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Monday, November 10, 2008
The Obama cult
While planning continues apace for an Obama-themed national holiday (*groan*), Peter Hitchens is getting out his snark to call the obsessive Obamaniacs (TM) what they are -- a cult like the one that sprang up around Princess Diana:
Anyone would think we had just elected a hip, skinny and youthful replacement for God, with a plan to modernise Heaven and Hell – or that at the very least John Lennon had come back from the dead.
The swooning frenzy over the choice of Barack Obama as President of the United States must be one of the most absurd waves of self-deception and swirling fantasy ever to sweep through an advanced civilisation. At least Mandela-worship – its nearest equivalent – is focused on a man who actually did something.
I really don’t see how the Obama devotees can ever in future mock the Moonies, the Scientologists or people who claim to have been abducted in flying saucers. This is a cult like the one which grew up around Princess Diana, bereft of reason and hostile to facts.
Skewering the Obamaniacs should continue apace. The Onion News Network put together a nice piece recently, while a YouTuber captured the mindlessness of some Obama supporters by comparing the "Chaaaaange" mantra to the demand for "braaaaains" by zombies.
Meanwhile, prior to the election, I took aim at the five most creepy pro-Obama videos to date (maybe it's time to update that to a top ten list...), as well as the creepy use of children throughout Obama's campaign.
It all adds up to a thoroughly mindless and deeply creepy element in the Obama ranks.
Posted by P.M. Jaworski on November 10, 2008 in U.S. politics | Permalink
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Comments
Peter:
Why do you hate change? Why do you hate hope? Hope. Change. Hope. Change. Yes we can have hope. And Change.
Posted by: Droid | 2008-11-10 2:47:30 PM
Maybe some of the supporters were confused and by "change" they thought they would literally get some spare change from Obama's pocket. There are plenty of people in many urban centers who've been asking for change for a long time!
Posted by: Isaac | 2008-11-10 2:48:37 PM
I find it interesting that the media that did so much to help Obama get elected is now turning on him so quickly. Before the election they couldn't sing his praises loudly enough. Now that the frat party is over they're already beginning to rain on his parade with reports of scaled-back expectations, soon-to-be-broken promises, and the excessive zeal of his supporters. If I didn't know better, I'd say the media is just stirring the pot whichever way will get the highest ratings.
Posted by: Shane Matthews | 2008-11-10 3:20:37 PM
I don't think it's necessarily unhealthy to find that high hopes rely, in the end, on the work it takes to live up to them.
I still think that being excited about your country is something we Canadians could learn from. I don't take particular pleasure in people having their enthusiasm damped. It is a lesson of experience that's worth having.
We ourselves gain less by our only slightly wiser cynicism.
Posted by: Timothy Zak | 2008-11-10 4:00:10 PM
"At least Mandela-worship – its nearest equivalent – is focused on a man who actually did something." BINGO
Posted by: CONDREAS | 2008-11-10 6:23:54 PM
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