It’s about time I start being real with myself: as much as I’d like to believe this country has learned from its 8-year mistake of Bush and 400-year mistake of racism, the truth is, unfortunately, they both still very much exist (if I had to choose one to disappear completely, it would be a tough choice).
What brought me to this devastating realization was not the assassination plans nor the Bible-huggers on tv nor even the bigots I encounter daily living in the South. No, those things never surprise me. The thing that caught me off guard, sadly, was the blatant discrimination that exists so very close to home—in my own family.
This might come as a surprise to you, especially given all my talk of black pride and black power lately. But there are members of my family that are perfectly willing and able to discriminate and stereotype against black people (aside from the fact that black people discriminate against other blacks all the time)… and unfortunately, as much as I or my mother would like to deny it… they do.
That’s not to say they all do. Perhaps not even most. But for those (family and non-family members alike) who are able to hide behind some other rationale for not voting for, if not flat out hating Barack Obama, let me clear some things up so that you can come out of the closet already.
1. Barack Obama is NOT a Muslim. In fact, like most of you, he is indeed a Christian. He was born to a Muslim (not-present) father and a non-religious mother. He chose Christianity. He wasn’t just born into it, barely practicing or believing it for himself. He grew up knowing many different beliefs, and in his twenties, he made the choice to become Christian. That speaks volumes about his beliefs. And furthermore, even if he were Muslim, why is it that important? To hate someone based on their religious beliefs… well that’s not very Christian at all, now is it?
2. Barack Obama is NOT the anti-Christ. And furthermore, that’s one of the silliest things I’ve ever heard. Here you have someone talking about hope, faith, and love… those three things the Christ himself spoke of. Here you have someone who wants to use his position to help the poor, to bring healthcare and jobs to the masses, to bring our great country out of this spiritual and economical turmoil we have undergone due to the past 8 years of bad leadership. To say he is the opposite of Christ is blasphemy itself. Come up with something better.
3. Barack Obama is NOT JUST BLACK. For goodness sake, his mother is white. The woman who raised him, taught him everything, and brought him up most likely to know little about his African heritage since his Dad was not in the picture. He’s no more black than he is white. Why is it that everyone only sees half of the picture? Open your eyes.
4. Barack Obama DOES NOT have significantly different platforms than most other Democrats. If anything, his are better. He wants affordable healthcare, lower taxes for the poor, creation of jobs for Americans in America, immigration reform, women’s rights, gay rights, and less breaks for the wealthy and big corporations. You know; the stuff that like 80% of our country needs. So if you supported either of the Clintons or Kerry or Gore, but don’t support Obama, you might want to ask yourself, honestly, why. Because it can’t be because of his politics.
5. Barack Obama is NOT off killing babies or marrying gay people. Unfortunately, in this country, you’re either for something or against it. Gay people should have rights. Point blank. If you don’t agree with the lifestyle, or if you think it’s an abomination, that’s your opinion. But if you’re going to vote based on this issue that has nothing to do with you and has NEVER hurt anyone, go ahead. It worked really well for us these past two elections. Why not a third? Mind you, abortion is wrong. Straight up. It’s murder. But giving women the right to choose is no different than giving killers access to guns under the second amendment. You’re not telling them to kill… they still have to make the choice to do so and deal with the consequences, be it in heaven or on earth. But you are giving them the choice, say, to be prepared under extenuating circumstances. We can’t help those who go a whole other route with it. People are going to find other ways to kill each other, just like women will find other ways to abort (hangers, for instance, are amazing alternatives).
6. Barack Obama is NOT the answer to all our problems. Not even close. Chances are, he’ll get in the white house and be dodging bullets the whole time. But the way he has motivated the young people in this country to get out and make changes… the way he has brought our country together despite our differences, and the way he inspires hope in a nation that has lost its faith… is the miracle in itself. We believe in democracy again. We believe in the power of hope and change. We believe in America… for the first time in a long time. And it didn’t take a national tragedy to do it. If he isn’t elected… it will do more damage to our nation than perhaps even a terrorist attack. Because it will cripple us at our weakest point. We may never believe again.
7. Barack Obama is NOT against the troops. Like most of us, however, he is against the war. Want to talk about murdering babies? How about all the children that have died as a result of this war on oil? Nothing good has come out of our presence in Iraq; we have wasted too many lives for nothing. Gas prices have tripled since Bush came to office, and here we are talking about gay marriage. Wake up. McCain wants to keep sending more troops to Iraq, when even Bush’s dumb ass finally got the picture and admitted we need to pull out. I think we can all agree that we should support our troops; we should support them by bringing them home.
8. Barack Obama has NOT been wishy-washy with his politics. McCain, on the other hand… wow. McCain went from being one of the most liberal Republicans in the Senate to now being a staunch conservative prick. I supported McCain in the past two elections back when he was real. He literally did a complete 180 for this election so he could get the Republicans back who hated him before. And for those who didn’t know anything about his politics before—well, that’s our collective amnesia working to benefit those in power once again.
9. Barack Obama is NOT perfect. Not by any means. He’s going to make mistakes just like any other President. He has less experience than other people, but we can all attest to the fact that quantity does not always mean quality. He will never live up to the expectations some people have for him. And like all Presidents, he will not be able to execute some, if not many of his promises. But one thing that will remain true is that he will not stop fighting for the common man. He will not take corporate bribes to support his own personal interest. He knows what it is to be a working class person in this country, and he has not forgotten from whence he came.
10. NOT VOTING AT ALL IS NOT BETTER THAN VOTING FOR OBAMA. And I wonder about the intelligence levels of individuals who seem to think so. By not voting, you are giving the power back to the politicians, and revoking it from yourself. You are surrendering your very existence in this country. You forfeit your ability to protest, be angered, or complain about anything that goes on over the next four years. Because if you do not vote, you did nothing to attempt to change your present situation. “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” -Martin Luther King. If you know the right thing to do and you don’t do it, you’re worst than those who do wrong, because they don’t know any better and you do.
The bottom line is this country is in despair. We are desperate for something new, something better. And the power is now in our hands. It’s time we put aside all our prejudices, our differences, and our fears, and start replacing them with love, tolerance, and understanding. It’s not enough just to say we don’t discriminate. It’s time we act upon it. And it’s not enough just to say we’re tired of our present situation. It’s time we change it.
What brought me to this devastating realization was not the assassination plans nor the Bible-huggers on tv nor even the bigots I encounter daily living in the South. No, those things never surprise me. The thing that caught me off guard, sadly, was the blatant discrimination that exists so very close to home—in my own family.
This might come as a surprise to you, especially given all my talk of black pride and black power lately. But there are members of my family that are perfectly willing and able to discriminate and stereotype against black people (aside from the fact that black people discriminate against other blacks all the time)… and unfortunately, as much as I or my mother would like to deny it… they do.
That’s not to say they all do. Perhaps not even most. But for those (family and non-family members alike) who are able to hide behind some other rationale for not voting for, if not flat out hating Barack Obama, let me clear some things up so that you can come out of the closet already.
1. Barack Obama is NOT a Muslim. In fact, like most of you, he is indeed a Christian. He was born to a Muslim (not-present) father and a non-religious mother. He chose Christianity. He wasn’t just born into it, barely practicing or believing it for himself. He grew up knowing many different beliefs, and in his twenties, he made the choice to become Christian. That speaks volumes about his beliefs. And furthermore, even if he were Muslim, why is it that important? To hate someone based on their religious beliefs… well that’s not very Christian at all, now is it?
2. Barack Obama is NOT the anti-Christ. And furthermore, that’s one of the silliest things I’ve ever heard. Here you have someone talking about hope, faith, and love… those three things the Christ himself spoke of. Here you have someone who wants to use his position to help the poor, to bring healthcare and jobs to the masses, to bring our great country out of this spiritual and economical turmoil we have undergone due to the past 8 years of bad leadership. To say he is the opposite of Christ is blasphemy itself. Come up with something better.
3. Barack Obama is NOT JUST BLACK. For goodness sake, his mother is white. The woman who raised him, taught him everything, and brought him up most likely to know little about his African heritage since his Dad was not in the picture. He’s no more black than he is white. Why is it that everyone only sees half of the picture? Open your eyes.
4. Barack Obama DOES NOT have significantly different platforms than most other Democrats. If anything, his are better. He wants affordable healthcare, lower taxes for the poor, creation of jobs for Americans in America, immigration reform, women’s rights, gay rights, and less breaks for the wealthy and big corporations. You know; the stuff that like 80% of our country needs. So if you supported either of the Clintons or Kerry or Gore, but don’t support Obama, you might want to ask yourself, honestly, why. Because it can’t be because of his politics.
5. Barack Obama is NOT off killing babies or marrying gay people. Unfortunately, in this country, you’re either for something or against it. Gay people should have rights. Point blank. If you don’t agree with the lifestyle, or if you think it’s an abomination, that’s your opinion. But if you’re going to vote based on this issue that has nothing to do with you and has NEVER hurt anyone, go ahead. It worked really well for us these past two elections. Why not a third? Mind you, abortion is wrong. Straight up. It’s murder. But giving women the right to choose is no different than giving killers access to guns under the second amendment. You’re not telling them to kill… they still have to make the choice to do so and deal with the consequences, be it in heaven or on earth. But you are giving them the choice, say, to be prepared under extenuating circumstances. We can’t help those who go a whole other route with it. People are going to find other ways to kill each other, just like women will find other ways to abort (hangers, for instance, are amazing alternatives).
6. Barack Obama is NOT the answer to all our problems. Not even close. Chances are, he’ll get in the white house and be dodging bullets the whole time. But the way he has motivated the young people in this country to get out and make changes… the way he has brought our country together despite our differences, and the way he inspires hope in a nation that has lost its faith… is the miracle in itself. We believe in democracy again. We believe in the power of hope and change. We believe in America… for the first time in a long time. And it didn’t take a national tragedy to do it. If he isn’t elected… it will do more damage to our nation than perhaps even a terrorist attack. Because it will cripple us at our weakest point. We may never believe again.
7. Barack Obama is NOT against the troops. Like most of us, however, he is against the war. Want to talk about murdering babies? How about all the children that have died as a result of this war on oil? Nothing good has come out of our presence in Iraq; we have wasted too many lives for nothing. Gas prices have tripled since Bush came to office, and here we are talking about gay marriage. Wake up. McCain wants to keep sending more troops to Iraq, when even Bush’s dumb ass finally got the picture and admitted we need to pull out. I think we can all agree that we should support our troops; we should support them by bringing them home.
8. Barack Obama has NOT been wishy-washy with his politics. McCain, on the other hand… wow. McCain went from being one of the most liberal Republicans in the Senate to now being a staunch conservative prick. I supported McCain in the past two elections back when he was real. He literally did a complete 180 for this election so he could get the Republicans back who hated him before. And for those who didn’t know anything about his politics before—well, that’s our collective amnesia working to benefit those in power once again.
9. Barack Obama is NOT perfect. Not by any means. He’s going to make mistakes just like any other President. He has less experience than other people, but we can all attest to the fact that quantity does not always mean quality. He will never live up to the expectations some people have for him. And like all Presidents, he will not be able to execute some, if not many of his promises. But one thing that will remain true is that he will not stop fighting for the common man. He will not take corporate bribes to support his own personal interest. He knows what it is to be a working class person in this country, and he has not forgotten from whence he came.
10. NOT VOTING AT ALL IS NOT BETTER THAN VOTING FOR OBAMA. And I wonder about the intelligence levels of individuals who seem to think so. By not voting, you are giving the power back to the politicians, and revoking it from yourself. You are surrendering your very existence in this country. You forfeit your ability to protest, be angered, or complain about anything that goes on over the next four years. Because if you do not vote, you did nothing to attempt to change your present situation. “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” -Martin Luther King. If you know the right thing to do and you don’t do it, you’re worst than those who do wrong, because they don’t know any better and you do.
The bottom line is this country is in despair. We are desperate for something new, something better. And the power is now in our hands. It’s time we put aside all our prejudices, our differences, and our fears, and start replacing them with love, tolerance, and understanding. It’s not enough just to say we don’t discriminate. It’s time we act upon it. And it’s not enough just to say we’re tired of our present situation. It’s time we change it.
You make the call.
