Sunday, November 2, 2008

Culturism and Barack

The election of Barack Hussein Obama will be a great event for mulitculturalism and thus a horrible one for culturism. Multiculturalism denies that western nations have a core culture. They would assert that America has no more of a tie to the heritage of British protestant culture than it does to Saudi Islamic culture If Barack Hussein Obama gets elected, if our President's name has an Islamic cast, it will undermine our ability to define ourselves as unique and in competition with other cultures.

His supporters will respond, but he is not a Muslim, he just has an Islamic name. This argument would fly if he were born with that name. In fact, he chose it as an adult. And people should ask themselves why people have changed their names to Islamic names. Why did Cassius Clay become Muhammad Ali? Why did Lew Alcindor become Kareem Abdul Jaabar? But if we take him at his word, if he is as he claims to be, we have to hold him to it. We need him to repeatedly remind us that he American and proudly identifies with our Christianity and Enlightenment based culture. To control the damage his Islamic name does, we need him to constantly reaffirm he does not identify with Islam.

Unfortunately, his reassurance that he is not a Muslim will not help us internationally. Whether true or not, the Islamic world considers it obvious that he has ties to Islam. His name, muslim father and stepfather, madrassa training and close ties to the Islamic rebel in Kenya give them grounds. And though multiculturalism has hidden the fact that the West has been in mortal conflict with Islam since 700 ad, the Islamic world meditates on this fact day and night. They will see this as a victory and get a tremendous morale boost from it.

Obama's policy on Iraq makes him seem like a culturist. Culturism takes diversity seriously and so has very limited hope for turning Iraq into a progressive democracy. McCain takes the globalist position that we are all the same and Iraq's Islamic culture is not inherently incompatible with being a liberal democracy. Obama follows culturists in regretting our involvement in Iraq. But, culturists should be fooled into thinking him a culturist because of this coincidence. Whereas culturism takes Islamic nations to be essentially hostile and foreign enemies to whom we owe nothing, Obama sees them as friends in the global community whom we have injured.

Obama's name not being recognized by English spell checkers reflects its foreign genesis. It reflects the fact that much of his family has non-American ties. Does this create complications? Well, how can he purely think of American interests when his aunt is an illegal alien? How can he consider the American perspective in international aid when his brother lives on a dollar a day in a Kenyan slum? His connections with the Muslim Luo tribal leader Odinga shows a non-Western cultural affiliation. For internationalists, for globalists, these relations are a boon. Just as other nations do, culturists argue we have to put our culture and nation first in our land. Culturists would rather have an American president purely reflect American interests.

What's in a name? A whole lot. Even though Obama is not Osama, the Islamic world will interpret his pulling us out of Iraq will in a much different way than if someone named McCain did. Even if Obama is not a Muslim, celebrations will break out across the Islamic world on this basis if he gets elected. Even if he is as Christian and American as the day is long, his very name will undermine the idea that we have a common cultural heritage in the West. His aunt being a Kenyan illegal immigrant shows the foreign nature of his name actually does reflect foreign ties. But even if he governs with none but America's interests in mind, his name alone will convey extremely detrimental culturst lessons.

9 comments:

Always On Watch said...

John,
Finally I'm finding time to visit your blog site! Things at my house have been crazy beyond description these past several weeks.

You have an excellent take on the possible perceptions of Obama because of his name. I'm sure you're aware that his first and middle names also have meanings. If I'm not mistaken, Barack means chosen one, and Hussein means beautiful destroyer. The meanings of names don't have much significance in American culture, but do have significance in other cultures.

Today, I read this article at American Thinker. Note this portion:

In a 2006 speech, Obama explained: "I was not raised in a particularly religious household, as undoubtedly many in the audience were. My father, who returned to Kenya when I was just two, was born Muslim but as an adult became an atheist. My mother, whose parents were non-practicing Baptists and Methodists, was probably one of the most spiritual and kindest people I've ever known, but grew up with a healthy skepticism of organized religion herself. As a consequence, so did I."

In describing his grandparents as Baptist and Methodist, Obama was contradicting himself. Describing his grandfather in Dreams (p17), Obama wrote: "In his only skirmish into organized religion, he would enroll the family in the local Unitarian Universalist congregation...."

Like grandfather, like grandson: Barack Obama would make his "only skirmish into organized religion", joining Chicago's Trinity United Church, inspired by anti-American church leader, Reverend Jeremiah Wright. He held tightly to Trinity until it endangered his presidential campaign. Then he quit. This is the sole basis of Obama's description of himself as a "Christian."


Trinity UCC is certainly not Enlightenment based, as I'm sure you know. Rather, it's a church of liberation theology and black supremacism.

Unknown said...

Always On Watch,

I did not actually know the meaning of Hussein and Barack. Thanks!

At very least he changed his name in solidarity with the third world against us. There is no doubt but that his allegiance is at very least split and he somewhat identifies with the Islamic intifada point of view. Why else the name change?

It is so obvious that he is putting on a show to get elected. I tremble at the ACORN style tricks he'll play and opinions he'll promulgate as President. He will have 4 years to indoctrinate us with guilt and self-loathing.

I only hope the idea of culturism can provide a small memory of rhetoric against multiculturalism in this battle for public opinion he will wage on us. I only hope he fears the opinion of the electorate and they give him reason to.

Sometimes I wonder at the brainwashing of the electorate and despair. Wright may now be more mainstream than we suspect. The 1960s people are finally having their dream fulfilled.

www.culturism.us

Rita Loca said...

I am delighted to find your blog.

Unknown said...

Jungle Mom, I'm glad you found it. Thanks for commenting.

www.culturism.us

Always On Watch said...

Over my second cup of coffee this morning, I had another thought....

The Islamic world constantly emphasizes the will of Allah. In my view, many Moslems would see Barack Hussein Obama's victory as proof that Dar al Islam is "the way" and that America has symbolically succumbed.

Abscedere said...

This is a good article, Culturist John!

I had no idea this joke-for-President had changed his name. Do you have any idea what it used to be, and when he changed it?

I still can't believe there are people who plan to vote for this...excuse for the highest office in the land.

On the other hand, "W" has smoothed the way, since 2001 to allow any future President to become Dictator, under the right circumstances. This should make Barry's life easier, should he (Dear God forbid) win tomorrow's election.

I voted for Bush, so I'm partially responsible, I suppose, but look who he was running against, in the last election. We face the same no-option option this time around, as well.

Ducky's here said...

The election of Barack Hussein Obama will be a great event for mulitculturalism and thus a horrible one for culturism.

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Why, because he's black? You seem to be tipping your hand here.

Ducky's here said...

Is Russian culture in or out? They seem to be a difficult case.

AOW, how do you square evangelical Protestantism with the Enlightenment's foundation in pantheism?

Unknown said...

Abscedere,

When he went to school in Indonesia his name was "Barry Soetoro." The last name was his step-father's surname. In Indonesia he enrolled in school as a Muslim.

Ducky, I like your knee-jerk, "Its because he's black, huh?" It highlights the need for the word culturism. No, not all mentions of cultural diversity are about race. Typically, you are the only person mentioning race here.

I'd explain the rest, but I think you just want to antagonize, not discuss. It doesn't seem you've ever gone to my site or even read this article! More answers at

www.culturism.us