All right, ineffectual play on words there, but I think this video by the esteemed Jon Stewart and the wonderful Daily Show puts my feelings rather succinctly. There's so much hate and fear being whipped up by the Republicans to paint Obama as the worst thing ever to face America. Heck, a check over to the loonies at Rapture Ready and other Christian sites paints him as the Anti-Christ himself. Worst of all, it really does seem to be a "Hey, four years ago when you picketed and railed against the governemnt you were trying to sabotage it; four years later we're doing the same thing but we're trying to save it." And to think I had to live four months in this kind of environment when I was in Arizona... Shudder to think.
That clip was pretty funny, and spot on, of course.
The interesting thing for me, though, is that that clip was the first time I've ever seen anyone say anything negative about Obama. Here in Australia, whatever coverage we get of your politics (which, while fairly miniscule, would be a lot more than American TV channels would show Aussie politics, obviously) is always about what a good, sensible job Obama is doing.
I was under the illusion that Americans were pretty happy that finally someone of good intelligence and possessing common sense and reasonableness was finally in the whitehouse.
Americans probably don't feel it in America, but IMHO there is FAR more goodwill shown by non-Americans towards America now because someone decent is finally running the show.
Really, no negative news on Obama in Australia at all? That surprises me because one of the main sources of all the vitriol is Fox News, which is owned by Aussie Rupert Murdoch. The fact is, the country is heavily divided by Obama and his policies. I'll have to try to post another video that tells a little bit more about all the bad things that Obama represents, but he was painted during the election as a socialist, terrorist, One World conspiring scum, and so every misstep (which I feel have been few so far) is exaggerated beyond belief. It really is scary, and I think unless there are some bright rays of sunshine soon in this country it's only going to get worse. I think it's fine to disagree with someone's politics or policies, but, as the video suggests, to say that it's O.K. for you to do it but to call the other side socialist America-hating terrorist lovers is wrong. Check out www.dailyshow.com for more videos showing American craziness! Is Australia facing great political shifts stemming from the poor economy? People rabidly shouting it's the current/old government's fault?
Yep... and proud to be the God fearing, born again Republican I am...
Nice for Anthony (and you too Kirk) to generalize when the "other side" is spewing the same hatred and disdain for us Republicans. Pot, I'd like to introduce you to kettle.
Wow, finally finished slogging through some of the translation work I had, so I can finally get back to a few posts now and again, which means finally posting a month-old comment.
A coupla things, Head:
1. No one was attacking you per se, Head, so I don't know why you felt the need to swing yer ball sack around in the opening line. All I said [essentially] was that I lived in a fear-mongering right-wing environment for four months; you make it sound as if I had directed this video specifically toward you.
2. Your comment exemplifies my point quite nicely though, Head. Had you actually read what Anthony wrote, you'll would have realized that he simply said that in his native home of Australia there isn't a lot (if any at all) of negativity towards Obama, so he had no idea this "other side" was out there. But nope, in classic Republican rhetoric reactionary castigation first, back pedalling second, so now that you've got that out of your system Head, feel free to re-read his post, see that what he wrote was quite innocent and neutral, and back pedal your ass down to Humility 101.
3. Ultimately, what's your point? _I_ posted a video that I thought succinctly and deftly portrayed my viewpoints. How about you? You say I generalize "the other side". Really? In what way? Or did you type that and think to yourself, "Zing! I wish I could see his face when he reads THAT!" How about few dry and bitter factoids to support your claim? I'd like to read them, and I'm sure my limited audience would too.
4. You use the whole "Pot, go fuck the kettle" line WAAAAYYYYY too often, Head. Maybe you should try a thesaurus.
So, ultimately, I'm still confused. I think you're saying that the left can sound off at the mouth just as loudly as the right. On that point I'll agree, Head. And I'll agree that Jon Stewart will occassionally edit his material to support his point for comedic effect. He's a comedian, after all. But I still find the right (well, far right) to be a bunch of reactionary zealots. Cripes, you look at Rapture Index and we got "closer to Tribulation" because Obama came into power. Yee-ikes, Head, and I think you still owe Anthony an apology.