Are we that ignorant?

It amazes me the lengths that people will go to discredit someone for no reason.

I have been trying to spread the word about Barack Obama's candidacy to everyone I meet. About one third of the people I talk to favor McCain. When this happens, I refer them to my initial blog post. I point out that he will essentially be a 3rd term for the Bush administration. I point out McCain's ridiculous thoughts about Iraq and his lack of judgment in making jokes about bombing countries. I will not harp on this, as I have already addressed it, other than to reaffirm my belief that we will quickly become the country that the world does not respect with him in office. George W. Bush has already set us up for failure, and McCain would ensure that we continue this reign of idiocy on the global stage.

That being said, I would like to talk about the other portion of the responses I get.


When I mention Obama, another third of the people raise their eyebrows and say, "I don't think so." I ask these people, "Why not?" Most will not reply at first. I then say "Is it because he's a democrat?" or "Is it because he is a liberal?" At this point people get this "I'm not saying anything out loud....wink wink" look about them. I can immediately sense that there are two motivators that the average white American will not admit to. Allow me to address these individually.

• Obama is not white.

Let me clarify that statement. Most would think that people's racial motivations would center on him being a black man. However, I met a woman who said "He just doesn't look American."

I am confused. First of all, the thought that in 2008, with our government constantly devaluing not only our dollar but our country's image in the world, we are really that concerned over what color skin our president has is absolute insanity. Additionally, there are a lot of people I see that don't look American. It is my understanding that to "look American" one must be a direct descendant of Native Americans. The last time I checked, we are ALL sons and daughters of immigrants. I can't remember ONE president who was 100% Native American blooded.

This leads me to believe that all of this rhetoric is simply just a mask for not wanting a man of color in the "White" House. I wonder if to some it is better to have a failing nation with a white president than to have a prosperous nation with a black president.

• Obama is a Muslim

I run into this ALL the time. I presume it starts with his unfamiliar name. Let me start by clarifying that his name is Kenyan, much like people from Louisiana can have French names, and people from Brooklyn can have Italian names.

The other source, which I will link to later, is a smear campaign that has been emailed, posted, and blogged to no end. There is a message out there that purports to be the whistle-blower on an Obama "scam." According to these people, Obama is a radical Muslim who wants to tear down the United States from within. It also makes preposterous claims that he will not swear on the Bible, and that his middle name is Mohammed.

Here is my problem. First of all, these are all lies meant to generate fear and hate in the hearts and minds of potential voters.

Secondly, why are we we inherently scared to elect a Muslim president? To equate a Muslim to a Jihadist is ludicrous. That's akin to labeling all Christians as militant domestic terrorists. After all, Timothy McVeigh was a Christian, so naturally all Christians want to blow up government buildings. Many of these same people had NO problem voting for Mitt Romney, who is a Mormon (a religion which until 1978 refused admittance to black priests).


In summation, I believe the mass misinformation to be the work of people who cannot embrace change. To spread rumors and slander about a candidate is nothing new, but these smear campaigns seem only to be a technique to encourage racism and discrimination amongst people who would otherwise embrace him for his policy innovations and fair politics. It is sad to me that in America, we have a much easier time embracing ignorance than we do positive change.

Here are the links to the numerous websites debunking these hoax emails:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_barack_obama_muslim.htm

Again, if you like this article, Digg It!!