Applauding AGAINST America? Seriously?

A few days ago I wrote about the idea of conservatives cheering Chicago's lost bid for the Olympics. Today I saw a segment of "The O'Reilley Factor" that showed a clip from a meeting of a group called Americans for Prosperity where people broke into applause at the announcement of Chicago's loss. I was horrified. It was all too reminiscent of an experience I had in January 2005.

I represent my college on a committee called the System Council on International Education, a committee comprised of representatives of the 35 public colleges/universities in Georgia. In January 2005 we had a workshop/meeting/dinner that happened to fall on inauguration day. University professors are notoriously liberal, with liberal outnumbering conservatives eight to one and, in the area of humanities (which includes foreign language, my area), 32 to one. I wasn't surprised that my colleagues on the committee were less than thrilled with Bush's second victory. But I was taken aback when, after the chairman remarked with something less than enthusiasm that this was inauguration day, a number of the members of the committee booed. These middle-aged Ph.D.s in professional business attire actually booed the inauguration of the president of the United States.

That moment wounded my spirit profoundly. I love my country, and I respect the office of president, regardless of who holds it. I understood that they hated Bush, just like the members of Americans for Prosperity probably despise Obama. But just as Americans who love their country (although I suspect not all of my colleagues fall into that category) have no business booing the inauguration of the president of the United States, Americans who love their country have no business cheering the loss of an event that would bring prosperity, ironically enough, and prestige to the United States.

The eight years of Bush's presidency opened my eyes and taught me something important: how not to behave. Besides seeing my colleagues showing disrespect for the office of president, I saw liberals show a blatant lack of respect for that office time after time after time while claiming to have a love for their country. I hope those people remember how they acted when Bush was in office when they see offensive outbursts like those at the Americans for Prosperity meeting, but conservatives certainly shouldn't let the previous disrespect of liberals be an excuse to act in a way that demonstrates a lack of love for America. I'm thankful that my colleagues' behavior and that of other liberals during those eight years opened my eyes and taught me what not to do and how not to behave.

Cheers for lost Olympic bid?

I read that a lot of conservatives cheered when Chicago lost the bid for the 2016 Olympics.  Regarding the loss, Rush Limbaugh stated, "I don't deny it. I'm happy."  Glenn Beck called the news of the loss "so sweet."  I'm far more conservative than either of these two men have ever thought of being, but how can any American rejoice that one of our cities lost the bid for the Olympics?  That's an act that's worthy of Michael Moore.

I'm not happy Chicago lost the bid.  And I think it was great that Obama went to make a pitch for it.  But I do rejoice that the man who is bent on turning us into a nanny state (more than we already are) and who was welcomed as a virtual messiah was unable to persuade the International Olympic Committee to give Chicago the Olympics--or even make it one of the top two competitors.

In Barcelona in 2008, everyone wanted to talk about Obama.  Usually I was asked if I was for Hillary or Obama.  Western Europe is so liberal that they didn't even seem to be aware of the fact that the election itself was not going to be between the two liberals.  And they all loved Obama.  They were thrilled we were finally getting rid of Bush and putting in (they hoped) a man after their own heart.

And here it was even worse.  I don't think I have to remind anyone, especially since it was less than a year ago, that there were people who were convinced they were going to go from being lazy poor to being lazy rich.  They thought Obama was going to take from all those greedy entrepreneurs who'd risked everything to build up their businesses and give to them so that they could get bigger TVs and cars.  I actually felt a little sorry for Obama, because he could be the greatest man in the world and still not be able to do what a lot of people were expecting him to do.  But while he didn't promise to do everything that people claimed he was going to do, he certainly didn't encourage them to do a reality check.

For a while now we've seen Obama being pulled back and forth by the radicals with whom he has surrounded himself, and we see he is not the strong man of character that I really thought he might be, in spite of the fact that I disagree with his beliefs and stands.  The loss of the Olympic bid is evidence on the international front that the world is not enamored of him as they were before the election.  And as disappointed as I am to see some other country get the Olympics, I'm glad that the entire world has realized he's just a man.  I'm glad that the U.S. sees now that the world is not going to embrace us even when we elect a far-left man with a Middle Eastern heritage as our president.  I remember what Sharon Stone said when making "Catwoman": "Halle's so beautiful and I wanted to kiss her. I said, 'How can you have us in the movie and not have us kiss? . . . That's what you get for having George Bush as president."  Even the liberal media admitted how ludicrous that statement was.  Our president does not define who we are.  On inauguration day in January of this year, movie scenes that were previously taboo did not get the thumbs-up.  Countries that despised us before that date did not begin to love us.  At most, they started watching to see if we would become more like them with this new president who seemed to be their kindred spirit.  Thank goodness we haven't.