Barack Hussein Obama and the Cult of Personality
11 November, 2008
On paper, it’s an amazing success story: Barack
Hussein Obama, after winning election to the United States Senate,
having not even served a full term in that Senate, is now the
President-Elect of the United States of America.
What has been disturbing, however, is the cult of personality
surrounding Obama. This fervently held, wide-eyed devotion on
the part of Obama’s ardent followers has set him apart from past
candidates for public office. Since the nation first became
aware of Obama in 2004, when he was lauded for his keynote address at
the Democrats’ convention in July of that year, there has been a
distinct sense among interested spectators that Obama’s most faithful
supporters see him as something more
than a politician. He is, in every sense of the word, a leader to those
most desirous of his success. He is, in fact, the figurehead
of a secular religion, a belief system whose fundamental tenets are a
vague “hope” for the future, an intense desire for unspecified
“change,” and a deep conviction that Obama’s election will alter the
nature of politics while improving the state of world affairs.
Sing
for change, indeed: A still from the infamous pro-Obama choir video.
From the beginning, the cult of Obama has proven deeply
disturbing in its implications. The YouTube videos
circulating of gold-booted paramilitary thugs marching and chanting
about Obama was alarming in that it conjured images of the Hitler Youth proclaiming their adoration of Der Führer.
The professionally produced, Leni Riefenstahl-esque hymn to
Leader Obama that followed was even more alarming; the
imagery created was so starkly manipulative and worshipful that it was
almost immediatley compared to the sort of propaganda North Korea would
produce to placate Kim Jong-il. It is difficult to imagine
videos of this type being produced in support of any living politician
previously running for Federal office; it is unlikely that
Obama’s hagiographers, who even now are writing with breathless
anticipation of every move he makes prior to assuming the Presidency,
could be nearly so enthuiastic in covering McCain’s days as
President-Elect. Somewhere, in a parallel universe where McCain won, there is
much wailing and gnashing of teeth — not to mention the race
riots we were promised should Obama fail to win the election
on November 4.
Students of Urban Community Leadership Academy of Kansas City, MO
march and profess their adoration for Barack Hussein Obama.
Obama’s own arrogant behavior has of course contributed to some of
the speculation about the cult of personality surrounding him. His appearance behind a podium bearing an Obama crest very similar to the Presidential Seal
was in such bad taste that it caused a good deal of negative publicity.
Throughout the campaign, Obama and his campaign operatives were
accused of attempting to infringe on freedom of speech by threatening media outlets airing material critical of Obama. These missteps, unfortunately, pale in comparison to what has come since. In
his first press conference as President-Elect, Obama did nothing to
dispel the aura of pompous entitlement that surrounds him. “Now,
the United States has only one government and one president at a time,”
he admitted. “And until January 20th of next year, that government is
the current administration.” I know I speak for many people when
I thank Mister Obama for acknowledging that he has yet to ascend his
throne, and that he cannot actually issue the executive orders he
anticipates using to begin governing immediately without Congressional oversight or involvement.
Even now, though he is not the President, Obama has a government website (change.gov) on which he outlines various policies he wishes to enact. Among these was forcing
people to perform community service, before wind of this was caught in
various blogs and the site was changed. Mandatory community “service”
is an excellent example of the sort of dictatorial fiat a venerated
pseudo-spiritual leader expects to enjoy. The co-chair of Obama’s
transition team stated that Obama would be “ready to rule” from the outset. Rule was her word, not mine, and it speaks volumes about both Obama’s attitude and the mindset of those who surround him.
If Obama himself has behaved arrogantly, his supporters’ devotion long ago crossed the line from entitled to actively hostile. On election day, armed Black Panthers were filmed intimidating voters
at one polling place. There were reports of Obama supporters
threatening whites (who were presumed to be McCain supporters because
of their race) and of liberal teachers browbeating children who refused to support Obama in mock elections. There was even at least one report of a little girl terrorized by the Obama cult’s pervasive groupthink.
Individually, any of these reports could be false or exaggerated
(such as the sad tale of a disturbed young woman who lied to police,
saying a mugger noticed her McCain bumper sticker and carved a “B” in
her face with a knife). Taken as a whole, however, these incidents paint a disturbing portrait of a cult that brooks no criticism, no dissent, and no alternatives.
Newsweek’s Evan Thomas commented on Obama’s “slightly creepy cult of personality” on PBS recently. He said that Obama was “managing
his own spectacle” and that he is a “deeply manipulative guy” who
“controls events” rather than being controlled by them. From the
first days of the Obama campaign, any criticism of Barack Hussein Obama
was deemed “racist.” Even mentioning the candidate’s own middle name
was declared politically incorrect — presumably because such references
constituted mean-spirited attempts to remind potential viewers of
Obama’s alien nature, his strange “otherness” compared to mainstream
American culture. Surely news of Obama’s many questionable
assocations, ranging from the racist and anti-American figure of
Reverend Wright to the former Weathermen
terrorist Bill Ayers, raised concerns in the minds of many voters —
but these were just as quickly and violent dismissed as somehow unfair
or as “smears” despite the fact that the news was true.
Barack Obama’s cult of personality was driven home to me when I
started receiving messages critical of my stance against Obama’s
candidacy. Even friends
of mine have expressed their disappointment or even resentment that I
do not support Obama and that I have actively opposed him. I have
never become upset with any friend of mine for having a differing
political view — yet I believe there is a very real possibility I have
lost a couple of friendships for no other reason than that I did not
vote for Barack Obama… and that I actively encouraged others not to
vote for him.
While it gratifies me that the allegedly institutionally racist
United States is anything but (as we have proven by electing a black
man to the highest office in the land), I cannot be happy or excited
about the radical left-wing administration Obama is promising to
create. From the first moments of his victory on election day,
Obama has done nothing but affirm that the worst fears of his opponents
and critics are about to come true. He intends to “rule” with a
dictatorial and socialist hand, redistributing wealth for egalitarian
ends while infringing on freedom of speech and on several other rights
protected by the Bill of Rights. You do not have to take my word
for it. You may read his own promises at change.gov and reach
your own conclusions about their implications.
I would like to be proven wrong. I would like to see this nation
prosper under President Obama, and I would like to see positive
“change” in the form of a better economy, better foreign relations, and
an end to various wars. I do hope.
I simply do not believe.
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