Just watch it and tell me that it isn't the slightest bit disturbing.
The kids aren't even smiling... but their parents are grinning like mad.
The first thing I thought when I saw that was something like this (to fully understand this clip you may need to look into Farfur the Hamas mouse):
Don't misunderstand me. I'm making no correlation between the substance of the messages but it is eerily similar in its strategy. Kids singing about geopolitics?!? Seriously people. You can chalk this one up as yet another example of me not understanding this Obamania thing.
Posts
Knock, knock. Oh, hi--were you looking for a devil's advocate? Just stopping by!
ReplyDeleteOkay, so I watched the video, and I thought it was sweet! Sure, the kids weren't smiling much, but most kids singing in church aren't smiling a ton, because when you're a kid, singing is hard work. It requires tons of concentration, especially if you have to sign as well.
Also, kids have always sung about geopolitics--as a yoot I remember singing "The Star Spangled Banner" (War of 1812), "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" (Civil War), "Happy Days are Here Again" (FDR for Prez), and many more. It is a bizarre strategy, but not uncommon. Heck, kids singing "O Little Town of Bethlehem" could be singing about geopolitical stuff.
Oops--I'm needed to devil's advocate somewhere else. Away!
Forgive my lovely wife's advacacy for the devil, but as least she didn't try and defend Farfur - which is pure hatred. I've seen many excerpts from Farfur and can barely watch them anymore - but then I'm reminded of the propaganda used spewed by Woody Woodpecker towards the communists. Good times...
ReplyDeleteOn the whole Obamma thing, I don't understand it either, but I'm confident that some dance teacher in Deerlick, OK is working on a rebutal to include some sign language about Obama's lack of experience.
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that you think it's sweet but I have to assume that it's mostly the kids themselves and not the overall presentation. To me it was Nazi-esque in the hero worship and deification (wow, it is scary how close deification and defecation are spelled... glad I caught that!) of a politician by totally oblivious children.
Once again, it's not that there's similarity in the message but there is a reason we don't let 8 year olds vote and that very reason is why it's a little creepy to propagandize them.
I have previously said that I found it silly during '04 to hear high school kids blather on ignorantly with their parents' pro-Bush/anti-Kerry views but they were only 1-2 years away from voting, not a decade like those in the video.
As to the historical angle, the songs you mention are sung by young and old alike because they either represent some greater ideal or the Savior Himself, of which Obama does and is neither.
Oh, and sorry about the Farfur thing... that was pretty hyperbolic but it really was the first thing that came to mind.
Mark and Amanda, you are my best commenters.
I guess what I find even more disturbing and propagandizing are my freshmen who repeatedly say that Obama is a muslim, that he hates America, that if he wins he will blow up the White House, and that they hope he gets shot by a KKK member. I bet a lot of that is coming from parents, and I find it much more disturbing than singing!
ReplyDeleteTouche, Amanda! I cannot argue with that.
ReplyDeleteI think we can all agree that ignorance and hate propagated through children is disgusting regardless of which side of the political spectrum it is. The fringes are never useful in determining overall trends. The somewhat ill-advised Hamas comparison aside, I was focusing more on mainstream expression.