Continuing the Obama Question

Since I wrote my last post regarding Obama, I received a good deal of angry email, even a voicemail or two that were not so pleasent. Let me be clear: it was not my purpose to offend anyone, especially my family, especially my mother. If someone takes this as offense, I will stand by it was because choices were made and votes were cast without researching the issues for yourself. We live in a dangerous time. By dangerous, I mean that we live in a time when people en masse will make important decisions based off of billboards, tv advertisements, quotes taken out of context, and forwarded emails that have been re-written or downright faked.

The benefit is, however, that we now live in a generation and a time when it is incredibly easy to fact-proof. CNN does an incredible job of this, but again, I don’t like to rely on what other people say. I like to rely on what is actually proven. Unfortunately, many people don’t take the time to do this, resulting in some unfortunate consequences. While Obama did win the vote, a local example was the passing of Proposition 102. Advertisements were made by the “Yes on Prop 102″ people that claimed the proposition was to “protect marriage” and “protect children.” Well, on the surface, fuck yeah! I’d deffinitly vote to protect marriage and children! Who wouldn’t! When in reality, marriage and children were never in danger. What was at stake was an issue of equality for the tens of thousands of homosexuals who ALSO pay taxes and contribute to society. The prop was really to amend the Arizona State Constitution to define marriage as “one man one woman,” in essence – making it unconstitutional for committed and in-love gay and lesbian couples to marry. I truly think Prop 102 would NOT have passed if the signs had said, “Keep gays from marrying!” and “Keep gays from adopting!” People are all for protection, but not for denying rights. In that regard, Arizona, California, and Florida took HUGE steps backward last Tuesday.

However, the issue at hand for discussion is Obama. I received even more email forwards from friends and relatives (not my mother) that made claims against Obama and tried to further solidify his stature as “anti-Christ.”

One example was an email claiming that Obama was dangerous because we are “not a Christian nation, we are now a nation of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists…” The email went on to claim that our forefathers had fought to make America a “Christian nation” and Obama is seeking to destroy this. A couple things wrong with this:

1) The email, as is easy to do, left out a very important word from Obama’s speech, and thereby changed the meaning. The word was “just.” Obama said that America is no longer “just” a Christian nation, but also a nation of Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, et cetera.

2) Obama is right. We are not “just” a Christian nation – nor have we ever been. Is everyone in America a Christian? No. Should everyone be held under Christian rules and religious goverance of our country? No. We have people of all faiths in America. It’s about time a president recognized that.

3) Christians fought and died for this nation in wars ranging from the American Revolution to the current struggle in the Middle East. Is this not their nation to? I hope it is. Otherwise “fighting for freedom” has been pretty hypocriticl.

4) Our forefathers did NOT fight to “make America a Christian nation.” If you don’t recall sixth grade history, our forefathers fought to gain freedom from religious oppression in England. Separation of church and state were made VERY clear in the Constitution. In addition, freedom of religion was made VERY clear in the Constitution. If people think otherwise, I’d challenge them on rather or not they were “real Americans” when their values are held up to the actual Constituion…not just the modern Toby Keith-style interpretation of it.

The second issue was an email saying that Obama was not a real patriot because “he removed the American flag from his airplane.”

Is this true? Kind of, yes. But take the following in context:

1) The plane that had the flag on its tail was never Obama’s own plane to begin with. It was a chartered airplane from North American Airlines. All North American Airlines planes have a flag on their tail.

2) Obama’s own plane received a custom-designed. It did not include the flag on the tail. But this was now his plane, not North American Airline’s plane. The new tail featured a red, white and blue “O” symbol. However, an American flag was painted on both sides of the plane, in the center.

3) Conversely, John McCain’s plane never featured a flag on its tail. McCain’s plane did feature a flag on either side, like Obama’s. If we’re going to be silly about things, at least Obama’s plane was painted in red, white, and blue. McCain’s was a darker blue, white, and a nasty gold/greenish color.

The final piece that has been bugging me that some people I know continue to use as an example of Obama’s “unpatriotic” nature is the claim that he discussed hating the national anthem, the flag, and openly attended flag-burning ceremonies. The email claimed that these comments came from a interview of Obama conducted by General Genn of The United States Air Force, on Meet the Press, on September 7th, 2008. A couple things:

1) The guests on Meet the Press that day were Sen. Biden and author Tom Friedman.

2) The conductor of the show that day was journalist Tom Brokaw.

3) The statements that Obama is said to have made were never said, in any interview. They came from satrical journalist John Semmens, who writes satire-laden, tounge-in-cheek false news articles as a means of humor on The Arizona Conservative Website. Someone who was anti-Obama plagerized Semmens’ work and mocked it up as a Meet the Press interview. And millions believe it, because it came in a chain email.

I am not a believer in the idea that every American should vote. Because most Americans don’t educate themselves, or they believe what they are told to believe, and that’s the limit. But in conclusion, if you are going to be a responsible citizen and vote, then also be a responsible citizen and research the issues from legitimate sources. If you tried to write a college paper citing the same sources that most Americans seem to rely on when going to the polls, you would be laughed at. And failed. Voting shouldn’t hold any less of a moral and social responsibility on our shoulders.