President Obama: “Thou Need Not Bow”

President Obama, “thou need not bow!”

On Saturday, President Obama bowed—at nearly a 90-degree angle—while shaking hands with Japanese Emperor Akihito.

While not violating any “official” protocol, the elected leader of the United States of America bowed to a foreign head-of-state.

Many have called the bow obsequious and an act of fealty.

One blogger said the act was “treasonous.” Another blogger asked, “How Low Will He Go?” And a third blogger exclaimed, “She’s barely 18!” (I got bored researching this story and click on an old bookmark).

Protocol dictates that leaders not bow to one another. Pamela Eyring, president of The Protocol School of Washington, says there are no written rules against bows, but they are not appropriate when national leaders meet.

“They’re peers,” explained Eyring. “Unfortunately, it isn’t correct for a chief of state to bow to another chief of state. It’s not appropriate. He should not be bowing to other chiefs of state.”

She went on to say that the Emperor and his wife seemed a “bit uncomfortable” by Obama’s bow (so did the Founding Fathers, Uncle Sam, and all the brave men and women who ever served in a branch of the U.S. armed forces).

“When you’re representing the United States of America, everything speaks … on behalf of our country,” noted Eyring. “It’s a visual. It shows more of a subservient look.”

There’s an old State Department saying that goes, “thou need not bow.” There’s also one about a “dead hooker” and a “live boy” but the exact wording eludes us.

Furthermore, even average Americans don’t have to bow to heads of state (average Americans only have to bow to Oprah).

Twenty years ago, Miss Manners wrote, “One does not bow or curtsy to a foreign monarch because the gesture symbolizes recognition of her power over her subjects.”

And Americans aren’t subjects.

Remember all the Americans that died and fought in world wars last century? Remember all the Americans fighting and dying in wars this century? They aren’t making the ultimate sacrifice so we can bow to foreigners. They are making the ultimate sacrifice so we’ll never have to bow to anyone.

This isn’t the first time Obama has dipped-at-the hip for a foreign leader. He bowed to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in April (the White House claimed it was not a bow but the President reacting to a bad burrito).

This time the White House isn’t even bothering with the spin. An official from the Obama administration explained that the bow was protocol and it “enhanced both the position and the status of the U.S. relative to Japan.”

Maybe it did. Maybe a bow is just a bow. Certainly a lot of Americans will see the President bending over as nothing more than culture sensitivity.

However, actions have meanings. And for some Americans, the President’s bow didn’t show respect to his Japanese hosts, but showed disrespect to his country and constituents.