You’re about as counterculture at this point as the official portrait painter for the Pope.

Right on, Allah.

It reminds me of a scene in House where this long-haired tattooed applicant tells Dr. House that he thought of all people House would have an open mind about non-conformity. House says:

“Nonconformity, right. I can’t remember the last time I saw a 20-something kid with a tattoo of an Asian letter on his wrist. You are one wicked free thinker. You want to be a rebel? Stop being cool. Wear a pocket protector like [Wilson] does and get a haircut, like the Asian kids who don’t leave the library for 20-hour stretches. They’re the ones who don’t care what you think. Sayonara.”

Of course, he then tells Wilson that the Asian kids are caving to parental pressure but I think the point he made is accurate.

You want non-conformity, try being a 28-year-old, conservative virgin that doesn’t drink or smoke living in Santa Monica, CA. I’d fit in just fine at church except for the fact that I also happen to have a male roommate in a studio apartment which puts me out of the mainstream there too. Though, for as judgmental as people claim they are, they’re the ones that put me in charge of the youth even knowing about my male roommate.

Point being, if there’s a dress code and well known formula to your non-conformity, you probably aren’t a non-conformist. You’re probably just a giant tool.

JadeNYU on November 14, 2008 at 3:28 PM

Grow Fins on November 14, 2008 at 3:25 PM

The whole “mission accomplished” thing is another place where the common narrative has very little to do with the reality of what happened.

The ship was returning home after a long and successful deployment. The banner was not for the President nor was it a declaration that the entire war was done and there was nothing left to do. It was a banner congratulating the seamen on that ship for accomplishing their mission and returning home safely.

As for arriving in the jet….yeah, that was unnecessary. Most politicians come in on helis. However, I’d be willing to bet that most of them would give their front teeth to be able to come in on a fighter jet. Heck, all of the guys I know and most of the girls would love that opportunity. He was given the chance because A) He’s the CinC and B)those are the planes he flew when he was in the National Guard.

As for the flight suit – if you’re getting in a fighter jet you’re going to wear the correct gear. It’s as simple as that. It’s not like he rode in on a gulf stream and jumped off in a fighter pilot flight suit.

As for your contention that those photos are the equivalent of the Obama art, I disagree. Those photos were part of a news story “President Arrives” taken by a (mostly) adversarial press. It’s not art created by devotees. And, most importantly, I don’t know a single conservative, no matter how much they enjoyed him getting off a fighter jet in a flight suit, that still has a copy of any of those pictures. Those got thrown away with the newspaper they came in because it was news….nothing more.

I agree with your assessment on heroes though. The left tends to like more revolutionary looking heroes that are poised to change the world and bring us to a greater future. They are always shown looking slightly up and into the distance as if they are gazing into a future that we can only dream of and which only they can take us to.

The right tends to prefer their ‘hero politicians’ to be more typically manly. Though I think we prefer the rugged individualist cowboy motif to the loaded down with bullets a gun in each hand a knife in the boot Rambo motif.

JadeNYU on November 14, 2008 at 3:45 PM