Daily Mail: America snubs historic Paris rally: Holder was there but skipped out early, Kerry was in India, Obama and Biden just stayed home
WNU Editor: Today's rally in Paris was the biggest in its history. All of Europe has been galvanized and riveted on what happened in Paris this week. 40 to 50 leaders made a point of appearing at this rally arm in arm because they knew that this was an important event to attend ... as well as sending a message to the world that Europe is united. That is why the U.S. decision to not send a top official to this massive and unprecedented rally is perplexing .... and I concur with CNN's Jake Tapper disappointment is this video ... even though Christiane Amanpour tries her best to downplay this absence. Bottom line .... showing up would have made an impact .... signing a book of condolences .... sorry .... it is not the same. And while I am sure that we are going to receive an official explanation on why no top U.S. official could go to Europe .... in the big picture .... Europe has taken notice that President Obama decided to skip this significant moment in European history .... and in their eyes .... he and the U.S. looks a little smaller today.
More News On U.S. Officials Deciding Not To Attend Today's Historic Rally In Paris
High level US representative notably absent from Paris rally -- AFP
Obama, Kerry absent from unity rally in Paris -- CNN
Eric Holder, top U.S. officials no-shows at Paris unity rally -- New York Daily News
Obama stays home from Paris memorials -- Washington Times
White House criticized for absence at rally -- The Hill
Shame On President Obama For Skipping The Paris Unity Rally Against Terrorism -- Rick Ungar
U.S. Officials Say Non to 'Je Suis Charlie' Rallies -- Josh Rogin, Bloomberg
Update: I attended Montreal's rally .... and they say that 25,000 of us showed up (which is probably accurate) .... but what sticks out for me is how much of a pleasant and sober affair the rally was. No anger .... no hate .... everyone together to send a message .... to Paris .... and to ourselves.
4 comments:
What good are all the rallies? Nothing is going to change, so they are all useless.
This is just another sign of the West's decline. Do not expect this decline to go smoothly.
Matt,
I am inclined to agree with you, by and large these rallies and marches tend to be exercises designed to make the participants feel good about themselves and that politicians join to cover their own backsides for the moment, then back to business as usual immediately afterwards. I disagree though in whether change is coming, it is coming and as you say not smoothly.
In this vein I say the protests in Germany are a better indicator of changes coming in the near future, that and the recent Nordic elections.
The Western political systems (regardless of original intentions) have devolved into nothing but "narrative" and largesse, nothing else.
The Islamicist's have a narrative that trumps the West's (most importantly to themselves) and more importantly they are willing to use any degree of force to impose it. The West's political establishment not only declines the use of necessary force, but publicly condemns the idea of force itself as a central tenet of their ethical/political credo.
This leaves the people at large on their own. Eventually they will defend themselves. How effectively this happens is the question. Our betters never exhaust themselves lecturing anyone who sill listen on the dangers of "mob" action, but by their very policies they assure it's coming.
Yes ... it was a Kumbaya moment .... nothing is going to come out of it. But .... if there is another terror attack .... this sentiment is going to change. I always say never underestimate the U.S. .... I also say .... never underestimate Europe. History's bloodiest wars and conflicts came from Europe .... the political culture and sentiment can quickly change into something else. Europe's main stream parties are now realizing this .... and they are now running scared.
You start productivity, safety & quality drives at factories/companies with events, speeches (other communications) & slogans
Slogans have been shown to cause noticeable & significant blimps/bumps. say 3% to 5% improvement.
This improvement is ephemeral if all you do is shout slogans. But it is real.
Slogans which are not backed up by programs/action also cause mass cynicism. So much so that if you have no intention of backing up the slogans, it is better you never used them. This is also documented.
Now we wait 3 to 6 months and see what they do.
Probably nothing.
IMO these leaders for the most part are a bunch of knuckleheads. To put it mildly.
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