Watching Obama on 60 Minutes Made me Feel Patriotic... (Almost)

I watched the Obama interview on 60 Minutes on Sunday evening with enormous pleasure. What a thrill to have as a President-elect a man who speaks in whole sentences on every issue put before him, who has clear and well-enunciated thoughts, a serviceable and readily accessible grasp of history -- and a sense of humor to boot. What a delight to have as a prospective First Lady (I've always kind of disliked that title) a woman who is so evidently smart and well-informed, dedicated to her family, and supportive of the man who will be President. It seems like a long time we have waited for such people in our White House. Apple pie, at last!

Did I mention last week about being asked if I was "proud to be an American"? I answered, No, out of principle, because I have seen in my time on Earth what the nationalistic spirit can lead to, and because I believe, with Samuel Johnson, that "patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." But just as I can be proud of something I have done rather than of who I am, I can be proud of what America has achieved; and in this instance it has achieved something truly praiseworthy and remarkable.

Alas, not everything American is apple pie. I also watched, later in the evening, a couple of episodes of the Ken Burns-produced documentary, The West, and was confronted with the dark side of the American experience in the wanton slaughter of the buffalo and the government-sponsored decimation of the Native American tribes with a litany of broken treaties, betrayals, and promises unkept -- all in the spirit of expansionism and the accumulation of excessive wealth. I could not help but wonder, by the end, whether I was not witnessing some unsavory part of the American character that persists to this day: is it not the same greed that caused the senseless mass killing of animals for the sake of the money their dead bodies represent, and the senseless pursuit of superfluous wealth in the financial world today? Am I being unkind? Unpatriotic? Am I speaking of basic human characteristics, not peculiarly American ones? But then I think of the hapless Indians, who had lived on their lands for centuries, taking from it only what they needed for survival...

I know that I risk seeming down on America, but it's one of my fundamental and recurring arguments that we must know who we are, as a people, if we are to move forward into a viable future for ourselves and those with whom we share the planet. We have, to put it bluntly, a tendency to indulge rather easily in self-congratulation about ourselves and our country, and to skip the important critical part which leads to the kind of clarity we need if we are to make our contribution to the world. If we fail to acknowledge the truth of our materialism, our insatiable desire for more, our willingness to promote our own interests above those of our neighbors, our too easily-aroused instinct to resolve delicate issues with aggression, our role as the world's 900-pound gorilla will be undiminished and I fear for the outcome...

But then, of course, we elect an Obama, which leads me to hope that, this time, we have truly listened to our better angels. Good for us!

Comments

[neesy08]

I'm just glad we have a POTUS who speaks English! Bush was an embarassment

[DimariS]

Sir, your point is a good one, however, I am hoping there will come a day when an individual is acknowledged not for skin color, gender, religious sect or sexual persuasion. The man is the man and the lady is the lady. They are wonderful people to engage in our political process. I had despaired of ever seeing a worthy person willingly campaign for the presidency. Unfortunately, until the press and media catch a bloody clue about this matter, we are destined to be constantly reminded of not only the current state of affairs but our dark history as well.

[NationalTreasure]

+Mr. Clothier:

As an educator I beg to differ with you on your statement that "a man who speaks in whole sentences on every issue put before him, who has clear and well-enunciated thoughts, "

President-Elect Obama made me cring every time he ungrammatically used the words we, and you when he should have said I, me or one. It was frightening the manner in which President-Elect Obama dumbed down his use of the spoken word.

[boogygran]

For an educator, your use of the WRITTEN word isn't so hot either - what, pray tell, does your word "cring" mean? There's an old saying that says, in effect, don't point out the speck in your neighbor's eye until you've first removed the log that is in your own. Many people prefer to use the term "we" instead of "I" when speaking of themselves in regard to personal achievements, possibly in an effort to not appear arrogant or whatever.

[Yola]

BINGO!

[hartkid]

corrected version:
As an educator, I beg to differ with you on your statement that Barack Obama is "a man who speaks in whole sentences on every issue put before him, who has clear and well-enunciated thoughts...."

President-Elect Obama made me cringe every time he ungrammatically used the words "we" and "you" when he should have said "I", "me" or "one". The manner in which President-Elect Obama dumbed down his use of the spoken word was frightening.

In short, NatTreas, your writing, particularly your punctuation, is sh#t. Before I get any guff about the use of my punctuation around the quotation marks I used in setting out the articles of speech that NatTreas took time out of her or his day to be frightened about, please note that I am using the British convention rather than the American one; comma and period placement in the British usage seems to me to be much more logical.

[MariaHopeful]

I think that you meant, "cringe." Right? Ha!

[Shieldmaiden]

I'm just glad we have a president who can speak English in complete sentences.

[4wehttam]

"...we have truly listened to our better angels. Good for us!"

Yes, definitely good for us. I felt so proud to call this family our next First Family. Makes you feel so good inside.

[XME]

One thing's for sure...America is by no means perfect, and we have some especially ugly things in our history. But I am immensily proud that we've elected an intelligent, thoughtful person to lead this country. The fact that he's African American still hits me now and then, because I honestly never thought I'd see this occur in my lifetime. It's rare enough that we actually elect the candidate who is actually intelligent, who considers all sides, tries to see things from someone else's point of view, etc. The fact that it also happens to NOT be a white male makes it that much more amazing, because it was one more thing (along with intelligence, etc.) that I would have expected America as a whole to vote against. That we didn't, makes me VERY proud.

[MPeter]

Thank You Mr. Clothier. I felt the same way watching the soon-to-be First Couple. They were smart, picturesque and just delightful to watch. It felt to me like America had finally gotten its rightful representation. The Obamas are smart; they are at ease with each other, love each and and, can answer or tackle any question with such ease, it just rolls off the tongue. I wake up everyday feeling good because of them. What a great decision we made this election!!