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23rd January 2009 Charles J. Brown
11:56 am

A Servant to My President?


As regular readers of this blog know, I don’t just drink the Obama Kool-Ad, I revel in it.  I bathe in it.  I even do synchronized swimming moves.

But this (h/t Ta-Nehisi) — this thing, this tone-deaf, sanctimonius — nay vomitous — celebrity-soaked piece of propaganda. . .

. . .is just too much.

First of all, where do these beautiful, slim, and impossibly rich people get off telling us that we need to do more?  I agree with President’s noble call to put aside childish things, but if there is a class of Americans who most need to do that it’s the Hollywood elite.

Second, most people would love to have these folks’ problems.  I wish I could shut off all the lights in my mansion, or sell my Ferrari and buy a Prius.  But I guess I’ll have to settle for my fat ass, our two-bedroom apartment (where the lights already get shut off when we don’t need them) and our dented Volvo (which while not that old, is worth less than the cost of a new hybrid).

Third, what about all of us who didn’t need a courageous President to do the right thing?  Molly and I have been giving significant (at least for us) sums to charities of our choice since we’ve been together.  We’ve both volunteered for various organizations, This year, we couldn’t afford to give as much, but that was in part because I spent considerable sums driving around the Eastern Seaboard to volunteer my time for the Obama campaign.

A commenter on YouTube put it better than I can:

I pledge to stop paying fools for the crap movies they all star in and ride on the backs of middle and lower income AMERICANS. i pledge to laugh at fools instead of get mad at them. i renew my pledge to this COUNTRY - not the man in office because he makes me feel all gushy inside. Self indugent HOLLYWOOD - so now you’ve seen the error of your ways? You were a creep yesterday but now you’ve seen the light? Well don’t forget to turn the lights off PDiddy, or whatever name you go by this week

I couldn’t agree more.  No matter how much I support Barack Obama, my belief in this country and its capacity to do good is not based on my joy that he is now President.

Fourth, what were they thinking??  Demi Moore says, “I pledge to be a servant to our President?”  A servant to my President????  WTF?  Who produced this thing, Pravda?   Last I checked, there’s a reason that we call those we elect public servants.  They are in service to us, not the other way around.

Yes, we need to grow up, be responsible, and follow the leadership of our smart and talented President. But I’m guessing that he’d be the first person to tell you that none of us should be a servant to him.  And I’d further bet that few people better understand the difference between patriotism and the cult of personality.

There’s a word for this.  It’s flat-out propaganda, no matter how sincere the intent or worthy the sentiment.

One other thing:  you might have noticed that at the end of this horrible pile of poo, it says “copyright 2009 Harpo Productions.”  That’s Oprah’s company.  She should know better.  And so should usaservice.org, whose goals are far more worthy of support than this kind of garbage can ever convey.  Let’s hope they pull this video before it turns into a complete embarrassment.

Oh wait.  It already is.

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 23rd, 2009 at 11:56 am and is filed under politics, pop culture. It is tagged under , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

There are currently 11 responses to “A Servant to My President?”

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  1. 1 On January 23rd, 2009, Montserrat Nicolas said:

    Eeeeek.

  2. 2 On January 24th, 2009, Midwest McGarry said:

    Charlie Brown, you are one hard-hearted son-of-a-gun. Marisa Tomei says we are all in this together. But you aren’t buying it?

  3. 3 On January 24th, 2009, Chris Larson said:

    That could have been produced in Pyongyang.

  4. 4 On January 25th, 2009, Lisa Gates said:

    Chas (you probably hate that moniker)…here’s a tweak on that perspective: Whatever it takes. Whatever it takes to get people and keep people engaged and responsible. If you have to dial in because a celebrity inspired you, so be it. If you dial in to the concept of servant leadership (not the one w/a religious spin)so be it. We ARE all in this together, even with our disagreements and opinions and choices. It’s best when it’s messy, don’t you think?

  5. 5 On January 26th, 2009, Steve said:

    I think I’d agree with Lisa — if this helps motivate citizens to make the commitment, it’s worth it.
    For that matter, if it helps motivate the same celebrities who participated in it, to actually get out there and work for an Alzheimer’s cure, or meet their neighbors, or tutor/mentor some kids, or contribute to a food bank, as they promised (To Oprah? To Obama? To us? To U.S.?), then maybe that will set another example. As a public servant for my whole career, I know we need all the allies we can get.

  6. 6 On January 27th, 2009, Consul-At-Arms said:

    Very well said. What were they thinking?

    I’ve quoted you and linked to you here: http://consul-at-arms2.blogspot.com/2009/01/re-servant-to-my-presidenta-servant-to.html

  7. 7 On January 27th, 2009, T.H. said:

    Great rant, but I have to agree with Midwest McGarry, I was rolling my eyes until Marisa didn’t quite know what to say.
    In all seriousness though, out of the 786 people who have watched it it’s only been given 2 stars. I swear the American people are a lot smarter than they’re given credit for.

  8. 8 On January 29th, 2009, Jadefire88 said:

    I don’t think you’re the demographic for the video. It seems like it’s simply aimed at the “unactivated” masses. I think it’s too easy to feel like everyone is engaged in politics and civil society because you’ve been standing in a crowd of like-minded people for a good long time. The video is simple, yes. And sappy. And sorely lacking in creativity. But it seems to be simply trying to act as a light-switch. It ain’t calling for servants, it’s *introducing* the idea of service to an audience that requires a definition. That’s not you.

  9. 9 On September 3rd, 2009, Bill Brown said:

    Hey Charlie, it is now September 3rd, 2009. How is the Obama Kool Aid now.

    Mr. Obama’s Consultant, Van Jones, an avowed communist calling for revolution in 2008, is now working at the White House.
    Mr. Obama’s Consultant, Mark Lloyd, the new diversity CZAR(Consultant) looking to shut down conservative radio and the right of free speech on the airways and maybe the internet. Yes, you could be held responsible for my comments. Fines, jail could be in your future.

    Gee, what a great president for change.

    Your thoughts.

  10. 10 On September 3rd, 2009, Charlie said:

    Maybe the adults are able to see through this but what about the children. What about children who idolize many of these stars? This has been and will be again shown in the school.

    If they have to dress like, look like, talk like the movie stars, what about when they start to think like them?

    As the real Charlie brown would say. UGH!!

  11. 11 On September 4th, 2009, DapperDan said:

    Kudos to you Charlie, for being one of the few Obama supporters (assuming you still are) who was able to see through this creepy video - back in January no less! And to think some school Principal in Utah recently showed it to all her students before she was able to ‘view’ it. Yeah, I’m gonna go ahead and call BS on that one. But this schlock is just the kind of fodder that saps the (left wing) democrats of their objective credibility. How could this have been scripted, produced and edited by a well funded organization (Harpo) without anyone realizing something was amiss? Servant to your president? Are you f’ing kidding me?

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