Politicians in Paris do photo op rather than participate in demonstration

Why I pay very little attention to demonstrations: A wide shot of the big name politicians at Sunday’s Paris demonstration against Islamic terrorism shows that none of them were really at the demonstration.

Instead, the politicians were gathered together on a separate street, guarded by security, so that they could link arms just for a photo op. The march itself was elsewhere. I also suspect that they all just gathered very quickly to take the picture than scattered their own separate ways immediately afterwards.

This is why I don’t really care that Obama nor anyone important in his administration showed up. Maybe they should have, and in fact maybe it is another sign of Obama’s incompetence that he did not make sure there was an important U.S. presence there, but who really cares? This is just for show.

What would really mean something to me is if these political leaders actually used this meeting to organize some concrete action to deal with Islamic terrorism. Did they? I think not. As far as I can tell they have made no plans to do anything about it, other than maybe increase security in their own nations, which is merely another way of restricting the freedoms of their own citizens.

Hardly what I would call fighting back against tyranny, terrorism, and oppression.

Photo Op meets red tape. Red tape wins.

Photo Op meets red tape. Red tape wins.

I find quite disturbing how people still have faith in the empty promises made by politicians at a disaster scene. The politician is there for only one reason: to look good for the cameras. Rarely if ever does that appearance mean a damn thing. If anything, it will only hinder relief efforts, as local authorities have to scramble to deal with the politician’s entourage rather than deal with disaster victims and their problems.

I actually have far more respect for politicians who stay away during these times of crisis, rare as they are. They show common sense and good judgment.