SAN DIEGO — Just because a former President of the United States is no longer in office -and lacks the authority to affect any executive orders or policy changes- does not mean that he is no longer a threat. The morals and ideals he espouses continue to have a lasting impact on the fabric of this great nation, whether to bind the threads of American citizenry in unity or rent them asunder.
I am speaking of course of former President Millard Filmore, the 13th holder of the office. While the Whig Party is now defunct, the lows to which they descended are a legacy that haunts us to this day. Just take a gander at Filmore’s scandalous remarks in his First Annual Message to Congress, December 2, 1850.
Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives: Being suddenly called in the midst of the last session of Congress by a painful dispensation of Divine Providence to the responsible station which I now hold, I … penetrated with grief … the principles which would govern me. … The discharge … may not be deemed inappropriate if I avail myself of this opportunity …for … intercourse with foreign nations and … affairs. … The great law of … mere power, self-interest, or the desire of self-aggrandizement … are the duties … of which we best entitle ourselves….
Okay. Obviously, I have butchered this speech, taking phrases so far out of context as to utterly distort and misconstrue the original spirit of their intent. A complete transcript can be found here.
What inspired this particular satire was a clip sent out on social media showing President Obama saying the following:
“…Ordinary men and women are too small-minded to govern their own affairs. That order and progress can only come when individuals surrender their rights to an all-powerful sovereign. …”
Listening to this 22-second soundbite, Obama sounds like a wannabe dictator with a condescending view of American citizenry. You can hear the clip here.
Listening carefully, I realized that the edit begins in mid-sentence. And these sentiments are not reflected in any other speech Obama has given. Listening to the full speech, it is apparent that he is absolutely not prescribing a political ideology for the United States. Rather, he is harshly criticizing the ideology that governs Putin’s Russia.
His full 35-minute speech to the UN can be heard here.
Now, in order to obtain the 22-second clip, someone had to listen carefully to the entire speech, fully aware of what it was really about, and extract the tiny portion that would sound damning. Their goal was clear. Find those who already hold negative opinions of Barack Obama, confirm their prejudices, stoke their fears and get them to share this clip with like-minded people on social media. This strategy relies on such people to share, comment and look no further. If they did, their opinions would not likely change, but their fear would be abated and anger diminished. And fear and anger are the goal.
Certainly, there are things to criticize about the Obama administration as there are of every administration. A Commander-In-Chief’s missteps have damning and far-reaching consequences. Thus, our leaders need to be criticized and held accountable. Ideally, we want to live in a society guided by honesty, reason and rational discourse. But Russian bots are working very hard to exploit our divisions, putting us at each other’s throats. Yet they only have as much power as we are willing to give them.
Looking at history, Americans have never been one hemogeneous tribe. This is why our Founding Fathers adopted the motto: E Pluribus Unum, Out of many, one. So what will we do? Will we strive to live by this ideal or cast it into the dustbin of history? Will we hearken to propaganda, listening only to those we agree with and thinking only the worst of those who do not? Or is it still possible for all sides to work through their differences with honesty and rational discourse? The choice is ours.
*
Eric George Tauber is a freelance writer based in San Diego. He may be contacted via eric.tauber@sdjewishworld.com
Very well written Mr. Eric. Thank you for this timely reminder.