My Two Cents Worth

So, over here in the U.S of A., there's a flap going on about Obama bowing to the Japanese emperor. Some saw it as a sign of weakness! (I say making a Giant Deal out of it is a sure sign of weakness. Mental weakness, that is. And Amnesia. Obama was not the first to bow to a Japanese emperor. Clinton did. So did Nixon -- and he bowed not to the current emperor but to his father, Hirohito. Eisenhower bowed to DeGualle. And so on.)

It was an elegant bow and, I think, totally appropriate. A bow in Japan is like a handshake in the U.S. It is not a sign of subservience, but of respect. The way people greet each other differs from culture to culture.

I, for one, am happy to see a president who is so international and so global that he can greet others in their style, naturally and beautifully. I am sure it comes from having grown up in the Aloha State, as well as in cultures and countries beyond his own. One day, I hope the Japanese get a prime minister who can, say, kiss the cheek of the French prime minister. Or touch noses with Inuits... or Moaris.

Some claim Obama does not represent the American people. I guess these people don't think Graciousness or Tolerance or Understanding of Differences are representative American values. That's too bad.


Two cents ain't worth much these days, but there it was.