Bowing is not a sign of respect except in Japan were bowing is a general greeting. In most parts of the world it is a sign of subservience, the deeper the bow the lower you are to the person you are bowing to (if that sentence makes sense, ending in a preposition and all). Does the phrase, “All men are created equal”, sound familiar?

I would like to know how come Obama has not fired the people advising him on gifts and protocol (why gifts?..cause the ones they gave were LAME!)? As I said in a previous post, isn’t it interesting that Hilary Clinton is head of the State Department who should have had people advising the POTUS?

I would like to know how come Obama has not fired the people advising him on gifts and protocol (why gifts?..cause the ones they gave were LAME!)? As I said in a previous post, isn’t it interesting that Hilary Clinton is head of the State Department who should have had people advising the POTUS?

The symbolism of bowing aside it also displays a shocking level of ignorance about proper protocol and etiquette. This is one of those things that is just not done and there are people on staff to tell him that. It’s like blowing your nose at the dinner table or trying to give the German Chancellor a shoulder rub. This is the third time President Obama has been caught in a embarrassing gaffe. (The previous two offenses: Giving PM Brown a crappy Kmart gift and trying to shake the hand of a marine saluting him.)

And back to what the bow means; We were trying to prove a point 200+ years ago. We were a sovereign nation that did not owe obeisance to any foreign power. The point remains valid.

This has nothing to do with church/state separation. It also has nothing to do with communism. It does have everything to do with violating over 200 years of American protocol, custom and ideology by making a show of obeisance to a foreign king–which, whether you like it or not, flies in the face of the very principles on which this country was founded. Then the WH chose to lie about it, despite the fact that DEAD PEOPLE can see, from the clip posted above, that he did in fact bow.

It’s a big deal precisely because he represents us, even those of us who loathe him and did not vote for him. It’s a big deal because his supporters–shoot, forget that, his fan base–spent the past eight years yammering and harping and obsessing over every foot GWB ever put wrong in his life, and now expect their head-bobbing little sockpuppet here to get a pass, and he’s not going to get one, because it turns out we have longer memories than they thought. THAT is why it’s a big deal.

America was founded on a lot of beliefs, many of which have changed over time. Including the fact that most of the founding fathers would be appalled by the lack of separation of church and state (but that’s another argument). But to shake our fists like perpetual adolescents and shriek that “BOWING IS TEH EVIL! I’M GONNA GO CUT MYSELF!!!1″ seems a bit foolhardy. 200 years ago, we were trying to prove a point. Today, maybe showing some respect would show that we’ve matured as a culture.

Or, I could be a non-American commie anti-hippie that just doesn’t see what the big damn deal is.