Isn't it amusing to watch people who have called Obama-supporters 'worshippers'

[HardTimes99]

158. Thanks. Without throwing your thread completely off its tracks, maybe

it comes down to differing definitions of the word 'hero'.

Without getting too deep into the nitty-gritty of my disillusionment with Obama, I would simply say that in 2007-08 I was one of those 'admirers' of him too, drawn to him by his opposition to the Iraq War at a time when opposing it publicly carried some real political risks (and contrasted with Hilary's repeated votes for the AUMF and subsequent unwillingness to show much remorse for her poor decisions). Then, too, the poet in me saw that there was something deeply fitting in electing a President like Obama to set the scales of history aright after the utter depredations of the Bush Junta.

So what is a hero? To me, a hero is one who sacrifices him- or herself for a higher cause. So, you could rightly say, I viewed Obama's opposition to the Iraq War as 'heroic,' in that at the time he uttered it, he risked sacrificing himself to stand against the tide of seeming popular support for the war. Flash forward to 2009-10 and Obama's efforts to close Guantanamo. Congress refuses, in a bi-partisan display of cravenness, to appropriate funds for the closure, effectively tying Obama's hands. Constitutionally, there was little Obama could do, since Congress used its power of the purse to check the Executive Branch.

So I ask you, in those circumstances, what would or should a 'hero' do at that point? Maybe the fault was and is mine for expecting Obama to act heroically. But all I know is that his opposition to the Iraq War back in 2002-03 led me to expect that he would do so.

As for Mr. Snowden, whatever one may think of his background, pedigree or politics, there should be little disagreement that he has thrown away something of substantial value in pursuit of what he perceived to be a higher cause. Now you may take issue with whether Snowden's perceptions were correct. But I don't think you can question that he has sacrificed a great deal.

My thoughts on this are seemingly constantly evolving and this is as close as I can get currently to where my current feelings stand.