Further thoughts on Obama
I didn’t plan for this to be a two-part series, but the more I thought about Barack Obama’s decision to stop wearing his American flag lapel pin, the more interesting it became to me. (If you’re new to this discussion, click on the “previous entries” button below for the background.)
It seems to me that Obama has unwittingly painted himself into a very odd corner by shunning the flag. If, by some unlikely turn of fate, Obama is elected president of the United States, what’s he going to do about all those other flags around him?
Maybe Obama hasn’t noticed this, but the president is virtually swaddled in the flag. It is a constant presence in his or her life, a ubiquitous prop in almost every setting in which the country’s chief executive appears. What will President Obama do when confronted with that reality? Will he: (1) Parse his statement that the flag pin is a “substitute for … true patriotism” by declaring that he referred narrowly and specifically to the pin only, and that all other displays of the flag are acceptably patriotic? (2) Assert that he was misquoted? (3) Call the removal of his flag pin a rookie mistake, and ask for a do-over? Or, (4) Stick to the principle he asserted and purge all the American flags from his appearances lest they become a distraction, just like the lapel pin, from his “true patriotism?”
Unfortunately for Obama, all these options would be unpalatable. No. 1 is a silly exercise in hair-splitting. No. 2 is provably untrue, considering that video of him explaining why he shunned the flag pin is all over YouTube. No. 4 has the virtue of being consistent with his newly articulated beliefs, but can anyone imagine a president of the United States announcing that he’s had enough of this flag foolishness? (Sadly, that doesn’t seem all that far-fetched these days, considering that the whole concept of nationalism is considered by many liberals to be outdated and dangerous.)
No. 3 is the least bad of the bad choices. Obama, in his inaugural address, could concede that in hoping to make the point that people shouldn’t use the flag as a cynical litmus test of patriotism, he inadvertently questioned the sincerity of people to whom the flag is an important and heartfelt symbol. He could even re-attach the flag pin to his coat lapel, as a gesture of solidarity with them.
Better yet, he could do that now. It might help ensure that there is an inaugural address in his future.