No doubt you've heard about the new anti-Obama infomercial in theaters. A letter to the editor in Ogden's Standard Examiner gushed about the movie, stating the packed house gave it a round of applause at the end.
Given the folks who would pay eight bucks to attend this movie, I don't doubt the reaction. Like the Michael Moore movies on the other side of the political spectrum, only the true believers (in this case those who already hate the President) will go, the producers will make a gruntload of money - and it will have not one iota of an effect on the election. Thankfully.
However, we need to speak up about the real message behind this film, a follow-up to the failed birther movement that attempted to portray Obama as "not really American". Despite the fact that the filmmaker is an immigrant, here's the underlying message of the film: You are only a real American if you grew up in a white, middle-class Republican home with both parents. All others need not apply as Americans, because the un-American influences you will have to endure will make you un-American too. If the Right can make the claim about the President, it applies to all other citizens raised by single mothers, or of mixed race, or who spent part of their childhood living outside the United States, or whose parents expressed non-Republican political views sometime in their lives.
Latter-day Saints ought to know better. Our ancestors suffered persecution for being a "peculiar people" and were accused of treason, so we ought to have empathy with those from more diverse backgrounds.
One thing is cool about this movie, however. It gives us a solid date for checking its predictions. I'm already thinking about the blog post for the first quarter of 2016, in the middle of Obama's second term, where I'll be able to debunk the claims made by this movie. (While I'm at it, I'll point out a few other things, like how Obama didn't take away your guns or turn General Motors into a model of socialism.) Stay tuned.
Given the folks who would pay eight bucks to attend this movie, I don't doubt the reaction. Like the Michael Moore movies on the other side of the political spectrum, only the true believers (in this case those who already hate the President) will go, the producers will make a gruntload of money - and it will have not one iota of an effect on the election. Thankfully.
However, we need to speak up about the real message behind this film, a follow-up to the failed birther movement that attempted to portray Obama as "not really American". Despite the fact that the filmmaker is an immigrant, here's the underlying message of the film: You are only a real American if you grew up in a white, middle-class Republican home with both parents. All others need not apply as Americans, because the un-American influences you will have to endure will make you un-American too. If the Right can make the claim about the President, it applies to all other citizens raised by single mothers, or of mixed race, or who spent part of their childhood living outside the United States, or whose parents expressed non-Republican political views sometime in their lives.
Latter-day Saints ought to know better. Our ancestors suffered persecution for being a "peculiar people" and were accused of treason, so we ought to have empathy with those from more diverse backgrounds.
One thing is cool about this movie, however. It gives us a solid date for checking its predictions. I'm already thinking about the blog post for the first quarter of 2016, in the middle of Obama's second term, where I'll be able to debunk the claims made by this movie. (While I'm at it, I'll point out a few other things, like how Obama didn't take away your guns or turn General Motors into a model of socialism.) Stay tuned.
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