So President Obama Went On A Trip Over Memorial Day...


            It’s Memorial Day weekend and you know what that means! It’s another year where we get some interesting insight from ill-informed individuals about how President Obama is once again disrespecting our country. Yes, it seems that every Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Christmas, and Easter, we get to hear about how our Kenyan-born President who is a secret Muslim is at it again by showing his true colors and pissing off around half of our population. When the reality is that most of this is made up garbage that these idiots use in order to confirm their suspicions about our President and he lack of American-ness.
            What’s on tap for this year? It’s the G-7 Summit in Ise-Shima, Japan, where President Obama had no dealings with the dates of the summit and it just happened to fall on Memorial Day weekend. How insensitive of our Commander-in-Chief to fly off to another country and do his job by meeting with other world leaders from the European Union, Japan, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, and Canada to discuss global issues like trade, counter terrorism, North Korea, climate change, infrastructure, health, and sustainable development. So yes, boo unto you Mr. President! For trying to do your job and work with global leaders to find solutions to the problems facing us all. BOOO!
            Even with President Obama trying to do what he was voted into office to do, there is a group of people…a specific group of people that are conservative and a little pissed that Obama is still President of the United States (Fox News)…that will find any way to twist and contort an otherwise beneficial trip into one of apocalyptic proportions.
            If you haven’t heard, here’s what happened. President Obama became the first sitting President to visit Hiroshima where the first atomic bomb, “Little Boy”, was dropped killing some 80,000 people instantly and another 60,000 by the end of 1945 due to radiation and other side effects from the blast.
            Before I continue, and bring you along down the shit hole of internet speculation that we will endure together, here is the actual speech. It’s short, and you should read it before you read any of the other article I mention so you know what he said word for word and you can make a judgment for yourself. Here is the entire speech President Obama gave. Did you read it? No? Click the damn link and read it! It takes five minutes! I don’t care if you don’t like Obama, read the speech! Good…Now you may continue.
            IF, and it’s a HUGE IF, you watch Fox News or read the conservative “news” outlets, you would get the impression that President Obama made a special trip to Hiroshima over Memorial Day weekend to do one thing and one thing only; apologize to the Japanese Government and people for dropping the bombs that ended World War II and thus insulting all of our service men and women who served in the armed forces during this time. That’s the message you would have gotten from any news outlet that has a hard-on for coming up with stories that make our President look like Commie McHates-America. The titles are great click bait for those that want proof that everything they thought was wrong with our President is true. Don’t believe me? Here:

Sounds bad, I know, until you realize he’s grasping at straws and he has a hard time connecting his own dots as to how this story even matters.

From the always well research New York Post – Apology Tour Continued
            Just the same ol’ journalism you have come to expect from the New York Post.

            A bit dramatic even for my taste.

            That’s just a sampling of the venom out there, Rush Limbaugh has a lengthy rebuttal about the entire visit President Obama made to Hiroshima and even delves into his own ability to extract the undertones and real meaning behind what the President said in his speech. Here is Limbaugh’s interpretation. It’s amazing what you can accomplish with a masters degree in bull-shitting.
            To even think that President Obama, or any President of the United States for that matter, would ever apologize for using the atomic bomb is just plain stupid. Anyone that knows anything about history realizes the brutality of the Pacific Theater of World War II. The Japanese were ruthless and barbaric to those they conquered, and were fed propaganda that described American soldiers as cannibalistic monsters that would rape and pillage every Japanese village and murder women and children that survived. They flew kamikaze missions towards the end of the war when they began to lose veteran pilots. Their dedication to their god-emperor was absolute and they would do whatever it took to keep Americans away from their homeland.
            So why would President Obama then visit Hiroshima? Well, if you read his speech it’s pretty clear what he was doing. First, to recognize the impact of nuclear weapons and the suffering endured by the innocent victims of one of the darkest days in human history. Second, how we are now a global community and no longer isolated from one another. Finally, how Hiroshima should be used as a “moral awakening” and that nuclear weapons are still a very real threat to our survival as a species.
            I know that no matter what I say, those of you that see this as just the final leg of an “apology tour” by President Obama will find bits and pieces to highlight that you can manipulate and twist to fit into your narrative. That’s fine with me. All that does is show that you have closed your perception of the intentions of our President and are blindly going along with the constructed narrative of the right wing news machine that keeps relentlessly churning out story after story that does nothing but continues to divide us on manufactured bull shit.
            It is incredible to me that when President Obama tries to bring an awareness to a very real threat to us, that there are those of us that take that as an opportunity to berate him as nothing more than an anti-American, anti-military empty suit. What in the hell is wrong with you? Do us all a favor and understand where your stories are coming from and ask yourself, “What are they trying to do when they say those things because that seems pretty asshole-ish of a President?”
            You know what, if it were true that the President was apologizing and giving a big backhanded slap to the greatest generation, he probably would not be President. Seeing as though that whole story was fabricated and bull shit, you can all rest easy knowing that he’s only a secret Muslim.
            I am not the only one that saw through this veil of propaganda. The Stars and Stripes, the armed forces newspaper, had a great article on President Obama’s visit to Hiroshima, and it was…SURPRISE!...well done and highlighted the purpose of the visit. Here’s the article. CNN had a great report as well being unbiased and reporting on the actual event rather than twisting the details to fit a narrative. The BBC has a bunch of coverage on it, and each story covers the same thing as the ones above.
            I am always amazed at how quickly we can spread shit reporting and people take it as true after only listening to one source. And it always tends to be a source that already agrees with how that person thinks. It’s safe for us to find those sources because they just reassure us as to how the world is, or in this case, the way we view our President.
            This is one of those “stories” that got me because it shows how willing we are to only read or listen to those people whose opinions go right inline with our view of the world. When we do this, a few things happen. First, you look like a fool because you get your information from one place, it’s all a bunch of shit, you post or comment on it, throw it up on social media and yell “THAT F*#@ER AIN’T APOLOGIZING FOR ME!” As much as I enjoy finding those turd nuggets that make me investigate deeper into an issue, I wish I could start finding meaningful posts that have thought behind them and not just emotion ladled with a whole heaping of anger.
            Second, it shows how lazy we are when it comes to information. We all have the ability to find more information from multiple sources and come to our own conclusion. This mentality of “react first and look up necessary information to gain a better understanding of the issues later/if ever,” drives me insane. If you find something that tickles your fancy, take a breath. Let it out. Then ask yourself, “Is this bullshit?” Then do some digging around on your own. It’s a simple Google search, and you get articles from both sides. After you read four or five articles that are from various places and points of view, you can then make your opinion, form it in your head, and then throw it out for the world to see.

            We have plenty of idiots on the internet, hell, we have plenty of idiots that have their own television or radio show and get to spread their ideas and get paid for it. We need more people that ask questions, more people that are willing to look at more than one source of information. We need more people willing to take a breath and understand that when you read or watch something that berates, embarrasses, or otherwise attempts to attack the character of a person, the most powerful tool you have is to ask the simple question, “Is the author/reporter full of shit?” Most of the time, the answer is “Yes.”

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