Wednesday, July 03, 2013

A "Prisoner" Of Love

Ah, Michelle, we know you didn't mean it the way it came out, as you stated living in the White House is akin to living in a prison.  You qualified it nicely by saying it was a very nice prison.  And we know you were thinking of it as having lost your autonomy.

Somehow I don't think you garnered much sympathy.  When I think of prison I think of total loss of freedom, isolation, the barest of essentials and in many cases around the world far worse but I guess it means different things to different people.

It could be said you are a prisoner of your love for the good life.  Nearly nightly entertainment with entertainers most of us will never see.  Lavish dinners with the most expensive foodstuffs to be found.  Then there are the designer duds, ski vacations, trips to Paris and London and everywhere else under the sun.  Hotel accommodations costing in the thousands and entourages in the millions and most of it from coffers not your own.  You have live in help for every possible need, chefs, housekeeping, transportation. Kids don't even haunt the great corridors of your house anymore, except your own.  Some prison.

You know, I don't begrudge you your life.  I do begrudge your thinking of it as burdensome.  You see, the rest of the country is still struggling to make ends meet.  The military is closing some of it's swimming pools and axing fire works displays for the troops. Of all people to be made to sacrifice the smallest of pleasures.  Oil has gone over $100 a barrel again so already punitive gas prices will be going back up.  Parts of our National Parks aren't open or being maintained for the lucky few who would like to vacation in them.

And the trip to Africa you and family just returned from cost how much?  $100 million?  I know we see things differently.  I know the President likes to and does spend freely and many times indiscriminately. It brings to mind the French Revolution where the aristocracy lived the high life while the serfs suffered.  That's the image. Just once I'd like to see the Obama family make some sort of meaningful sacrifice to show that they are one with the people.

The President being one with the people seems to be a forgotten concept.  That's the way it is and we'll manage.  But please, at least have the good graces to think before you speak. There are specific connotations to certain words and prison is certainly one of them.  May those around the world who are rotting in the worst of them for no reason other than not agreeing with their governments be spared from hearing your comment.  We don't need another layer of contempt on top of that which we already have.



3 comments:

Word Tosser said...

when I was watching Coke Robert, asked both she and Mrs. Bush, about the description that a previous First Lady gave of it being like a prison.. and that was their answers.. and Mrs. Bush and she agreed... and added at the end.. a prison but a very nice one.. of which Mrs. Bush agreed and added her words...
No President ever acted like one of us.. the closest came to it was Harry Truman.. but NO PRESIDENT, has been like the common man.

Betty said...

It would probably been better if she had characterized it as a fishbowl, where people can and do take political potshots at her and criticize everything she says and does. Maybe if she were white.........

Mari Meehan said...

Color has nothing to do with good judgement. It should be expected of first ladies as well as presidents.

As for not being like the common man, in this case it's why Romney was rejected. He wasn't common enough. Mrs. Bush, as did the Queen when protocol was not observed by the Obamas, was being gracious.

One doesn't have to be "common" to know when living a lavish lifestyle while those you lead are struggling is inappropriate. It does take being engaged with those people.