A republic, madam–if you can keep it. – Benjamin Franklin

I’m all for civic spiritedness and I think there’s been a rather killjoy sourness from Right in the face of the spontaneous outbursts of public-mindedness by the supporters of Obama. A lot of it strikes me as, well, just the sort of thing you should expect and cultivate from young people who are awakening to the fact that it’s not all about them. Pledges to serve your fellow human beings are, on the whole, a positive step, albeit not the sum total of our social obligations as Catholics. But in the main, I think Christ smiles more readily on the soul that makes some clumsy attempt to step outside itself and do something for others than upon the one whose first reaction to “I pledge to serve others” is a snort of bitterness and cynical contempt.

That said, it must also be emphasized that the first virtue drunks require is to smell the coffee and get some prudence. So while I don’t begrudge the various dancing hairdos and celebritainment types their spasm of “Ask not what your country, can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country” enthusiasm. I also note that their devotion to the US looks pretty much like it is not informed by the concept that we are a nation of laws, but rather of personal fealty the Supreme Maximum Leader:

This is the sort of thing said by a people ripe for tyranny–a tired democracy temporarily high on the amphetamine of Obama’s personal charisma. It’s an enthusiasm carried along on gusts of emotion and a sense of personal loyalty to the Big Cheese. We’ve just seen how well that worked with the last Administration (whose head valued personal loyalty above numerous higher principles). We’ll see if Obama is as big a fool as his cultists or if his sober demeanor is (as I hope and pray) smart enough not to believe the hype. If he is that sober, it will be more than we deserve. If not, then pride goeth before a fall.

My personal favorite moment in the video? Well, gosh, it’s hard to pick. Ashton and Demi pledging to serve the Supreme Maximum Leader is good in a flesh-crawling sort of way, but I think I gotta go with Harvey Dent urging us to trust the State and make ourselves the serfs of the Dear Leader.