Summary. This document addresses the accusation made by Canada Free Press that Michelle Obama has 22 Attendants or 26 Servants.
Background. During the George W. Bush presidency, evangelical conservatives would accuse liberals of being unpatriotic for criticizing the President of the United States. The following scriptures were among those cited as the basis for respecting those in authority.
“Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.” Hebrews 13:17 (NIV)
“I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God…” 1 Timothy 2:1-4 (NIV)
Disrespecting the President and the Bible. Now that Obama, a Democrat, has become president of the United States, some evangelical Christian conservatives are disrespecting the Bible as well as the President when they verbally attack the President and disregard the scriptures they once affirmed. Their political affiliations and loyalties seem to be stronger than their loyalty to God and the scriptures. Some critics of the Obama administration use fear tactics, exaggeration, and negative spin to criticize the President of the United States and First Lady. These verbal attacks upon the President reflect very un-Christian-like behavior that is inconsistent with the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament.
The Separation of State and Church. We’ve all heard about the separation of Church and State. The implication is that, if given enough political power, the Church would legislate religion and force people to live according to one view of faith. However, not much is said about the Separation of State and Church. The Church is equally influenced by politics once intertwined with it. When evangelical Christians first landed on the beaches of the Republican Party (the GOP), they had high hopes of influencing the party and our nation. Soon, their boots became muddy. No longer were their “feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” (Ephesians 6:14-15) Instead of following Jesus, they became followers of George W. Bush and the conservative leaders. The following quote from a war criminal describes this phenomenon quite articulately.
“Naturally the common people don’t want war: Neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” – This quotation is represented to be from Hermann Goering, uttered during the post World War II Nuremburg war crimes trials set up by the victorious Allies.
Freedom of Speech Abused. The Freedom of Speech is an important part of Democracy that ensures a diversity and plurality of voices whereby our collective thoughts, voices, and actions will ultimately produce the greatest good. It is a perversion of the Freedom of Speech when media outlets become bullhorns for a handful of extremists. Just as a lack of diversity in agriculture can harm the land when planting only corn or beans, a lack of diversity in politics can harm a nation. The “Deliver Us From Obama” praying hands image shown above is available for sale through the Cafe Press Store of Canada Free Press. The Canada Free Press is just one example of how a narrow viewpoint is able to have a huge impact. It’s also an example of how the fusion of church, journalism, and state can cause problems. While the CFP represents a conservative viewpoint, the same is true for liberal media outlets. The media is supposed to be fair and balanced, but it’s become clear in recent years that many media outlets are simply propaganda machines for extremist viewpoints. One might point out that people are free to read news from both liberal and conservative sources. However, that usually doesn’t happen because most people have only a few biased news sources to shape (or support) their existing views rather than provide insight, facts, and education.
Michelle Obama Has 22 Attendants or 26 Servants. The Canada Free Press has reported initially that Michelle Obama has 22 Attendants and then, in a later update, reported that Michelle Obama has 26 Servants. The stories about Michelle Obama are misleading and deceptive for various reasons (some identified by Snopes). Here are some considerations.
- The news story overlooks the fact that the 26 paid staff people cited are doing more than just assisting the First Lady.
- The 26 people are also given employment, yet with a modest income (very little compared to the Corporate CEO friends of Republican leadership). The combined salaries of these 22 employees are about the same as a college football coach, yet nobody is complaining about paying football coaches too much. Many of them are paid under $40,000 per year which is close to poverty level considering the cost of living in that area. Yet, the news story states that this is a waste of taxpayer money. Should they work for free?
- The reason that Michelle Obama can make use of so many people is because she is a highly motivated and has a busy agenda. The article claims that previous First Ladies only required a few assistants. Yet, it’s obvious there would have been others attending their needs. We should be thankful that Michelle Obama is involved and concerned enough about the country that her passion and purpose requires that work be delegated out to 26 people. If she only had three attendants, the story title would have been, “Michelle Obama is the laziest First Lady ever. She only has three attendants!“
Such news agencies aren’t reporting the news, they are manipulating information for purposes of defaming people. What is reported is largely infused with opinion, exaggeration, distortion, and hype to manipulate the reader’s perception of the facts. We need a renewal of Journalistic Ethics.
Canada Free Press Partners with Deceptive Advertisers. Beware when visiting the Canada Free Press website. At the time of this writing, a deceptive and misleading pop-up advertisement was consistently being launched. When you see a page with the title “News 3 Insider Weekly News” with links to Easy Google Profit, just close that window. It is not a news story. It is an advertisement. Not only is the Canada Free Press deceptive and misleading in their reporting, but they also seem to have partnered with deceptive and misleading advertisers.