Let's think about this one.
Say you're a Republican. (Easier for some of you than for others.) You're not crazy about Obama, and it has to do with your pro-life views.
Now say Obama is going to speak at your university's commencement tomorrow.
You are angry. You protest. You sign a petition. Maybe you even go so far as to do this. You do your darndest to fight back.
But that makes you stupid. (Not because you're pro-life. Abortion is a horrendous procedure. One that needs strict limits on its legality. I have nothing against most of the anti-abortion crowd.)
No, you're stupid because you just drew EVEN MORE attention to an event at which President Obama will shine. You do realize he's given a couple of speeches before? Some have been well received, rumor has it.
Seriously, this faux scandal (Catholics voted 54-45 for BHO last November) will have one main outcome. Bunches of people who wouldn't have paid attention Sunday will now. Care to guess what they'll see? (Oooooo, oooooo, pick me, I know, pick me, pick me!) A well-thought-out, reasonable, intelligent, funny speech in which Obama will probably even address this teapot tempest of a controversy.
Good thinkin' people.
John, I think you make a mistake if you assume that people are protesting the speech mainly as a political statement. It may have much more to do with the religious and moral issues at stake here, and not the political ramifications. I dont' think either of us, regardless of our politics, would say that's stupid UNLESS we're looking at it exclusively through a political lens.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the political FALLOUT, you may be right, but even there I'm not convinced.
As to Obama (btw, blogger marks "Obama" as a misspelled word) actually addressing the tempest in a teapot, I highly doubt he will do it qua tempest-in-teapot. If anything, I think that as a shrewd politician and a consensus-builder, he'll mention the complicated nature of life issues and try to make peace with the "other side", trying to unobtrusively stake out the nuanced moral high ground. He is, after all, addressing Catholics.
Well, clearly, if you oppose abortion being legal, you have a beef with a pro-choice president. And you can demonstrate your distaste for his position at any time. If you are passionate about your beliefs, more power to ya, I say. But bringing increased attention to this particular speech at this particular place is nuts. He's set up to win. "Speech to young rapturous audience" is his home court.
ReplyDeleteProtests are fine and dandy. Just be smart about it, imho.
I didn't go into this in the post itself, but you've also got to concede there's a general goofiness in protesting the appearance of a Christian President at a Christian institution. As if the abortion debate trumps all else. (Which for some folks, it does.)