"I Pledge:" Artists' Propaganda Reminiscent of "Sieg Heil!"

Imagine if the following video had been produced in support of George Bush! The Libs would have been screaming and frothing at the mouth ... possibly jumping out of windows and taking their weed with them. (See Monday's post to catch that reference.)



The video was shown recently in an elementary school, drawing the ire of some parents who resented the politics-laced message being pushed onto their children. Here's the story from The Salt Lake Tribune as reported by Lisa Schnecker (emphasis added):

Parents upset over 'leftist propaganda' video

A school principal has apologized for showing a video at an assembly that a politically conservative group leader is calling "radical, leftist propaganda."

Children at Eagle Bay Elementary School in Farmington were shown a short video called "I pledge" on Aug. 28. The video opens with an image of President Barack Obama and part of a speech in which he says, "Let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other." The video then features celebrities making pledges about how they will help the president and the world -- and that's where some say the problem lies.

Many pledges, such as supporting local food banks, smiling more, and caring for the elderly are noncontroversial. But other pledges, such as "to never give anyone the finger when I'm driving again," "to sell my obnoxious car and buy a hybrid" and to advance stem cell research cross the line, some say.

"Showing the video in a public school is completely inappropriate," said Jennifer Cieslewicz, whose daughter is a first-grader at the school. "I don't believe a video such as this that promotes certain values should be shown to elementary students, especially without parents being aware. "

Chris Williams, Davis School District spokesman, said school principal Ofelia Wade and school PTA leaders decided to show the video as part of an assembly about the school's theme for the year, service. He said the PTA board chose the video and Wade did not see it before it was shown in the assembly.

"It got to a point where she turned to her assistant and said, 'Oops, I wish I would have seen this before. I don't think I would have shown it,' " Williams said. He said Wade could see how some adults might find the video political.

"She acknowledges she was wrong and apologizes for it and says she's sorry," Williams said. Attempts to reach school PTA leaders Tuesday evening were unsuccessful.

...

[Tip: American Power]

The video starts out nice, but then it just gets kinda creepy, don't it? Gives me the woolies.

Now, this combined with what I saw on Glenn Beck this afternoon is really giving me the creeps. First, we have actors making the "Sieg heil!"-like propaganda video for Dear Leader. Then, Beck reported on how the National Endowment for the Arts is making a good, old fashioned propaganda push for Obama. Check this out:

Is National Endowment for the Arts Pushing Obama Administration's Agenda?

I'm going to show you the beginning of something that should scare the living daylights out of you. It is propaganda in America. The National Endowment for the Arts is now holding conference calls.

I want to lay this out for you and then I want to bring a guest in. One of the guys who was on the conference call felt awkward about this whole thing. He is an artist and he felt awkward and decided he was going to tape the conference calls.

The only reason why we can bring this story to you with any credibility is because he did the brave thing, probably destroyed his career, or at least he will never get a dime from the National Endowment for the Arts and probably won't speak to another artist again or they won't speak to him because he has betrayed the movement.

Here is the first e-mail that came in from the National Endowment for the Arts. It said:

"This Monday, there is a conference call for arts-oriented marketers and producers to discuss the President's United We Serve initiative that I thought you might like to participate in. A call has come in to our generation. A call from the top. A call from a house that is White. A call that we must answer. Please join these people" blah-blah-blah "as we heed the president's call to action this summer — United We Serve."

Then there was a reminder e-mail that went out. It said:

"With the knowledge that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things when given the proper tools, President Obama is asking us to come together and help lay a new foundation for growth, focusing on core areas of the recovery agenda — health care, energy and environment, safety and security, education and community renewal."

Quote five, "It is time for us as a group of artists, producers, promoters, organizers, influencers, marketers, tastemakers, leaders or just plain cool people, to join together and work together to promote a more civilly-engaged America and celebrate how the arts can be used for a positive change. No one knows our communities better than we do. No one can inspire as much as we can. We have a unique role to play in making service accessible and fun to those who are not accustomed to volunteering. We know that engaging all Americans in service means we must expand the idea of service."

Go to quote two on e-mail 2: "Already you are helping us to reframe the image of volunteerism."

Quote 3: "The United We Serve team, in collaboration with the White House Office of Public Engagement and the National Endowment for the Arts is hosting a conference call."

Well — let me give you — before I give you all of the audio and introduce you to the guy who was brave enough to not only tape it and then bring it here — there he is. Before I bring him on, let me give you a taste of what was said in this conversation.

Listen carefully [to] what was said by Yosi Sergant from the National Endowment for the Arts — your money. Please play "this is a brand-new conversation":

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

YOSI SERGANT, NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS: ... brand-new conversation. We are just now learning how to really bring this community together to speak with the government. What that looks like legally; we're still trying to figure out the laws of putting government Web sites on Facebook and the use of Twitter.

This is all being sorted out. We are participating in history as it's being made. So bear with us as we learn the language, so that we can speak to each other safely and we can really work together to move the needle and to get... to get stuff done.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BECK: Your tax dollars have funded artwork that you may or may have not seen yet. This has just happened, but already artwork is out. And they are learning the language so they can speak to each other "safely."

[Check out the entire transcript, especially the part where Beck interviews a film maker and community art consultant Pat Courrielche discuss the e-mails Courrielche received from the NEA.]

Whooooooaaaaahhhhh! With our press acting like Pravda and artists producing "art" to support Obamessiah, my old history lessons of fascist movements in Europe and scenes from Orwell's "1984" keep coming to the forefront of my brain.