Newsweek magazine is well known for its' support of President Obama.
But a recent cover headline declares "God of All Things", superimposed on an image of the President with seven arms balancing on one leg. In each hand, he carries a different policy issue.
The magazine is subtitled, "Why the Modern Presidency May be too Much for One Person to Handle."
The image is reminiscent of depictions of the Hindu deity, Shiva.
Shiva is known as the destroyer of the world in the Hindu religion.
But the depiction has upset some in the Hindu community.
Fox News reports:
Rajan Zed, president of the Universal Society of Hinduism in Nevada, told the English-language Sify News in India that Nataraja is highly revered and meant to be worshipped, not indecorously thrown around. Zed, who is known for his work on interfaith dialogue, said it is not OK to use Hindu concepts and symbols for profit or self-serving purposes.
The accompanying article is intended to show the job of President is so daunting, it is difficult for one man to do alone, but how that translates to "god of all things" is puzzling. Perhaps Newsweek is hinting at the 'need' for an even larger, more intrusive and tyrannical government. Remember, this is the magazine that declared, "We are all socialists now".
American Presidents are generally not depicted as deities, but history shows that dictators like Julius Caesar often required their subjects to worship them as a god.
But a search of the President with a halo on Google images produced over 750,000 results, with various images and photographs of the President or First Lady with a halo - clearly an attempt to give the man a godlike persona. Many of the pictures are parodies meant to poke fun at the medias' worship of the President, while some are meant as an outright protest. But many were produced by professional photographers to be used by so-called mainstream news organizations or campaign events.
If there was ever any doubt that many in the press view the President as someone to be worshipped, this cover will remove that doubt.
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