[UPDATE, added 9:39pm, 7/26/08: Not all and not most, but a few Obama supporters are engaging in the kind of talk and Obamalatry this post references. The few involved are mentioned in the linked post below.]
Barack Obama may become the next President. He may even be qualified for the job.
I don't do endorsements, as regular readers of my blogging will know. But the Obamamessiah stuff, well-documented here, is outrageous. (TY: Pastor Jeff)
He's a politician, folks, not some special otherworldly life form.
I don't use the term "politician" disdainfully, either. I'm one who believes that politics can be and often is an honorable calling, a calling pursued as are all other callings by finite, imperfect, human beings, a category that includes us all. Barack Obama is no different from anybody else.
Barack Obama is not God. That job has already been filled and will remain filled, no matter who is elected President this fall.
Spencer and Jeff have more pointed things to say on the subject.
10 comments:
Hi. Surfed in because you appreciate Bruce Cockburn's music, as do I.
What a welcome comment you have made about Obama. When a human is elevated to the status he's been elevated to (by some), there is an inevitable, usually painful, backlash.
I don't know when it will come, but it will. I hope the damage is not too great.
You don't do endorsements, but you apparently parrot rightwing talking point. Nice job!
Good post. I just wrote one in a similar vein earlier this morning:
http://spencertroxell.blogspot.com/2008/07/these-people-are-nuts.html.
I also was accused of being a republican tool. Go figure.
Thank you, Much Afraid.
Eric, this is obviously the first time you've visited this site. For months now, people have been accusing me of being an Obama supporter because I've defended him against unfairness.
Fairness is what I try to promote when it comes to political discussion.
You'll also note that in this post I haven't criticized Obama, but the apparent idolatry of some of his supporters.
Thanks for dropping by. God bless.
By the way, Eric. I usually delete anonymous comments, whatever their substance. But because it is clear you've never visited before, I will leave yours up.
Mark
This is not just an issue with regard to one presidential candidate. In the United States, we have developed an American civil religion in which the President, whether it be Obama or McCain or Bush or Clinton or Bush or Reagan etc., is invested as the high priest of the country. When this reaches extremes, you have a religion which is very different from Biblical Christianity.
Even from a secular point of view, investing one's leader with the attributes of perfection is bound to result in disappointment.
Spencer:
How a person could have read your piece and accused you of being a right wing tool is beyond me. Your post was thoughtful. I not only linked to it here, but also over at The Moderate Voice.
OE:
That's an insightful comment. Thanks for sharing it and thanks, too, for linking to this post on your site.
Blessings,
Mark Daniels
While I assume there must be SOME people who see Obama as some kind of hoped-for savior, I truly don't know ANYONE in my wide circle of liberal friends and acquaintances who doesn't recognize that Obama is just a regular flawed person who simply represents a potential change from what we've been dealing with for the past eight years. I don't think being excited about a candidate is deifying him and I DO think that a lot of this talk (not by you, Mark, it's certainly a legitimate issue to raise!) is a smokescreen for the tired right-wing chant that liberals are completely nuts and have no discernment when it comes to electing leaders who are good for this country. Barack Obama is as flawed as any other human being on the planet, but I'll take his flaws over George Bush's (or McCain's) any day of the week.
Danny:
It's really good to hear from you!
Thank you for your thoughtful comments.
I agree that the lion's share, the overwhelming majority, of Obama's supporters don't fall into the category about which I wrote here. Most members of my extended family are planning on voting for Obama this year and I certainly don't find them falling into Obamalatry. But there are people whose comments, like those quoted in the web site, absolutely go over the top of Naive Mountain.
But you make excellent points, Danny!
God bless.
Mark
Here's a thought, just one.
We should want leaders who recognize and defend the Truth. Can't say we have had much of that lately, but, I am no judge. Regarding Senator Obama, however, it seems to me that Truth might be elusive; again, no judgment. But Truth is a person and His name is Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life!" And the Apostle Paul tells us that Jesus holds all created things in the universe (including all Life) together, and that without Him nothing is. It is also significant, it seems to me, that Jesus was fully human and fully Divine, thus imbuing human life with sacredness and sacrament. The Gospel tells us that John the Baptist, lept in Elizabeth's womb in the presence of the pre-born infant Jesus.
Around these points, one can fashion an apology for the position that those who have disregard for human Life do not or surrender to the Truth. Jesus did not say, "The Truth is that abortion on demand is My Father's will," or that politicians should exercise prudential judgment in these matters. Reviewing his record, any voter might conclude that far from being or deserving messianic elevation, Senator Obama, like many other elected leaders, has a problem with the Truth, and we should not settle for that.
Mark,
Not anonymous at all. Google logged me in and my Blogger profile (since I don't use Blogger) is not viewable. I'm Eric Vessels from Plunderbund. I've visited before, though not that regularly. Saw this in an RSS feed.
You DO spout a rightwing talking point - whether you realize it or not. By saying "Obamamessiah stuff" you are parroting a narrative the right wishes to use against Obama in order to downplay the enthusiastic support he has garnered in many Americans. This is a coordinated and willful tactic that you are playing into.
If you are into fairness, you would not portray it in this way. There is a reason Obama has 200,000 Germans come to see him speak. There is a reason many are so behind him and energized like we've not seen in American politics for some time. Your discounting that as "he's not God" is not fairness at all. It's a straw man argument and one the right wishes to use to hack away at his support.
Appears it is not working. There are just as many who are just as fired up as they ever were.
Thank you for the blessings.
Namaste,
Eric
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