One thing that I find remarkable that goes unsaid in this campaign revolves around the use of Barack Hussein Obama’s middle name. The lengths that Barack Obama has had to go to in order to convince America that he is not Muslim is astounding. At every turn, he has to combat this rumor. Where are the journalists asking people like Bill Cunnigham why it would matter if he was Muslim?
The thing that really did it for me and made me write this was yet another Ap article. The title of this article is Obama fights false links to Islam. Now, the article does a reasonable job of outlining Obama’s struggle against the untruths and is not written by Nedra Pickler. However, i just dont like the thought that underpins the article namely that being a Muslim would be a problem.
For Barack Obama, it is an ember that he has doused time and again, only to see it flicker anew: links to Islam fanned by false rumors, innuendo and association. Obama and his campaign reacted strongly this week when a photo of him in Kenyan tribal garb began spreading on the Internet.
It’s a sad statement about America that we associate every member of Islam with terrorists. The idea that being Muslim is something people need to fight or dispel is one thing that should bring unequivocal shame to any true Americans. The lapel pin patriots like Bill Cunningham who perpetrate these attacks need to be more than reprimanded and have their comments played across the national media with a slightly disapproving tone. What if Barack Obama was a Muslim, Bill? Does that disqualify him from holding office? What if he was sworn in on a Quran? Does that make him un-American? Last time I checked the First Amendment to the Constitution guaranteed the right for people to practice their religion.
"If anyone is still puzzled about the facts, in fact I have never been a Muslim," he told the Jewish leaders in Cleveland, according to a transcript of the private session.
No one should ever have to make a statement like that. A person’s religion is their business. There is no end to the fuss made over the fictional "War on Christmas" by those "culture warriors" fighting for the rights of Christians everywhere. Yes, the Christians are the persecuted ones in their minds. How dare someone have the audacity to assert that his or her religion or beliefs deserve equal recognition? Those people cannot imagine a world where they might be subjugated to the beliefs of others, and they act accordingly. To those people i ask what if Barack Obama was a Muslim?
"My grandfather, who was Kenyan, converted to Christianity, then converted to Islam," Obama said Sunday. "My father never practiced; he was basically agnostic. So, other than my name and the fact that I lived in a populous Muslim country for four years when I was a child, I have very little connection to the Islamic religion."
People take this as a good thing. It makes them feel better. It should not. It should not matter.
I watched two nights ago a special on Abc, Primetime: What would you do? The segments were about what ordinary Americans would do in certain situations. In the one segment, a shopkeeper (an actor) refused to serve a girl wearing Muslim headscarf (also an actor). He mocked her and called her a terrorist, insulted her, told her she was not an American. Many of you may have seen it and you probably had the same reaction I did. How can people simply stand there while some one does that? I wish i could have ripped into that guy. People who stood up to the shopkeeper were by far the minority and some even supported him. Displays like that just illustrate the need for people to stand up to the bigots like Bill Cunningham and his ilk. Leaving the hate unchecked only emboldens it.
The pathetic state of our media and journalists continues to allow the prejudice and bigotry a place in the public discourse. The lapel pin patriots who use Barack Obama’s middle name as a pejorative need to be labeled as they are, bigots. They make America less than the nation of freedom and liberty we aspire to. The xenophobic bigots are an embarrassment to the country they claim to love. What if Barack Obama was a Muslim?
It would not affect my decision. In fact, it would only make America a greater nation if we could be open minded enough to escape those prejudices to elect a person from the same background whose extremes we fight. The men who planned and ordered the 9/11 attacks need to be brought to justice. That gives us no excuse for scapegoating the innocent. I am so tired of seeing this stuff get a pass or only mild disapproval. Sadly, too many people are stuck in the gutter. Notice that the story of Cunninghams comments became whether John McCains repudiation would hurt him with the right. Maybe the journalists should have explored why the repudiation of bigotry and lies would hurt anybody. Bill Cunningham has a right to voice his opinion but it does not mean that it should be unchallenged.
I hope that if any Kossack has the opportunity to stand up against this type of discrimination they take it.