Somewhere along the line, I was added to an email list of friends and associates. We're all familiar with these kinds of lists. You know, those emails that forward along jokes and funny pictures. Some are great and very funny, more often than not, you read and delete, read and delete.
Well, about three months ago, the daily "locker room humor" of the content of the emails began to make a sharp right turn to engaging in "political humor". And I do mean a "right" turn. Most of it devoid of any humor whatsoever. Certainly, all the original "fun" was gone as the emails became more rabidly attack like in spewing forth lies about John Kerry, John Edwards, and their families in a seemingly never ending "Brush Lintball" mentality.
Yesterday, after receiving this relatively mild email purporting to contain the "true story" of why there is no flu vaccine,
because In the late 80's a man from North Carolina who had received the vaccine got the flu. The strain he caught was one of the strains in that years vaccine made by a US company. What did he do? He sued and he won. He was awarded almost $5 million! After that case was appealed and lost, most US pharmaceutical companies stopped making the vaccine. The liability out weighed the profit margin. Since UK and Canadian laws prohibit such frivolous law suits UK and Canadian companies began selling the vaccine in the US.
By the way...the lawyer that represented the man in the flu shot law suit was a young ambulance chaser by the name of John Edwards.
for some reason I just bristled. You know, one of those, "I'm not gonna take this crap anymore" moments.
In the heat of that moment, I hit "reply all" and typed this out and then punched send without even taking time to edit.
Dear Friends,
I'm an American, a conservative, and a Republican. I've voted for the Republican candidate in every Presidential election since Nixon in 1972.
This year I am joining many, many truly conservative Republicans to vote for John Kerry.
Why? Because I care a lot more about my country and its future than I do about any political party.
I won't go into all the arguments for my vote in this email, suffice it to say that in a democracy it is up to each of you to become truly informed and make your own decision about your vote. The truth is readily available to each of you should you make the effort to cut through the television news and the spin of Right Wing pundits like Limbaugh, Hannity, Scarborough, Buchanan and untruthful emails such as this one about the flu, along with the many others that seem to keep getting mindlessly forwarded along to this list.
Come on folks, do you really believe the claim here that, "the lawyer that represented the man in the flu shot law suit was a young ambulance chaser by the name of John Edwards"? Two minutes on the "internets" and you can dismiss it for yourself as a lie. Why even do that? If this were true, don't you think the GOP campaign would have trumpeted it for all to hear? I mean if this were true, wouldn't that be devastating to the Kerry Edwards campaign? Come on, think guys! If you take the time to actually research so many of the completely misleading claims about "Kerry Voting against Intelligence", "Kerry Voting against Weapons Systems", "Kerry Voting to raise Taxes", and the ultimate one of tearing down a Veteran who served with honor on the front lines in wartime (how American is that?), you'll find that the one fact you can count on is that you're being lied to.
My question to each of you is why?
I'm not trying to convince anybody of anything with this email. Just putting forth my point of view to those I'm glad to call my friends.
Realize, I'm no "lefty" and don't think I would honestly be categorized as a "Liberal". Whatever the outcome of this election, I will continue to support and work for our Great Country.
But, I have to tell you that there's a change Blowing in the Wind and just because you may not have felt it yet doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.
I'm not sure it has a name, but I like to think of it as the return of Truth, Justice, and the American way.
Dave
PS: I guess I'm off the email list for "Political emails" from here on out. Put me back on the list when you get back to real jokes and funny pictures.
Whoops! Do you think I'm going to be taken off some Christmas card lists this year?
Have you sent this type of email to friends and or family too? What did you say?