameters of the narrative rather than attempt to win on the merits or on logic. They view language with a fluidity that lacks the proper respect for and understanding of the importance of commonality of usage – that we all must use the same reference points when talking with each other. Otherwise, we talk past each other rather than with one another.
Instead of trying to parse and twist what Obama said, the left should have been trying to defend her intent and meaning; that there is nothing that has happened in Michelle Obama’s adult life that made her proud of her own country. (Sorry but I don’t buy the super-parsing between the idea that she was not “really proud” of America only “proud.” The adjective “really” is superfluous to the word “proud.” You are either proud or you are not proud. There are no gradations of pride that I know of.)
It is true that the left has been so ashamed of being liberal that they have desperately sought to cloak their proposals as “post partisan problem solving” or even trying to hide them as “moderate” ideas.” Shame is a dominating feature of modern liberalism. If you don’t feel “shame” for the sin of racism, you are not an authentic liberal. If you’re not “ashamed” of America for its imperialist warmongering, you are just not in the club.
This has been the dominant theme of liberal ideology since the rise of the New Left back in the 60’s, culminating in the nomination of a man who spoke the “New Leftspeak” fluently; George McGovern:
So join with me in this campaign. Lend Senator Eagleton and me your strength and your support, and together we will call America home to the ideals that nourished us from the beginning.From secrecy and deception in high places; come home, America
From military spending so wasteful that it weakens our nation; come home, America.
From the entrenchment of special privileges in tax favoritism; from the waste of idle lands to the joy of useful labor; from the prejudice based on race and sex; from the loneliness of the aging poor and the despair of the neglected sick—come home, America.
Come home to the affirmation that we have a dream. Come home to the conviction that we can move our country forward.Come home to the belief that we can seek a newer world, and let us be joyful in that homecoming, for this “is your land, this land is my land—from California to New York island, from the redwood forest to the gulf stream waters—this land was made for you and me.â€
Do you hear McGovern’s echo in Obama’s impassioned pleas for change? Do you feel his shame and recognize it is the same kind of shame felt by Michelle Obama that her country has done nothing right in her adult lifetime that would allow her to feel pride in her America’s accomplishments?
This isn’t a question as some on the left have hopefully suggested that white conservatives can’t feel her pain and that our frame of reference is so different that we can’t understand from where her shame is coming. There are plenty of instances in the last 35 years I have been ashamed to be an American:
- I was ashamed to be an American when the “smoking gun” tape was released and I realized the President was an obstructer of justice. I was not a supporter of Nixon. But it saddened me immensely to find out the President broke the law to save his political hide.
- I was ashamed to be an American when the weakest, most incompetent president in American history allowed our hostages – taken in a brazen act of war recognized as such by international law – to languish in an Iranian prison while part of the world laughed at our impotency and the other part wrung its hands in fear and frustration at our weakness.
- I was ashamed to be an American when the Soviets marched into Afghanistan and our president responded by cutting off grain shipments. This after telling us we must get over our “inordinate fear” of communism.
- I was ashamed to be an American when I realized my political hero Ronald Reagan traded arms to those same fanatics for hostages in contravention of his own policy not to deal with terrorists.
- I was ashamed to be an American when it became clear that the White House, the Commerce Department, and other agencies of government were for sale under the Clinton Administration.
- I was ashamed to be an American when a gay man was dragged by a pick up truck full of bigots to his death.
- I was ashamed to be an American when some right wing fanatic bombed the olympics in Atlanta. His bombing of abortion clinics didn’t make me feel proud either.
- I was ashamed to be an American when it was proven the President of the United States lied under oath and denied an American citizen her right to a fair hearing in a court of law of her lawsut against him. He lied for the same reason Nixon lied – to save his political hide.
I’m sure there are plenty of other instances where my government or the country has let me down and I’ve felt shame in being an American. Bu to say I have no frame of reference to feel shame for America is silly and stupid and only reveals the ignorance of anyone who would make such an argument.
The point isn’t that Obama didn’t feel proud of America for any one of dozens of selfless, self-sacrificing acts by the American government or the millions such acts by her citizens. Or taking pride in America’s force of arms to free first Kuwait then Afghanistan and finally Iraq from tyrannical regimes and occupation. One can be so self absorbed as the Obamas apparently are and allow the world to pass them by, taking note of only what affects them personally or their own little worlds they have created be they a community organizer or a PR executive.
The real problem with Mr. and Mrs. Obama is that they may know what Americans want to hear but they have no clue as to what makes Americans tick. Not on a psychological level which is where they are targeting their appeals. But at the level of the American soul.
American exceptionalism is more than empty platitudes about America’s greatness that usually drive many liberals and foreigners batty. It is something most Americans I have come across feel deeply about – so deeply that it transcends convention and becomes a part of our character as a people. Being proud of America is not a prerequisite for patriotism. But it should be if you want to be president. To not recognize the uniqueness of America to the point that you are bursting with pride at a million different times in your life shows a disassociation with the American public that should disqualify someone from being president.
There are troubling signs in his speeches that Obama believes this campaign is about him and his “movement” rather than America and its future. His speeches are self-referential – a trait noticed by both left and right critics of the man and his candidacy. Michelle Obama’s revelatory remarks about how she feels about this country are a part of this denial of the exceptional nature of America. And that is why what she actually said and meant should be taken into account when deciding whether to vote for her husband.
8:01 pm
Rick-
All of your examples are ridiculous. You are projecting shame of the actions of individuals on your country. The actions of Nixon, Carter, Clinton and yes even Reagan were not the actions of your country, but the actions of a few individuals that we elected. No human is perfect, even Presidents. Our country has survived the actions of these men, and I daresay, that we are better for it. This is and has been the greatest country in history and will survive the actions of any one individual. The fear I have is that the comparitive ignorance of our people to generations past will allow the election of a poser, a true demogogue. that will change our country in ways that are infathomable to the young and easily impressed.
2:57 am
We can never know, to walk a mile in the shoes of a black woman in this country, so I’m inclined to give her some slack.
As for your comment “There are plenty of instances in the last 35 years I have been ashamed to be an American:” I offer my own list.
The escalation of the Vietnam war, the undeclared war in Cambodia leading to the ris e of Pol Pot and the needless loss of millions of their lives. A pogrom ironically brought to an end by communist Vietnam.
The needless support of apartheid in South Africa, when calls by people like myself at university for divestment was met by indifference and scorn.
The training and backing of Death Squads in El Salvador, where military leaders in that country were trained in the US at the School of the Americas. Say goodbye to tens of thousands.
The Iran/Contra scandal, where cocaine was smuggled thru Central America by Ollie’s buddies to buy weapons for use in the mideast to circumvent congressional restrictions. And Reagan had the nerve to call the Contras the moral equivalent of our Founding Fathers, when they were Somoza holdouts operating out of Honduras.
Skipping ahead…the refusal of the Bush Administration to accept foreign aid after Katrina, in spite of Brownie doing a heck of a job.
The hubris of Bushco to absorb intelligence that could probably have prevented 9/11.
And why not mention Karl Rove, whose evil treatment of McCain derailed the better candidate in 2000? Will we see a deathbed confession a la Lee Atwater from his minion?
Please help me to be proud of, to put it kindly, the bull in the china shop.
3:55 am
Rick Smith,
His examples are right on the money. I can think of several more that have occurred within the past seven years too.
We are a democratic republic. Our elected officials represent us both internally and to the rest of the world. When they behave like assholes, it reflects poorly on us. Because of this, some of us feel a degree of shame when someone we’ve chosen as our advocate goes and does something counter to what we believe.
I’d argue that events like those cited caused one version of our country to die and get replaced with another. The world sees us differently, treats us differently.
At first glance, it’s easy to not care if the world sees us differently. As second glance, this affects us in countless ways, commerce and security being chief among them. Then the altered perspective cascades down to every other aspect of our interaction with the world.
The examples cited are not ridiculous. I felt some degree of shame or embarrassment when reading them. Embarrassed that I’m part of a country that elected those people that pulled that crap.
So, if Michelle Obama hasn’t felt proud of her country, maybe she’s got her own list. Maybe it’s longer, or other things affected her more deeply. I don’t know, but what I do know is that her words affect us because of who she is, our potential first lady. Thus they matter.
8:47 am
To #2 and #3,
You cannot tell me, and the rest of the patrons of the board, that in the last 35 years there hasn’t been ONE thing that the USA has done to be proud of?
Shame on you for not leaving, if you couldn’t find one thing to be proud to be an American over the past 35 years. You either directly help put these “assholes” in office or you helped facilitate their existence. If you were proud enough to help elect/facilitate by voting for them or their policies, then I find it somewhat disingenuous for you to profess you couldn’t find something to be proud of.
I am 60 years old, my father was in WWII, I served in Vietnam at the behest of LBJ, although I have seen a lot things this country has done to be ashamed of, I have also seen a lot of things this country, and its elected officials, have done to be very proud of.
I think if someone can’t find anything for which they can be proud of their country, in 35 years, they haven’t looked deep enough, they don’t want to find anything or they have an anti-American agenda.
Good luck to you guys in the rest of your pitifully empty lives, you are looking in the wrong places.
10:53 am
DaleB,
The logical fallacy above is called a Straw Man. This sort of “reasoning” is fallacious because attacking a distorted version of a position simply does not constitute an attack on the position itself.
I did not say that there was nothing I was proud of, but you knew that. You’ve created an emotional appeal that verges on yet another logical fallacy.
People who say “Shame on you for not leaving” don’t seem to grasp the basic tenants of the constitution itself. The founders put together a beautiful document. They said, here are the rules, all written down for you. But, the best rule of all of them is the rule that says you can change the rules. There is nothing in there that says, if you don’t like it, get out. The founders dealt with that in England, and specifically designed the system to avoid that mentality.
People who say “Shame on you for not leaving” would do better to say “If you don’t like it, then try to change it.” To me, that’s a far more patriotic and truly American thing to say. Much better than hiding behind the guise of patriotism and launching poorly thought out attacks at vocal people unhappy with certain aspects of their government.
The thesis of the piece is that Michelle Obama’s words matter, which I agree with. The thesis of your post is that based on your straw man I hate America and should have left already, which I do not agree with.
10:32 am
I have never been ashamed of my country, ever.
10:51 am
Bobwire:
FYI: White men are the most discriminated group in America.
Escalation of the Vietnam War by whom? The Viet Cong during Tet? North Vietnamese during the Eastertide Offensive? Have you ever been to Vietnam?
“Undeclared” war in Cambodia? Pol Pot came to power because the NVA took South Vietnam while the democrat congress made us sit on our hands and watch. See the Case-Church Amendment.
Our country did not support apartheid in South Africa, we embargoed them.
Whose death squads in El Salvador? ARENA? Have you ever been to El Salvador?
Iran/Contra? Have you ever been to Iran? Honduras? Panama? What do you know about cocaine smuggling?
What Intelligence? Do you have a security clearance? A need to know?
Katrina? You must also believe in the AGW hoax.
11:00 am
The “hall of shame” provided by Rick’s blog entry and other commentors would be high on any list. What is not listed is how America reacted to some of them:
The individuals responsible for “Watergate” served time in prison and the President responsible was forced to resign in shame for his actions. What other country can you point to where this would have been the outcome.
Carter’s bumbling foreign policy resulted in the rise of Reagan and the resultant fall of the Soviet scourge.
The men responsbile for the gay man’s death face a future bent over and takeing the one thing they fear most – for the rest of their lives. And also true of the Olympics bomber.
Clinton’s sins came to roost with the one thing that will be remembered over anything else associated with his legacy – Impeachment.
Yes there are instances where, for a moment, one can feel shame about the actions of our fellow Americans. But I ask you – is there a better country in the world? Is there a country in the world that wears it’s problems so prominently on its sleeves for all to see? Is there a country in the world that is so caring that we are the first on the scene with aid for virtually any disaster that the prople of the world may ever face? For every one of the items listed in anyone’s “hall of shame”, I can provide dozens of items that one can be proud of – per year.
8:37 am
I’m the same age as the Obamas. For all my life, watching the news was about Vietnam, Watergate, Nixon resigning, Reagan and his trickle down economics that never made it to the lower or middle middle class, elder Bush and his war and stopping at the gates of Baghdad and sending our troops home feeling like they did half a job, Clinton and his sex excapades, and now W and his fictional WMDs turning into democracy for the Middle East turning into a surge that is really supported by a religious leader in Iraq determining if a cease fire will continue. Frankly, the only thing I was proud of during those years was the moon landing. I have been extremely cynical and have been saying for years that our founding fathers would not recognize the country they fought so hard to bring forth. No, I don’t see why there is such a flap over what Mrs. Obama said. She is in the same mindset as I and my friends who grew up in the 70s and 80s watching our country become so much less than it was during the years our parents grew up. I love my country and come from a family who has served in the military going back to the Battle of Gettysburg. Because I am cynical doesn’t mean I am unpatriotic. It means I am realistic. My life is no better than it was 30 years ago and if anything I struggle more each day with the rising cost of everything. Spare me the if you’re not with us you’re against us. McCain isn’t the only patriot in the race. And Obama isn’t unpatriotic. They’re of different generations and have different outlooks. It’s a different way of expressing ourselves compared to people over 60. And I thank God that Obama has engaged our younger generation. For the first time, I too have hope for this country. We need our younger people engaged in order to have a viable future. If that’s the only thing Obama accomplishes by his candidacy, then it was well worth the sacrifice.