Of Ships, Friends, and DVD's

I have so far avoided spending much time talking about Obama. The main reason is this, once I open the subject, there's no real stopping. I could easily write about the latest government outrage every single day, leaving time for little else. I've been reluctant to turn this blog into a "chronicle the excess in government forum," not to say that would be without value, but there are plenty out there doing that already. However, today I'm finally cracking the dam a bit. What brings me to change course? Well, it's a long story. A story rooted in a respect for history, diplomacy, and relationships; a story of two countries, two ships, and two leaders.

I assume that by now you know where I'm going with this. Last week the United States hosted British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his wife, Sarah. Brown is the first head of state to visit Obama since his inauguration in January. Our story, however, begins long before last week. How far back to go... I'll try to stick to the exceptionally abridged version.

As most of you know, the small island country of present-day England was once head of one of the largest, most powerful empires in history. They controlled land on every continent, in every corner of the earth. Their Navy was essentially the only Navy, their Army was the best equipped, most well trained force in the world.

In 1776, 13 of those colonies banded together and declared their independence from the British Empire. Those 13 colonies matched their words with deeds, fought the aforementioned British army and came out on the other side of that war as the United States of America. Throughout the rest of the 1700's and the early 1800's the U.S. struggled to find its way as an independent nation. England attempted to take advantage of this situation and once again sent troops to American shores. They were eventually driven back across the ocean, but not without exacting a toll of lives and destruction.

For the next several decades a vague tension existed as these two countries stared each other down across the Atlantic Ocean. The upstart, swaggering, young newcomer to the world stage and the old-guard, empire building, world super-power. Into this situation we insert a ship, a relatively insignificant ship in scheme of world affairs, the HMS Resolute. It was lost to the ice of the North Atlantic and abandoned by it's British captain and crew in the middle of the 19th century. The Resolute later broke free of the ice and was recovered by an American whaling ship. This small ship was about to become a major player in the course of international relations as the Americans brought it back and repaired it. Rather than keep this ship of a rival navy, the US Navy sailed her to London where she was presented as a token of good faith and cooperation between the two nations. The British were touched by the gesture and a relationship of trust began to develop. Eventually the U.S. and Great Britain were to become close friends and allies. We have stood side by side in the world's conflicts and supported one another in our darkest hours.

Upon the decommissioning of the HMS Resolute, Queen Elizabeth ordered desks to be made from the timbers and presented one of these to the United States. It has been used by virtually every President since that time and it sits in the oval office to this day. A matching desk sits in London as symbol of the unity and cooperation between our nations.

Why do I go through all this (and believe me, this was the incredibly abridged version)? Mostly to show that nothing takes place in a vacuum, history and symbolism are important. Fast forward to last week. The current leader of Great Britian, our friend and ally comes to visit the new American President. He, as is customary, brings gifts for our new leader. What are these gifts? Among others is a frame containing the original commission for the HMS Resolute. A gift that is rich with historical and symbolic significance, a priceless gift as it is irreplaceable. The other gifts? A desk pen set made from timbers from the HMS Gannet (Don't worry, I won't give a detailed history of this ship...), the Gannet saw duty patrolling the Mediterranean to put an end to the slave trade (more on that here). Again, a very thoughtful gift, full of historical, symbolic, and no doubt intrinsic value. Also included was a first-edition printing of Martin Gilbert's 7 volume biography of Winston Churchill. (Perhaps this was to replace the bust of Churchill given to the U.S. by Great Britain after 9-11 as a gesture of support that Obama sent back upon moving into the White House.)

As is customary, Obama had a gift for Prime Minister Brown as well. What did Obama, as a representative of the American people, have for our trusted ally as a return gesture after these gifts? A box set of movies on DVD. 25 American movies. On DVD. For the Prime Minister of Great Britain, representing his people. DVD's. The man is an embarrassment. I thought he was the one that was to "restore our image" in world? He can't even manage a dignified meeting with one our closest allies.

There are a couple possible conclusions one could draw from this (and I haven't even gone into the whole story, no press conference, no State Dinner, etc, etc...) enormous and embarrassing breach of etiquette. One is that Obama is entirely ignorant of any historical context in which his actions occur. His historical perspective begins the day he was born. Or perhaps he is not entirely ignorant, but has a misguided understanding of our historical relationships. He only sees the world through the same prism as the Rev. Wrights of the world. If this is the case, his ignorance of history and the historical context of our relationships with other nations is both embarrassing and potentially dangerous. His unwillingness to educate himself tells us of his arrogant self-centeredness.
The other possible conclusion is that he knows full well what he is doing and is purposefully slighting Great Britain. Considering his recently stated willingness to talk to "moderates" in the Taliban, that's a rather alarming conclusion to draw as well. I tend to assume (as I usually do) that it is some of both. It depresses me to a surprising degree to have a President that cares so little for our history, traditions, and the dignity of his office.
Every day the complete incompetence of this administration becomes more and more clear. It is at once infuriating, saddening, frightening, amusing, and most recently... profoundly embarrassing.

~Gabriel