in response to a copy of this email which i received this evening, i finally had enough of the forwarded, no research, slanderous, nasty and small-minded political crap (think: HILLARY IS GOING TO MAKE US ALL LESBIAN COMMIES!!!!!!!) that my family sees fit to fling at me. it’s rare for me to fling back Christian rhetoric at someone, not least because i consider myself agnostic, but dammit, this shit really pisses me off, especially when it’s done in the name of Christ, who sounds like he could have been a pretty nice guy, all things considered.
Actually, Obama’s middle name is Hussein, not Mohammed; he’s Christian, not Muslim; the church web site clearly says that “It is God who gives us the strength and courage to continuously address injustice as a people” and that is why they celebrate a shared black background, not that white (or purple or pink) people are not allowed; the web site further states (at http://www.tucc.org/talking_points.htm, in direct response to the Hannity and Colmes show) that “African-centered thought, unlike Eurocentrism, does not assume superiority and look at everyone else as being inferior” which rules out that claim that the church is racist; I worked for the same University he taught at and lived in the same Chicago south side community, Hyde Park, he lives in, we probably even shopped at the same grocery store because there was only one in Hyde Park, and he had a good reputation as a kind man; and for the record, I plan to vote for him.
As for the middle name issue. Barack Obama’s middle name being Mohammed, or Hussein, or Fredericka De Ville is about as relevant to the Presidency of the United States of America as my cat’s name. My middle name is Lee, but that doesn’t mean I support Robert E. Lee and want the Confederate States of America to rise again. A name is just something our parents stuck us with.
I find this sort of message to be not just personally depressing but un-Christian in its judgmentalism and untruth, and I think if you re-read it you might see why I feel that way. It’s not up to us to judge. XXX, I love you, but please don’t forward me emails about politicians anymore. It upsets me to read messages like this from people I love and respect. I am basing my support of candidates on what I see and hear them say directly, not something I get third-hand from some author on the Internet somewhere who is too frightened to sign his own name to it. And one of the reasons I’m voting for Obama is because he’s not spreading malicious lies about the other candidates, and is genuinely turning the other cheek.
–sabrina
this is after i sat through watching Mike Huckabee tonight, whining about how Mitt Romney is mean and horrible and so on and so forth, and yesterday watched both Huckabee and Obama on “Face the Nation” from the other day — a broadcast in which every single damn time the interview tried to get Obama to say something nasty about Hillary Clinton, he not only did not do so but talked about his platform in the context of the question and how he would improve things.
for all the focus on christianity and religion it has, i think this election cycle could use a little less christianism and a little more Christlike behavior.
