America usually cops out when it comes to fame or athletics

Submitted by Robert (United States), Nov 29, 2005 at 09:59

About two years ago I attended (working in the media) an ACLU sponsored event that honored Ali. They, of course, fawned all over him and proceeded to lavish praise on him for his "heroic" draft dodging, oh excuse me, conscientious objection status, that he took during the Vietnam war. For that crowd it played well, I felt like one of the only ones who could see the hypocrisy of it all at the time.

Now the same hypocrisy befalls the white house too, how disappointing. As you explained in your article, his objection was out of a pro Islam war only point of view. If he still holds the same views then he might support jihad and in turn al qaeda but I digress. This story really is more about American hero worship. Those that can be seen with celebrity relish the opportunity whenever possible.

Bush is either truly ignorant of all of the facts that you mention or purposely ignorant of them. Pretending that such a contrary reality doesn't exists allows Bush to shine in the celebrity spotlight and look cool and hip. Awarding Ali for ideals that directly contradict his true history exemplifies this point. It makes the presidential medal of freedom lose its meaning by awarding it to someone that defies its meaning. Celebrity trumps truth and meaning. Bush obviously believes that or maybe he truly is ignorant of all of Ali's past history that you pointed out. If he is, that is the really incredible part of this story.

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