It just occurred to me that the SOTU tends to be GNOSTIC in it’s nationalism.  It’s the fashion to feature “highlighted” individual stories in the State of the Union.  But when it comes to movements,  FIRE! BAD!   No mention of what the obvious popular movement that has brought the very issues and themes upon which that Obama executed his oratory.  While individual stories are safe politcal fodder,  the real battle is one that I found the speech to be timidly avoiding mentioning: OCCUPY WALL STREET!   It almost came off as plagiarism. Taking the oratory and the message but not providing attribution.  The article here  , amazingly,  doesn’t even seem to notice that he never mentions them.  And the OWS message that was printed here?  I can’t help but suspect that this was redacted from the article;  that the actual message included a question as to why the movement was not mentioned by name.

One could argue that this OWS group was so delighted to hear its themes being affirmed,  it didn’t notice.  But I did.  At the end,  I was feeling all the way through that the speech was a good one and displayed a real refocus on the 99%,  but then when it ended I realized the movement had never been recognized.

Thanks for the paring down of the message into the “individual story” over the community story.  It’s a problem to which  we in the church should be well accustomed.

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