In terms of a media-generated controversy, this is a prime example. Not content with provided adequate and accurate context to the debate, conservatives that allegedly align themselves with Catholic doctrine and Fox"News" have attempted to create a cloud of confusing rhetoric around Obama's visit while ignoring the Catholics church view on "life" issues in relation to George W. Bush.
While they are more apt to shout "double-standard" when addressing the equally ridiculous media-storm involving "Miss California" Carrie Prejean, they refuse to see through their own rant hypocrisy when speaking about Notre Dame and Barack Obama.
The Catholic Church has long stood against not only "abortion", but the death penalty as well. The fundamental flaw in the Right's thinking is that they can frame the debate around Obama when George W. Bush gave a commencement speech to Notre Dame and his record on "death" issues has a much more illustrative nature than Obama.
The Fox"Nation" website used a video of Obama's address to the Notre Dame graduating class and asked if he truly was "open-minded" and used "fair-minded" words.
Some of their readers are quoted as saying:
Theresa
Nothing is sacred anymore. not Honesty / morals/ or respect. I don't have a problem with Obama as the President of The USA, speaking, What I have a problem with is his arrogance and lack of respect for those who don't agree with his values. I would respect him more if he would have declined the honorary degree. And said I realize the divide and because of this I am declining the degree, Possibly there wouldn't have been so much controversy. The University knew it would cause problems. knowing that people attend there because of the reputation.
Monday, May 18, 2009 at 09:56 AM
2fortea
I wonder what propagandist wrote this speech for the teleprompter. Open minded? When did ripping apart and murdering infants become as easy as trimming an annoying and inconvenient hangnail. It is out and out torture and murder! I remember a nurse stating how a baby had survived an abortion and they put the baby in a closet to slowly die - all alone. She held that poor baby - giving that baby the ONLY comfort and LOVE it would have from another human being as it slowly died. That nurse became a pro life advocate. How can ANY human being condone ripping a baby apart and attempt to "intellectually" justify it by calling for "open mindedness". DISGUSTING!
Monday, May 18, 2009 at 09:10 AM
Under Bush's tenure as Governor of Texas, he signed-off on 152 executions. Barack Obama has not signed-off on one abortion.
Obama's stance on a woman's right to choose ( which the Right frames as "pro-abortion" ) is looked at through a rather canted, yet typical, prism. Typical in the means that these people are willing to look the other way when religious dogma does not fit their own political ideology while their party is in power.
There was no media fire-storm when Bush received his honorary degree from Notre Dame. The reason being is the hypocrisy from the conservative Right. They cling to religion on when they need it to prove a point. Not once was Notre Dame a focal point of conservative ire until Obama was invited.
Even the 2009 Valedictorian Brennan Bollman stated that she had no problem with Obama, and neither do most of the students and faculty:
"This issue has not divided the campus by any means," says the Catholic, pro-life biology major who will be attending Harvard Medical School after graduation.
In an interview with the Huffington Post, Bollman stressed that her peers do not view the president's overall values as inconsistent with Catholicism. In fact, Bollman says Obama is practicing Catholic values in his administration. Like Jesus, Bollman says, Obama is trying to invite "everyone to the table."....Bollman called Cardinal George's statement out of tune with Catholicism. "We know exactly what it is to be Catholic because we are inviting President Obama to speak to us." She said the University's President, Father Jenkins, had even sent a letter earlier in the week to all graduates affirming he's proud that campus dialogue had not "led to divisions."
Now that the Notre Dame graduation is over, and Fox and conservatives didn't get the riots, arrests, protests, and the "red meat" of the day that they virtually begged for in open-mouth fury, they have the opportunity to reframe the debate. Now they can claim that Obama has taken the country in a direction that removes "moral values" and religion is favor of "acceptance" to issues like abortion and stem-cell research.
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1 comment:
At this point, if the religious right didn't have hypocrisy they would have nothing at all.
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