It was recently revealed in a memoir by former Bush administration speech writer, Matt Latimer, that Bush denied giving JK Rowling the Presidential Medal of Freedom because he felt her Harry Potter books promoted witchcraft.O_o
If you didn't think Bush was a tool before, I hope this changes your mind. And no, I'm not making this up. I'll repeat myself--
President George W. Bush denied giving author JK Rowling the Presidential Medal of Freedom because he felt her books promoted witchcraft. It's funny in a depressing and slightly suicidal way.
To be fair, he also denied the late Ted Kennedy the honor during his dictatorship because Kennedy was too liberal, just in case you didn't know were Bush stood in the mix.
BUT, but, of course Charlton Heston was bestowed the honor by none other than Dubya himself. Because he's a hardworking man that represents the values and honors of the United States. President of the NRA. Slightly nuts. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
Charlton Heston = Good. JK Rowling = Bad. Guns = Good. Reading = Bad. Get it?
Oi.
10 comments:
Lmao, oh man Bush was a dumbass, he should go to the tool academy! :]
And what did Rowling do to deserve a medal of freedom? Writing fantasy doesn't really do it for me, sorry. Standing up for what you believe in and being an activist, no matter your cause, does count to me though. So, I honestly don't think Bush was too far off there. Half of America doesn't think that Heston killed someone and got away with murder like they believe Kennedy did... I think I'll have to agree with Bush on his decisions here. (not that it happens all that often)
I have to agree with George W Bush as well. JK Rowlings is successful, her books do well. Does she deserve a medal? Probably not. She is not even an American citizen. As for Kennedy, I bet Mary Jo Capeckne's family doesn't believe he deserves a medal.
hhhmmmmm
Thing is, even if Rowling doesn't deserve the award, his reasoning sucks. Just say it's because she's 'just a writer,' don't say it's because of the genre/whatever that she gets her message across with. As for Kennedy, that's shakier ground right there.
The medal itself is awarded due to "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." It's not limited to American citizens. Tony Blair, Margaret Thatcher and Mother Teresa have all won the award and none of them are American citizens. Other award recipients include Bill Cosby, Bob Hope, T.S. Elliot, and Julia Child. Actors, writers, and cooks. If they deserved the award, so does Rowling. Her books promote friendship and loyalty and got a generation of young people reading. I think that falls under significant cultural contributions.
Let's get some facts straight, ok? From Wikipedia--
"The Presidential Medal of Freedom is a decoration bestowed by the President of the United States and is, along with the equivalent Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress, the highest civilian award in the U.S. It recognizes those individuals who have made "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors." The award is not limited to U.S. citizens and, while it is a civilian award, it can also be awarded to military personnel and worn on the uniform."
Perhaps you should take a look at the list of people Obama has given the medal to, http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/president-obama-names-medal-of-freedom-recipients/, which includes people of varying nationalities and jobs, including but not limited to actors and actresses and sports players.
And let's just re-evaluate what JK Rowling has done, shall we? She tricked open a door in a genre that was largely disregarded and passed over. She revitalized the love of reading in an entire generation of children. She revolutionized YA. It would not be what it is today without Harry Potter and that has been proven time and time again. Teen Lit would not have the highest grossing sales over adult contemporary without Harry Potter. Twilight would have never gotten through the door without Harry Potter as a predecessor. YA would still be largely ignored and this book blogging community would be SIGNIFICANTLY smaller, if it would even exist at all, if it weren't for the likes of Harry Potter to re-invent the genre.
So let's take a step back and re-evaluate things, shall we? You don't have to be an American to get this medal. And to say JK Rowling is just another fantasy writer that doesn't deserve a medal is forgetting that the YA genre as it exists today was nothing more than a glimmer of hope before JK Rowling and Harry Potter, and honestly is just downright shocking, especially coming from another book blogger. Sure it was there before but it was merely a whisper then.
So if you don't think she's one of the world's largest beacons of literacy and advocating literary, not to mention her pet charity, MS Research, isn't worthy of of a medal of recognition for her efforts and effects, fine. But perhaps you should step back and re-evaluate what she's actually done other than just write a few successful fantasy books. Unless literacy isn't something to advocate for, I think she's just as deserving as the guy that played Moses and heads up the gun club.
But the fact that's being overlooked here is not that Rowling was bypassed for the medal because she was somehow less deserving, which is not my point in the post, but because HARRY POTTER PROMOTED WITCHCRAFT. Hello? Again, awarding the gun-toting actor is ok but the lady that writes fantasy isn't. O_o
Thank you, Maria! I heart you like whoa right now.
The reasoning is the ridiculous part. With Kennedy, his past aside, he wasn't given the aware because Bush left he was too liberal. Chappaquiddick had nothing to do with it. being a Democrat did.
YAY HEART! *Collects it and keeps it in a jar on her desk* :D
Yeah, the Bush White House did all kinds of things for reasons that don't really meet the criteria of "reason."
Mary D
Totally ludicrous, especially in this day and age! I feel like I've just been blasted back to the Middle Ages ...
The only reason, beyond sheer ignorance, Bush may have had to spout such nonsense was to kiss azz the 'Moral Majority' - who threw a shoe over the whole magic & witch thing to start with.
Pure Crap :(
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