The Blog to Be Named Later returns for a brief rebuttal on a silly issue. There is a tradition of sorts that the President of the United States visits Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day to lay a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Unfortunately, we now have a president who was not born in this country, who has no respect for the military, cares nothing for the troops or their families and would rather spend Memorial Day on vacation rather than honor this nation’s heroes.
Or some would have you believe, anyway. President Obama chose not to attend this year’s ceremonies, opting instead to send the Vice President in his place, and instead took his family back to Chicago for a much delayed visit home. Of course, the burdens of the presidency do not leave the occupant of the office, whether or not he is actually in the office. I don’t think this is primarily a controversy about vacation time. I think most people regard the president, any president, taking a break from work as entirely understandable. The previous occupant of the White House spent 490 days, more than one year of his eight in office, at his ranch in Texas. It was not terribly controversial, except for the perception that this president was disengaged in the summer of 2001 prior to 9/11, and was disinterested and disengaged in the summer of 2005 during Katrina. But the fairness of those charges really should be separate from the question of vacation. I think most people would agree that some time off from one of the toughest jobs in the world is a good idea.
No, the main “issue” seems to be that the president didn’t spend Memorial Day honoring the troops at a ceremony. Which is a great story that seems to indicate that the president really doesn’t have the proper respect for the military.
Except for the fact that it’s not true.
You see, while Arlington is the most famous of our national cemeteries, it is not the only one. It turns out that the president went to Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Illinois for a ceremony there. He then followed that with a trip to the Hines Fisher House at the Edward Hines VA Hospital, where he met with wounded veterans.
Yes, that is outrageous conduct. I can see why people are pissed.
People should be upset, but not at the president. People should be mad at organizations like Fox News, that stir up bullshit stories like this. People should be annoyed at their friends who copy silly stories like this into their Facebook status without checking the facts. And people should be critical of themselves. Why? Because in addition to getting too much of our news from entertainment driven media, we have become far too vulnerable to the impulse to believe anything bad about any public official. Sure, there are bad apples. And there is plenty of good reason to be cynical. But it doesn’t have to be the only reaction we are capable of.
