Pledging allegiance

When I first encountered the following video on Rod Dreher's Crunchy Con blog, two things struck me. The second and less significant one first: (2) I didn't recognize a single one of these "instantly recognizable faces" until I read this article in TIME: Celebs Pledge Allegiance. I know, of course, that I'm not exactly immersed in popular culture, but I hadn't expected to learn that I am that out of touch. Oh, well.



Now back to the first: (1) The iconography of this video seems eerily reminiscent of the sorts of posters associated with the cult of personality in more than one mid-20th-century state. Furthermore, hearing people pledge their allegiance to one man, however well intended they and he may be, I cannot help but find a little chilling.

Oh, and my pledge? To keep tabs on this unsettling phenomenon and to alert others if it threatens to get out of hand.