White House Decries Poster That Invokes Obama Children
A friend of mine sent me (and, I believe, several of you, my followers) a link to this article, and it's raised some troubling issues. A nonprofit nutrition-reform organization in Washington, D.C. has put up posters bearing the image of a smiling girl, with the caption, "President Obama's daughters get healthy school lunches. Why don't I?"
Good question. I do have to agree that yes, it seems ridiculous that most public schools don't appear to have very good nutritionists. At my own school, when macaroni bowls are turned over, the noodles cling in place for over seven good, long seconds. Then it glops bouncily to the tray.
Does this seem healthy to you? I didn't think so.
However, the White House is outraged by this poster, saying its makers had no right to mention the Obama daughters. The President's daughters are "always off-limits," according to Frank Luntz, a Republican political consultant. The White House has demanded the posters be taken down. The company that put them up, interestingly, refuses. "No ifs, ands, or buts," Lutz continues. "And while it may draw short-term attention to the issue, the White House will hate the organization for it. And I assure you they will be punished. You don't mess with the President's children. It's an unwritten rule."
Hold on, hold on, hold on. Did he say they would be punished for breaking an unwritten rule? That simply by exercising their freedom of speech, they were somehow doing something wrong? That sounds a little bit sketchy to me. I mean, this guy isn't even in charge. He's a Republican... how does that work out?
However. There is always a however. We have to see this from the White House's perspective. President Obama's daughters were referenced without his permission or his knowledge. They were mentioned on a poster that criticizes the way the public school systems are run. I certainly wouldn't want to be used this way, and I know that if I had children, I wouldn't want them used this way either.
In the end, we end up with a very awkward grey area: the poster makes a good point, and its creators technically broke no laws. However, they did rather step out of the bounds of good taste, and the President should have some say in the way the idea of his daughters is used. Then again, maybe the White House is overreacting.
On the one hand, we could end up with no control over our own "images." On the other hand, we could end up with a government that can completely crush freedom of speech at its own whim.
I think we should all be just a bit disturbed.
Here's the article, if you want to see for yourself.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/10/AR2009081003126.html?g=0
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