In 2008, how far have we really come in regards to the things that have traditionally divided us?
It seems that this year will be the time to answer that question definitively. We have lived through 7 years of a politics of fear. 9/11 followed by two wars and countless concessions in regard to our privacy and civil liberties. It appears the pendulum is swinging hard back the other way to a time when we believe that, as Franklin Roosevelt said, “All we have to fear, is fear itself.”
It is becoming clear that this will be the card that the Republicans will play this year. Fear for fear’s sack. It starts with the Muslim false email. Followed by the madrassa accusations. Then there was Barack's middle name. Next we have the Somali garb photo.
So who is this scaring? We need to ask ourselves what does America stand for? Do all Muslims scare us? Do names make us squeamish with fear? Does a white robe and tunic make someone a terrorist?
It is insulting, for sure, but the sad fact is that it will play with many Americans.
If you feel fear in your heart when you hear or see these things, ask yourself, “Am I really that insecure about America? Am I that insecure about my own identity? I am going to blindly be afraid without asking questions?”
It is an insult to your intelligence and what America stands for to let these things scare us.
Politics may have been a game for a long time, but that time needs to come to an end this year. 2008 is too important. Too many people have died over the last 7 years and too many American’s lives are on the line in the future.
Make a decision about the presidency based on the facts, not silly photos or the heated “Jerry Springer Show” politics of the past.
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