We don’t ask for financial contributions to support this POLITICALLY VERY
INCORRECT BLOG, but do appreciate you clicking on the ADSENSE ADS you find at the right and at the bottom of all posts which puts funds in our pockets to keep it going. Thanks for your support.
Do you remember president Obama's eight scandal-free years? This question, posted on an acquaintance's Facebook page, drew my astonished attention. My immediate "LOL" response received a reprimand for expressing "di...
May 21, 2017
The Obama Cult
Do you remember president
Obama's eight scandal-free years? This question, posted on an
acquaintance's Facebook page, drew my astonished attention. My immediate
"LOL" response received a reprimand for expressing "disrespect."
Among other responses to this lead question were rapturous expressions of
"love" and even "worship" for The Great Leader Barack
Obama. As the furor ignited by the Trump election continues to burn and
blow, the melancholy longing for an alleged Golden Age is arising. The
longing is deep, and accompanied by swooning ecstasy at the reappearance to
public life of Mr. Barack Obama.
I suspect that such
expressions are representative of a significant population. This
occasion, in which I drew the rebuke of some of the faithful also offering
comments, refreshes the perception that there is in America a continuing
embrace of a bizarre personality cult that has found a deep resonance within
the nation's political culture. This cult was manifest as early as Barack
Obama's 2007-2008 candidacy and is unique in its promotion and protection by
major cultural institutions. Apparently, it did not end with a change of
national administrations; rather, it continues in the form of retrospective
longing for imagined wonders of a lost decade of grace, intelligence, and
integrity led by one who serves as receptor for spiritual and emotional projections.
The Cult of Obama made
its initial appearance with graphic designer Shepard Fairey's famous
"HOPE" poster, during Obama's initial manifestation as a presidential
candidate. The artistic imagery draws upon a tradition of totalitarian
art celebrating the persons of fascist or communist political messiahs of the
past. The linkage to the concept of "Hope" significantly draws
upon a spiritual absolute. It is wide open, transcending any specific
national goal or particular political idea. It is beyond context.
It is pure emotional appeal, the essence of propaganda's power. The
viewer's perspective is set as if looking upward at the calm, remote, and
distanced vision of the face (recalling royal images of pharaohs, the god-kings
of ancient Egypt). This artistic structure invites more than mere support
for a candidate for office. It is an invitation to belief.
Things did not stop, with
Fairey's poster. Subsequently, we found Oprah Winfrey's suggestion that
Barack Obama was "the One." The One (with a capitalO) is
a transcendent reference suggesting a reality beyond all particularity, a
unifying, all-synthesizing, reconciling essence. The reference is rooted
in ancient Gnostic spirituality, the core and origin of universal Truth from
which we mere mortals are separated through materiality and error. Make
no mistake about this: Oprah Winfrey is no dope. She knew what she was
saying and was certainly aware of the implications and connotations of such a
reference.
Shepard Fairey and Oprah
were just the beginning. Other images expanded on Fairey's fascist-style
heroism. A painting by Alex Grey, featured prominently on the website
"obamamessiah.blogspot.com," depicts the serene frontal face of
Barack Obama with the globe of the Earth, emanating rays of light, in his
forehead. What appear to be veins of energy running through his body
traverse the face. The Great One's head is then also framed in light,
with beams continuing to radiate white, glowing energy. A similar icon
was created by artist Ray Noland, in which Obama looks out in full frontal
gaze, while seeming to look beyond us, framed in a halo and radiating light
rays. This latter image clearly draws upon historic icons of Christ in
the Eastern Orthodox tradition and is reminiscent of many images of Christ the
Pantocrator (the Cosmic Ruler of All) that appear in church mosaics and
devotional icon panels.
Anyone interested in the
cultic status of Barack Obama will find much on the website noted above, as it
catalogs images and statements regarding the One that leave no doubt about what
is promoted on his behalf – i.e., his Messianic character and the notion that
he in some mysterious way stands apart from normal humanity. Of special
interest is the assertion by Michelle Obama that Barack "has brought us
out of the dark and into the light," invoking imagery of the dynamics of
Creation and raising suggestions of the beginning verses of John's Gospel.
Indeed, Barack Obama himself indicated his own belief in the mythos
surrounding him when he stated that the day of his nomination constituted
"the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began
to heal." There, in that statement, you have self-asserted cosmic
significance.
One of the more bizarre
contributions to the Obama cult is a book, authored by an academic by the name
of Barbara A. Thompson, titled The Gospel According to the Apostle
Barack. Here, the author asserts nothing less than Obama's having
possessed answers to unlocking the "keys to the kingdom of heaven here on
earth" for those who believe in and follow him.
Perhaps the most
disturbing aspect of the Obama cult was revealed early on, during the first
campaign, in which a worship song, "Sanctuary," was adapted to the
promotion of the One. In this song, the worshiper pledges to make himself
a sanctuary, pure and holy, for the Lord. In the video adaptation, Obama
is substituted for Christ as the object of honor and worship. The words
of the song are regularly interrupted with images of people exhorting viewers
to "say the word – Obama!" and similar invitations. The song
itself says: "Lord, prepare me to be a sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and
true. With thanksgiving I'll be a living sanctuary for you."
That people, even
longstanding church members, were more than willing to accede to this idolatry
became apparent to me as I sought to alert friends to this emerging cultish
devotion. It made no difference, and my "look at this"
exhortation was met with dismissal or blind eyes. In one instance, a rock-solid,
decades-long leader in my church, after receiving a message from me about these
expressions, simply replied, "I believe in him."
The Obama cult does, in
fact, insert itself into the problematic arenas where religion and politics
meet. There has never been, in the U.S., a clearer flash point providing
Christians with an opportunity to embrace or turn from lurid idolatry. It
constitutes, as it were, a test of allegiance, and Mr. Obama and his wife seem
to have wanted it that way. For many people, even among the "churched,"
the substitute Great One seems to have won the day.
I guess I'd feel better
about it if I could detect, somewhere, just a little bit of embarrassment about
it, something of a "yeah, but..." qualified support. But I
don't. Barack Obama is a singular figure in the sense that his persona
has been promoted and protected by major cultural institutions as no other
political figure in our national history, to the extent of inviting moral
indictments against anyone bringing any critique forward.
This is, in essence, a
true definition and characterization of worship. The concept is not ill
used or wrongly applied with regard to the Obama Cult.
"The Democratic Party and the media are not concerned with having a fascistic-minded president and an administration packed with corporate CEOs and generals dedicated to waging war, tearing up social programs and organizing a further redistribution of wealth to the rich. On such matters, there is far more that unites the ruling class than divides it."
“Barack Obama and his henchmen would not have been
emboldened in their ostensible machinations to undermine an
election and then a presidency if it were not for the fecklessness
of the Republican Party and the blind eye as well as the tacit
support of the mainstream media.”
Washington Post and New York Times urge pullback on calls for Trump impeachment
22 May 2017
In editorials published simultaneously for their Sunday editions, the New York Times and the Washington Post called for caution in the anti-Trump campaign they have been spearheading with claims of nefarious connections between the Trump presidential campaign and the Russian government.
The Times editorial, headlined “Watergate? We’re Not There Yet,” cites comparisons between the crisis of the Trump administration and the scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon 43 years ago, only to suggest that impeachment or forced resignation is not yet the order of the day.
After repeatedly slamming Trump as a stooge of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a threat to US national security, including the publication last week of an editorial with comparisons to Watergate, the Times now counsels the Democrats to proceed cautiously and avoid “distraction.” It advises leveraging the official investigations into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, along with the continuing decline in Trump’s poll numbers, to “win back a majority next year in at least one house of Congress” in the 2018 mid-term elections.
The Washington Post editorial similarly suggests that the anti-Trump campaign “will require time,” both for newly appointed special counsel Robert Mueller, the former FBI director, and for the various House and Senate committees investigating alleged Russian intervention into the 2016 election.
The Post editorial, under the headline “It’s time to focus—finally—on running the country,” demands that the Democrats “talk about something other than impeachment in the coming weeks,” and that Republicans “face the task at which they have so far failed: governing responsibly.”
The Post is more explicit about the social and class policies underlying the campaign over alleged Trump-Russia connections. It demands action on health care to reduce “uncertainty among the insurers upon which the system relies.” In other words, the two big-business parties must contain their mutual mudslinging and get on with the pro-corporate austerity measures demanded by the financial elite.
Similarly, Congress must “pass a new budget and raise the debt ceiling.” It must carry through “tax reform,” which means cutting taxes for the wealthy and for corporations, while making sure that such actions “cannot result in higher deficits.” In other words, tax cuts for the rich must be paid for by slashing social programs for working people.
Last but by no means least, the editorial cites concerns about Trump’s foreign policy in relation to North Korea, Syria, the Islamic State, Iran, Russia and “other hostile powers.”
Neither newspaper attempts to square the intensity of their onslaught against the Trump administration, particularly over the past two weeks, with their current declarations in favor of caution and biding one’s time.
The situation could shift quickly, but the editorials from the Times and the Post reflect a broader pullback from immediate calls for impeachment and references to Watergate from within the media and political establishment. In recent days, prominent congressional Democrats such as Adam Schiff, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, and Elijah Cummings, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, have called talk of impeachment premature.
These developments underscore the fact that there is no democratic or progressive content to the opposition to Trump from within the political establishment and the capitalist state. The Democratic Party and the media are
not concerned with having a fascistic-minded
president and an administration packed with
corporate CEOs and generals dedicated to
waging war, tearing up social programs and
organizing a further redistribution of wealth
to the rich. On such matters, there is far more
that unites the ruling class than divides it.
What are the considerations driving the warnings about proceeding too rashly on the question of impeachment?
First, the central concern of Trump’s opponents within the ruling class since his inauguration has always been to force a shift in policy, particularly foreign policy. On the US war in Syria, the maintenance of the NATO alliance and, above all, aggression toward Russia, Trump was deemed to be not on message by the dominant factions of the military and intelligence apparatus.
The president has already sought to appease such concerns by ordering a missile strike on Syria, followed last week by a US bombing raid on a pro-Syrian government militia and approval of a Pentagon plan to escalate the US intervention in Syria, Iraq and northern Africa.
There are related concerns that a perpetual crisis at the center of the American state and a protracted impeachment process pose a threat to the international standing of the United States and the overall interests of American imperialism.
Second, there are the concerns outlined by the Post that a full-scale impeachment crisis will derail the administration’s program of corporate tax cuts, deregulation and the gutting of social programs upon which Wall Street has been banking and is determined to see pushed through. This was the message sent by the financial markets in last week’s huge one-day selloff. That the message was received was indicated by the announcement the same day of the appointment of a special counsel to take the political faction fight in hand.
Third, there are fears that a full-scale constitutional crisis and fratricidal struggle within the ruling class can create an opening for an independent intervention by the working class. Under conditions of mass disaffection from both political parties, rising social anger and a general discrediting of all official institutions of power, the destabilization of the political system has potentially revolutionary implications.
The appointment of Mueller, who headed the FBI for 12 years, under both Bush and Obama, puts the Trump administration under the effective receivership of the intelligence agencies, with the constant threat that if he steps too far out of line, he could quickly be faced with criminal charges. References to the formation of some sort of caretaker regime have begun appearing in the press. A Post op-ed column by Dana Millbank devoted to celebrating the anti-Russian campaign as a heroic journalistic exploit, while acknowledging that it was made possible by systematic leaking from the military-intelligence apparatus, concludes by describing Mueller as “a regent, if you will, to protect against future abuses.”
All of this underscores the completely reactionary character of both factions of the ruling class, whatever turn the crisis might take in the days and weeks to come. It demonstrates the political dead end of subordinating the struggle against the Trump administration to the Democrats, whose opposition to Trump is entirely different from and hostile to the concerns and interests of millions of workers. They must intervene on the basis of their own, socialist, program and perspective.
Patrick Martin
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
THE SINS OF THEIR FATHERS:
THEIR GLOBAL LOOTING of the POOR
THE OPEN BORDERS PARTY of GEORGE SOROS, HILLARY & BILLARY CLINTON, BARACK OBAMA and DONALD TRUMP
DONALD TRUMP, HIS PARASITIC FAMILY,
HIS GOLDMAN SACHS REGIME and GOD
FATHER, GEORGE SOROS… .global looters of
the poor!
HIS GOLDMAN SACHS REGIME and GOD
FATHER, GEORGE SOROS… .global looters of
the poor!
http://mexicanoccupation.blogspot.com/2017/05/the-jared-kushner-donald-trump-george.html
THE OBAMA DOCTRINE:
DESTROY AMERICA TO BUILD A MUSLIM-STYLE
DICTATORSHIP WHERE LA RAZA MEXICANS VOTE HIM
PRESIDENT FOR LIFE
"He is intent on maximizing the damage he inflicted on the country during the two terms of his faux presidency, having now set up shop in Washington to pursue a post-presidency agenda advancing a left-wing insurgency, civil unrest, racial conflict and the destabilizing activities of a shadow."
BARACK OBAMA: BUILDING HIS RETURN TO POWER PARTY WITH ILLEGALS!
FUNDER AND LEADER OF THE MEXICAN FASCIST PARTY of LA RAZA “The Race”
http://mexicanoccupation.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-racist-mexican-fascist-party-of-la.html
During Obama’s 8 year bankster regime, he openly operated and funded the Mexican fascist racist party of LA RAZA “The Race” from the White House under La Raza VP Cecilia Munoz…. Google Obama and LA RAZA!
BARACK OBAMA PLANS A THIRD TERM: HIS CRONY BANKSTERS, LA RAZA, MUSLIMS AND THOSE MUSLIM DICTATORSHIPS HE FUNDED ARE BEHIND HIM…. Along with George Soros!
THE OBAMA COUP TO BE DICTATOR:
THE ARMY OF ILLEGALS TO BRING AMERICA DOWN AND FORM THE OBAMA MUSLIM-STYLE DICTATORSHIP THAT WILL BE OPEN BORDERS AND PRO LA RAZA FASCIST SUPREMACY.
Daniel Greenfield, the award-winning Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, believes (OBAMA'S POLITICAL PARTY) “OFA will be far more dangerous in the wild than the Clinton Foundation ever was.”
“Barack Obama and his henchmen would not have been
emboldened in their ostensible machinations to undermine an
election and then a presidency if it were not for the fecklessness of
the Republican Party and the blind eye as well as the tacit
support of the mainstream media.”
Under the Obama administration, more Americans have found
themselves consigned to economic ghettos, living in
neighborhoods where more than 40 percent subsist below the
poverty level.
THE LEGACY OF BARACK OBAMA:
Final Death of the American White Middle Class
Under the Obama administration, more Americans have found
themselves consigned to economic ghettos, living in
neighborhoods where more than 40 percent subsist below the
poverty level.
Millions more now live in “high poverty” districts of 20-40 percent poverty, according to recently released report by the Brookings Institution.
THE OBAMA BOOK DEAL: Sixty-five million dollars—or even $267.5 million—is a small price to pay for the contribution the former president made to enriching the already fabulously rich, defending the American ruling elite’s geopolitical interests around the world and continuing the assault on the wages, benefits and living standards of the working class.
THE SWAMP DWELLERS:
GLOBAL LOOTING of the POOR
TRUMP, KUSHNER and FAMILY, BILL, HILLARY & CHELSEA CLINTON, MICHELLE AND “HOPE & CHANGE” PSYCHOPATH MUSLIM BARACK OBAMA!
Will they finish off America as they serve themselves and the super rich???
HOW TO DESTROY AMERICA:
THE OBAMA DOCTRINE OF UNLEASHING MEXICAN CRIMINALS ACROSS AMERICA FROM BORDER to OPEN BORDER
http://mexicanoccupation.blogspot.com/2017/03/has-mexico-and-barack-obama-destroyed.html
IMAGES OF THE PROPOSED OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
AND MASSIVE MUSLIM MINERET TO CALL MUSLIMS TO PRAYER
AND HATRED OF AMERICA.
The Obama Presidential Library Will Be Funded by
America's 9-11 Invading Saudis Who Ban
Christians and Jews From Their Dictatorship.
The Obama Presidential Monument to a Psychopath Will
Provide Call to Prayers in the Muslim Tradition With One Massive Minaret
IMAGES OF THE PROPOSED OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY
AND MASSIVE MUSLIM MINERET TO CALL MUSLIMS TO PRAYER
AND HATRED OF AMERICA.
The Obama Presidential Library Will Be Funded by
America's 9-11 Invading Saudis Who Ban
Christians and Jews From Their Dictatorship.
The Obama Presidential Monument to a Psychopath Will
Provide Call to Prayers in the Muslim Tradition With One Massive Minaret
BARACK OBAMA’S ASSAULT
ON BLACK AMERICA: The Hard Numbers
In his black circles, spouting the truth about Obama is not tolerated. They angrily reject data confirming
that blacks moved backwards culturally
and economically after eight years of Obama.
As a
strong Christian, my brother is saddened that many of his black peers abandoned
Christ's agenda to worship at the feet of their black-golden-idol Obama. Many
black Christians ignore the truth that Obama was the most biblically-hostile president in U.S. history.
THE OBAMA DOCTRINE:
DESTROY AMERICA TO BUILD A MUSLIM-STYLE DICTATORSHIP WHERE LA RAZA
MEXICANS VOTE HIM PRESIDENT FOR LIFE
"He is intent on maximizing the damage he inflicted on
the country during the two terms of his faux presidency, having now
set up shop in Washington to pursue a post-presidency agenda advancing a
left-wing insurgency, civil unrest, racial conflict and the destabilizing activities of a shadow."
No comments:
Post a Comment