Stressing that Obama was a lifelong Christian, Powell denounced Republican tactics that he said were insulting not only to to Obama but also to Muslims.... "The really right answer is what if he is?" Powell said, praising the contributions of millions of Muslim citizens to American society.
One of the most truly disturbing aspects of this Presidential campaign for me has been the rampant smearing of Barack Obama for allegedly being a Muslim and, by extension, an America-hating Manchurian candidate who would work to destroy the country we love. Though an open and committed Christian and a longtime member of a Christian Church in Chicago, far too many ignorant Republicans still believe that the Demorcratic Senator from Illinois is a practicing Muslim and, even worse, an America-hating terrorist.
This foul and beyond-offensive belief would barely dignify a response, except that the Republican ticket has done virtually nothing to disabuse their supporters of their ignorance. The sad reality is the John McCain and Sarah Palin seem perfectly happy with the idea that a significant portion of their supporters hate Barack Obama for being an America-hating Muslim terrorist who would turn America over to those who've sworn to destroy us.
What most of these fools refuse to recognize is that being a "Muslim" and being a "terrorist" do not by definition go hand-in-glove. But what IF Obama was a practicing Muslim? How is that even relevant to his qualifications to be President? Since when does the mere fact of being a follower of Islam mean that an individual is an America-hating terrorist bent on destroying Our Way of Life ©. Upon becoming a US Senator, Obama took an oath to defend and uphold the Constitution, and his record in the Senate certainly has done nothing to diminish his obvious love of country and commitment to it. His religious affiliation- or lack thereof- really is neither here nor there, indicative of absolutely nothing relating to his worthiness to occupy the highest office in the land. Yet thousands are willing to impugn Obama's reputation, his faith, and his love of country...all based on lies, propaganda, and outright ignorance. Compounding this is the Republican ticket's willingness to exploit this willful ignorance for their own political aggrandizement.
Being a Muslim is no more an indictment of one's qualifications or "American-ness" than being a Republican. Until more Americans stand up and scream, "ENOUGH!", this sort of ignorance will continue to run rampant as the stupid and brain-dead among us continue to drive the political dialogue. Good and decent Americans need to stand up and defend people of faith- whatever that faith may be. Islam and terrorism are not ipso facto different sides of the same coin. Might I remind you that one of the most despicable American terrorists was Timothy McVeigh- a White Christian? And yet somehow this fact seems to be conveniently ignored by those who true purpose is to smear Barack Obama.
And here's another thought that seems not to have occurred to anyone: this country was founded by those who fled religious oppression in England. Now there are those who are perfectly comfortable with enforcing Christianity as the official state religion. It's true; those who do not know history really ARE condemned to repeat it.
WE DESERVE BETTER. And John McCain and Sarah Palin deserve to thoroughly crushed and embarrassed. We can only hope....
