Sunday, April 05, 2009
The bow
The New York Times is against bowing to foreign monarchs, except when it isn't.
Canadians still bow to England’s Queen; so do Australians. Americans shake hands. If not to stand eye-to-eye with royalty, what else were 1776 and all that about?
That's right. Americans, more than any other national people, can say they invented lèse majesté (a historical fact that no doubt annoys the French to no end). Let's not forget that, please.
MORE: Because I am nothing if not fair, those of us on the right having the vapors over the bow ought to take note that George W. Bush bowed to Abdullah as well, although for the different purpose of receiving a medal. Charles Johnson asks us to "imagine how much screaming there would be if Obama had let Abdullah hang a medal around his neck," and he is no doubt right that some precincts of the right would have erupted in rage. I would not have, because I see the difference between a gift and genuflection. But I am a bit more practical than many on the right, in that I can both think that the Saudis are cruel and despotic and accept that we need them as long as we consume so much oil.
12 Comments:
By 
Viking Kaj, at
Sun Apr 05, 11:20:00 AM:
Your know you gotta look on the bright side. At least Obama was not bowing to kiss something other than the royal ring.
These people are clowns, I'm embarrassed to be an American.
You can bet John and Abigail weren't kissing anything when they met the king and queen!
By JPMcT, at
Sun Apr 05, 12:09:00 PM:
Give him a break...he's not really a President, he just plays one on TV...
By D.E. Cloutier, at
Sun Apr 05, 12:12:00 PM:
Hell, I'll bow to a beautiful woman at a ball if it will help me get her in bed.
By Christopher Chambers, at
Sun Apr 05, 01:58:00 PM:
That's OK Viking Kaj--the vast majority of Americans are embarassed b/c of you, so it balances out, I suppose. lol
Jesus Christ you all are plain crazy. I guess you also toast those murderers in Binghamton, Pitts. and Alabama like you lunatic pal Glenn Beck?
By 
, at
Sun Apr 05, 03:58:00 PM:
By Dawnfire82, at
Sun Apr 05, 04:21:00 PM:
You know, I grew out of making inflammatory comments on the Internet for the fun of irritating others when I was 14.
Try to keep up, hmm?
By Escort81, at
Sun Apr 05, 05:11:00 PM:
What DEC said.
I was 14 in 1973-74, so I guess technically there was an Internet, but I wasn't aware of it. No browser would have made it harder to engage in flame wars, and it would have been pretty slow @ 2400 baud!
By D.E. Cloutier, at
Sun Apr 05, 05:54:00 PM:
Re: 14 years old
That was Dawnfire82, not me, Escort81. When I was 14, I was listening to Radio Moscow on my shortwave radio and watching Peter Gunn on my black-and-white TV.
In addition, I paid $72 (about $532 in today's dollars) for a seven-transistor Zenith pocket radio that year.
By Elijah, at
Sun Apr 05, 06:01:00 PM:
and some communities even march for murderers in Oakland
or support individuals making statements like... "chickens coming home to roost" when speaking about 9/11
selective outrage by some posters
By JPMcT, at
Sun Apr 05, 10:23:00 PM:
Hey Chambers...switch to decaf, comrade! It's too late to keep you from making a fool of yourself, but I assume you will want to survive long enough to participate in the Workers Paradise and the first 3 year plan. Lighten up!!
By , at
Mon Apr 06, 09:44:00 AM:
Paraphrasing the President, not realizing the President should bow to kings is simple "arrogancve" and a "failure to appreciate" royalty's "leading role" in so many nations of the world.
By , at
Mon Apr 06, 01:44:00 PM:
Re: "Canadians still bow to England's Queen". No. Firstly, to Canada, Elizabeth II is not "England's" queen, she's Canada's queen and she is not a "foreign" monarch, she's a Canadian one. She is the legal head of state of Canada, and therefore is technically as much Canadian as she is British. Second, we don't have to bow to her; a simple nod of the head and a handshake is sufficient. It's not at all the same thing as the head of state of the American republic prostrating himself before the omnipotent monarch of a foreign, semi-hostile nation.
