Friday, October 24, 2008

If I Were A Muslim, I'd Be Furious.

I was doing my usual duty on Facebook tonight when I came across a link posted by one of my friends (actually a guy I haven't seen in 10 years) that showed me the "Obama Tax Calculator." It's a widget that supposedly calculates the size of tax cut that Obama is going to give, after you input your gross income, dependents, etc. (although the whole thing is a bit of a joke, because there's no way Obama can do all the things he says he's going to do and give a tax cut to 95% of the middle class - but that's another blog for another time).

After finding out how astronomically huge my Obama tax cut would be (supposedly $1000, compared to McCain's shabby $320), I stumbled my way over to the official Barack Obama website. It was my first time on the site, so I had a good chuckle as I looked everything over. But then I came to a graphic and link about half way down the page on the right hand side that said: "Fight the Smears. Help push back on the false and divisive methods of our opponents." Being the sick kind of person who likes conflict, that's the first place I clicked. What I found absolutely amazed me (dare I say, shocked me?).

The "Fight the Smears" link takes you to a page that lists several of the attacks and negative campaigns that have been leveled against Barack Obama, accompanied by a button next to each issue that reads, "Get the Facts." Apparently when you follow that link, you learn about the truth that clears up the "lies" that Obama's opponents have been perpetrating.

Now for what I found to be shocking (seriously, I can't believe they're getting away with this): about two thirds of the way down the page, one of the "smears" that is reported is that Barack Obama either has had in the past or currently has some ties to the Muslim faith. That's right - apparently saying that someone is a Muslim is a smear tactic! The Obama website defiantly states: "Barack Obama is a committed Christian, not a Muslim." (emphasis on Muslim is original) Can you believe that? The Obama campaign has basically said that to be a Muslim is a sub-par, undesirable state of being, and our candidate has nothing to do with it! If I were a Muslim, I would be a tad offended!

I then followed the "Get the Facts" button and found this (I couldn't be more honest when I say that I am blown away that this was on the Obama website): "Barack Obama is a committed Christian. He was sworn into the Senate on his family Bible. He has regularly attended church with his wife and daughters for years. But shameful, shadowy attackers have been lying about Barack’s religion, claiming he is a Muslim instead of a committed Christian. When people fabricate stories about someone’s faith to denigrate them politically, that’s an attack on people of all faiths." (emphasis mine)

I couldn't believe that when I read it! Let's break that sentence in italics down: "Shameful shadowy attackers..." Apparently if someone says you're a Muslim, it's shameful. "...have been lying about Barack's religion..." This is going to sound like I'm a member of the nerdy God Squad, but I could care less if someone was slandering my religion, because everything about me (the way I live my faith) says otherwise. In other words, if anyone called me a Muslim, everyone who knew me would know that it's not true, because I follow none of the Muslim traditions. In fact, my life is a display of the Christian faith, so there's no question, and any accusation to the contrary would be meaningless. Apparently, the case is different for Barack. "...claiming that he is a Muslim instead of a committed Christian." Understand that my surprise over this whole statement isn't so much over the fact that Obama is a Muslim and/or Christian so much as it is that I can't believe that the political correctness nazis haven't crucified him over this statement and this section of his website. It is overtly anti-Muslim, and extremely "intolerant" (I use this word only for dramatic affect, not because I personally think it's intolerant - at least be consistent, liberals).

There are several other things on the "Fight the Smears" page that I found to be interesting (interesting in a roll-on-the-floor-laughing-because-they're-so-absurd sort of way. For example the fact that you have to tell people you're ok with the the pledge of allegiance is in and of itself a little odd, or that you consider water to be "ridiculous," or that there is such a thing as a "radical anti-abortionist" - is that the same thing as being "radically pro-life?" If so, sign me up).

My shock over this webpage is mostly born out of amazement that the knee-jerk society we live in today is either a) knowingly allowing this seemingly obvious religious bigotry to take place (a fact that is extremely hypocritical, if it is), or b) completely blind to it because of their undying, Messiah-like devotion to Barack Obama. Take your pick - either way is pretty scary.

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