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A jolly good show?
It was very entertaining to watch the Gershwin Popular Music Award given to Paul McCartney by President Obama on July 27 on PBS, given this award was in great contrast to Mr. Obama’s return to Britain of their gift of a bust of Winston Churchill. If actions speak louder than words, this says a lot.
Obama has purposefully downplayed the role of American exceptionalism. His base feeling is that we do not necessarily deserve a leading place in governance, law, enterprise or historical excellence. This apparently includes our invaluable support for Britain in two world wars. This is what the Churchill bust represented.
The historical ties between the U.S. and Britain go way back. When I was a fifth-grader at Hutton School, we were knitting afghan squares for “Bundles for Britain.” Roosevelt and Churchill designed Lend-Lease to supply military materials to Britain during the Nazi blitz. It is very clear that our closeness remains today as British forces have joined U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan. The return of the Churchill bust to England by Obama must have been seen as very strange and very wrong.
John A. Peterson
Spokane