Here is the background on this post - My friend Kymberli expressed that she may have been undecided about the 2008 election but she wanted to hear from Obama supporters because she received some forwards from McCain supporters about Obama not providing his proof of citizenship and that he is involved with terrorists, etc... I admire her for seeking out info from the other side and I do love hearing the sound of my own voice (even in my head while typing). It's hard for me to stiffle myself when NOT asked for my opinion... impossible to do so when asked for it. I typed this great, long post but I waited to long to click the send button and I was logged out of MySpace or the page timed out or something and it got deleted. I was so sad that my type-written passion was flushed but I sucked it up and instead I reponded to other posts.
Here is one post from my friend's page - someone responding to the Obama supporters:
____________________________________
the second comment, with reference to factcheck [about Obama's birth certificate being falsified] ......ummmm, that was addressed in the video and shown to be pretty sketchy. The day he releases his documents is the day I will believe he is not a total fraud. Not so tough? right? I will agree that I am not fully right or fully left winged, but the fact that Obama could win this election is terrifying to me and I think that too many people are willing to passively overlook his corruption and shady past just because of his "campaign promises." Now lets be honest.......people talk a big game to get elected, and how many of them bring the change they promise......VERY FEW IF ANY!
Any if we are really honest and look back in history, we will see very clearly that Bush is not completely to blame for America's troubles. It started back with Carter and each President since has had various issues. But to say that everything is Bush's fault, is ignorant and naive.
Posted by Mary on Oct 22, 2008 10:09 PM
_____________________________________
My response (I changed her name just in case):
_____________________________________
Hi Mary... you make an excellent point about "campaign promises" and both sides do this to us. We can't let tactics sway us! I also must admit that is ignorant to blame everything on Bush but I am pretty confident using the word "mostly" when it comes to blaming him. After all, the president does choose his cabinet... the secretary of education, defense, treasury, housing, energy, etc. An intelligent choice is crucial for those positions and many problems could have been prevented during his administration if he had made better decisions.
Here is where you lose me, though (and I'm sure many other Obama supporters as well) - in using words like "corruption" and "shady past." Are you referring to some contributors to his campaign? Are you referring to some people he has worked with? If so, is it really fair to judge him based on that? If so, we would have to use that criteria against EVERY politician... but we don't because it's just not right. Aren't there people you know who have done bad things? Would you want to be judged for that? Maybe you are referring directly to Obama's actions, so which ones? I just don't see how someone can be viewed as potentially sinister who has spent his life doing good. He has been a director for organizations that improved poverty & education, created tenants rights organizations, college-prep courses for at-risk youth & job training programs in neighborhoods that had no resources before. Not to mention he used his law degree to defend civil rights and even taught constitutional law... so he clearly has an exceptional grasp of the basis of our entire government.Do we really think these are the actions of a sinister man? Does he have some grand plan? Is this how a liar or potential terrorist behaves? Wouldn't he stay unnoticed if he had some shady scheme so he could carry it out without being caught?
When it comes to debunking rumors about things like his birth certificate, I would check www. snopes. com for that. They provide the source of the rumor and explain exactly why it isn't true. In Obama's case, I think it started because the seal wasn't completely visible on the copy posted online. The "big picture" issue with this (and the reason why it is in fact so tough to respond to) is that our world history and especially US History shows a trend here as to why Obama is being targeted like this. It's not because he is black, it's because of his name. Obama knows how Jews have always been treated because of last names, how we treated people with Japanese names during WWII and how we treat Muslim names today and he cannot show any respect to this way of thinking by giving in to it. www. politifact. com puts it best:
"And you can't help but ask: How do you prove something to people who come to the facts believing, out of fear or hatred or maybe just partisanship, that they're being tricked?
... I don't think there is an answer to that question. He can't exactly go door to door and show everyone his birth certificate. Even if he did, there are those that would say, "Well, that's fake." How far do we take this until we are satisfied?
Mary, I am 100% certain that your concerns come from a genuine place in your heart and in your mind but please, I beg you to consider that our ideas & opinions are not formed in a vaccum. They are shaped by the world around us, our friends, the media, our parents beliefs, etc. These political campaigns (on both sides) use vague, subjective and manipulative terminology like "corruption" to guide us toward particular conclusions. I implore you to take information from both sides, educate yourself from different sources and try not to listen to wannabe facts based on assumptions or fears. Many people may disagree with Obama's viewpoints but the idea that this man is anything but decent and genuine deserves a 2nd thought... and a 3rd and a 4th!
I'll end this with direct quotes FROM McCain ABOUT Obama at his rallies:
"I have to tell you, he is a decent person, and a person that you do not have to be scared as President of the United States"
"He's a decent family man...[a] citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues. That's what this campaign is all about."
Posted by Christina on Oct 24, 2008 8:00 PM
_____________________________________
I am sure many of these concerns are still relevent... scary, but true!
No comments:
Post a Comment