Bow to Kings, Disrespect America

David C. Stolinsky, MD
Nov. 19, 2009

                   http://www.worldnetdaily.com/images/misc/bowone.jpg                        http://www.tokyomango.com/.a/6a00d8341c5d3253ef012875aadc1c970c-pi

Last April, President Obama bowed deeply to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia at the G-20 Economic Summit in London. The White House claimed that Obama was merely bending to shake hands with a shorter man. The still photo shows it was a bow, and the video proves it. This gaffe might be overlooked if it were isolated, but now it has happened again.

When meeting the Emperor of Japan in Tokyo, Obama bowed deeply again. One might think that the Obamas are acutely sensitive to foreign customs, and are eager to show respect for the traditions of other peoples. One would be wrong. When meeting Queen Elizabeth II, Michelle Obama violated protocol by putting her arm around the queen, as if Mrs. Obama were visiting a nursing home and meeting one of the elderly residents.

Besides, if the president wanted to respect Japanese customs, he would bow with his hands at his sides, not while shaking hands. Even the Karate Kid knew that, and he was a high-school student, not a president.

Military officers salute officers of higher rank, not those of equal rank. The president is the chief of state − the highest official of our nation. He is also the head of government, equivalent to the prime minister in a parliamentary system. If the question is that of greeting in the Japanese manner, the president and the emperor would have bowed to each other. This is the way a Japanese businessman would meet his American counterpart.

Of course, the emperor never bows to anyone. He knows that he is the upholder of tradition, as well as the representative of the dignity of his nation. He isn’t just Akihito, he is the chief of state. But so is Obama. They are of equal rank. If I know that, why doesn’t Obama?

Unlike Obama, other leaders met the Japanese emperor without bowing. They included General MacArthur, Vice President Cheney, and a wide variety of other presidents and prime ministers. Why do the leaders of China, Vietnam, Mexico, Peru and Afghanistan − and even the lieutenant governor of Hawaii and the premier of Ontario − feel themselves the equal of the emperor, but Obama does not? Does he feel that he is inferior? His self-righteous, narcissistic demeanor makes this seem unlikely. Or does he feel that America is inferior? Perhaps he believes that we should apologize for ending World War II by using the atomic bomb.

While Obama was bowing in Japan, something apparently unrelated was happening in Arkansas. But it was related. A 10-year-old refused to stand or pledge allegiance to the flag with the other students. When the teacher insisted, he told her to “jump off a bridge.” He was sent to the principal’s office, but apparently given no punishment. Note that this happened in the heartland, not in a liberal area.

But imagine what would happen if the teacher had said, “If you don’t stand and recite the pledge, you can jump off a bridge.” The teacher would have been suspended or fired. The boy’s parents would have sued the school district, claiming the boy was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. They might have accused the teacher of making a terrorist threat. We have reversed the direction of respect − now it runs from teachers to students.

The boy’s stated reason was that America really does not have “liberty and justice for all,” because gays and lesbians do not have the “right” to marry in most states. He has a child’s absolutism − if things aren’t perfect, they’re terrible. He sees “liberty and justice for all” not as an ideal to be pursued, but as a promise broken. Children are unforgiving of broken promises − except their own.

To the boy, if America isn’t perfect, it’s not worth honoring, much less supporting or fighting for. Like most children, he is narcissistic. His point of reference is himself. No matter how much good America does for others, if it doesn’t meet his standards (actually, those his parents gave him), America isn’t worth his allegiance.

Saving Western Europe from Nazi tyranny and Asia from Japanese tyranny at the cost of over 400,000 dead soldiers? Saving Western Europe and South Korea from communist tyranny? Standing up against extremist Islamic tyranny? To the boy, all that pales into insignificance if America doesn’t instantly enact the liberal agenda.

But many people agree with the boy, though they are chronologic adults.

·         They have no excuse to be childish narcissists.

·         They have no excuse to ignore what happened before they were born.

·         They have no excuse to defend rudeness and disrespect to a teacher, and disruption of a class, not to mention a threat of violence.

·         They have no excuse to be colossal ingrates, to ignore the many benefits they enjoy, and to disrespect the troops whose sacrifices make those benefits possible.

·         They have no excuse to go around apologizing for America, and comparing it unfavorably − and often incorrectly − with other nations.

Now do you see the connection between what happened in Japan and what happened in Arkansas? Do you see how the kid who refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance, much less to recite it, is likely to grow up to be a person who disrespects his own nation − while he admires other nations to an unrealistic degree. He is likely to grow up to be a person who has undue respect for the customs of others, but little regard for the traditions of his own people. He is likely to grow up to resemble Barack Obama.

Empathy and respect grow like a circle, never like a doughnut. One cannot truly respect other peoples while disrespecting his own. A baby is a pure narcissist. Slowly a child comes to understand, however reluctantly, that there are other people in the world, with needs, emotions and ideas as important as his own. But some people remain emotional and intellectual children.

They live in their heads, mistaking their pet fantasies for the real world.

They insist that their nation live up to their idea of an ideal nation − and if it does not, they disrespect it, or even hold it in contempt.

They want to transform their nation radically, but they ignore the practical implications of the changes they propose.

They idealize other nations, and treat foreign leaders with exaggerated and undeserved respect.

They go around the world apologizing for their own nation, while bowing low to the leaders of other nations. What do you suppose our friends and our enemies think when they see that? They think we are weak, a sure recipe for fewer friends and more enemies − and more terrorist attacks.

But as they bow to other people, they show a rather unflattering portion of the anatomy to their own people. This, rather than the excessive deference to foreign leaders, is the real problem. Who cares what President Obama thinks of Saudi Arabia or Japan? The crucial question is what he thinks of America. When he bows to the king of the Saudis and the emperor of the Japanese, in effect he is mooning Americans.

Our leader sees himself as subservient to unelected foreign potentates. Where does that leave all the rest of us? Perhaps those who fear a world government are not entirely paranoid.

The chief of state of a nation does not bow to the chief of state of another nation. The American flag does not dip to anyone. A leader is not merely a politician; he is the representative of his people. And we bow only before the Almighty, not before any man.

Dr. Stolinsky writes on political and social issues. He can be contacted at dstol@prodigy.net.

www.stolinsky.com