I was reading a colleagues reaction to the State of the Union address from a few months back, and she talked about something that has bothered me for a long time now. When I saw the State of the Union there was really only one question that kept circling in my mind—Why are we clapping so much at the State of the Union? How is it that the speech coming from the same president who has had a majority job disapproval rate from a number of polls for the past couple of years, the same president that announced a plan to deploy 20,000 more of our military troops to Iraq, is the same president getting more applause than Michael Jackson on a retirement tour?Is this how the President has been treated every time he speaks since he’s been in office? Is it supposed to be the thanks we give him for a nationalistic foreign policy that has ruined our ties and reputation with much of the world, or the thanks for taking away our Constitutional freedoms in the name of security? I’m inclined to think that the havoc that he has wreaked over the past 6 years is the fault of none other than our own. Anybody that is receiving standing ovations after the monumental failures of this administration will think that they can do anything and get away with it.
Last summer I saw the President speak at the National NAACP conference and the same overwhelmingly zealous applause was even present there! President Bush had not spoke at the Annual National NAACP Conference since he was Governor Bush, a presidential hopeful asking for our voting support in a close race. Since that time he conveniently had scheduling conflicts for 5 years straight, and was unable to make the conference. Needless to say, his policies were no where near agreement with the NAACP’s national political stance on most issues, so I anticipated a spirited effort to let the President know that we disapprove. As soon as the man arrived, there was a roar of applause coming from the crowd, I was taken aback for a moment, but then quickly dismissed the cheers of acceptance for simple common courtesy. After all, as much as the man is hated, he still is the most powerful human being on the planet; I’m guessing that earns him at least a solid clap when he enters a room. Then, he commenced with his speech and if I had been standing outside the building, I would have thought it was the greatest speech of all time. Nearly every single time the president paused there was an eruption of applause. The same senior members that told us this was the worst presidential administration in history, was standing when the clapped! Half these people were over 60, so standing to clap for Bush from them was much more symbolically reverent than a young 20 year old.
Needless to say, I refused to clap for him.
As a matter of fact, I fell asleep at some point during his address to the members, of course an act of protest. But in all seriousness, I was in a state of shock after the President’s speech, I felt betrayed by the NAACP as an organization. Of course, I did not expect jeers from the crowd, or any type of extreme protesting at the event, but I most certainly didn’t expect them to actually humor what the president was saying, and lead him to believe that we approve of what he’s doing. At any public opportunity, Bush should be constantly reminded of how he’s screwed up, constantly reminded that he’s to blame for the soldiers that have fallen in Iraq, and constantly reminded that he is to blame for the war crimes persisting in Guantanamo Bay. At this point and time I think the U.S. is far from a fascist state, but we are alot closer to an authoritarian state than most Americans are willing to realize. My fear is that there will be some type of attack on the United States at or near the time Bush is supposed to leave office and he declares a state of emergency and stays in office. When the time truly comes to fight for our freedoms, I hope people won’t just stand by and applaud.
Last summer I saw the President speak at the National NAACP conference and the same overwhelmingly zealous applause was even present there! President Bush had not spoke at the Annual National NAACP Conference since he was Governor Bush, a presidential hopeful asking for our voting support in a close race. Since that time he conveniently had scheduling conflicts for 5 years straight, and was unable to make the conference. Needless to say, his policies were no where near agreement with the NAACP’s national political stance on most issues, so I anticipated a spirited effort to let the President know that we disapprove. As soon as the man arrived, there was a roar of applause coming from the crowd, I was taken aback for a moment, but then quickly dismissed the cheers of acceptance for simple common courtesy. After all, as much as the man is hated, he still is the most powerful human being on the planet; I’m guessing that earns him at least a solid clap when he enters a room. Then, he commenced with his speech and if I had been standing outside the building, I would have thought it was the greatest speech of all time. Nearly every single time the president paused there was an eruption of applause. The same senior members that told us this was the worst presidential administration in history, was standing when the clapped! Half these people were over 60, so standing to clap for Bush from them was much more symbolically reverent than a young 20 year old.
Needless to say, I refused to clap for him.
As a matter of fact, I fell asleep at some point during his address to the members, of course an act of protest. But in all seriousness, I was in a state of shock after the President’s speech, I felt betrayed by the NAACP as an organization. Of course, I did not expect jeers from the crowd, or any type of extreme protesting at the event, but I most certainly didn’t expect them to actually humor what the president was saying, and lead him to believe that we approve of what he’s doing. At any public opportunity, Bush should be constantly reminded of how he’s screwed up, constantly reminded that he’s to blame for the soldiers that have fallen in Iraq, and constantly reminded that he is to blame for the war crimes persisting in Guantanamo Bay. At this point and time I think the U.S. is far from a fascist state, but we are alot closer to an authoritarian state than most Americans are willing to realize. My fear is that there will be some type of attack on the United States at or near the time Bush is supposed to leave office and he declares a state of emergency and stays in office. When the time truly comes to fight for our freedoms, I hope people won’t just stand by and applaud.
