Boyung.com

Listening to the radio this morning, the DJ said that Barak Obama was in trouble.  See, it seems that that something like 11% of the population thinks he's a Muslim, which is a bad thing for his election chances.  Aren't we supposed to be a mostly open-minded nation?  Don't we have something around here called freedom of religion?  Isn't there supposed to be a separation of church and state, to prevent religion from running our government?  Last time I checked, these are all the case.

Now, first off, Senator Obama is not a Muslim.  I firmly believe that that rumor was started by the Clinton campaign in an attempt to derail his attempt at the Democratic nomination.  That people believe a rumor such as this, which they first heard, at best, in a forwarded e-mail, just shows how ignorant and stupid a large number of people in this country truly are.  If you consider how much attention this stupid flap regarding the minister at the Christian church where Obama is a long-standing member is getting, it's absolutely amazing how idiotic someone must be to believe things like this.

Second of all, why should it matter if he were a Muslim?  The Muslim people are not bad people in any way, shape, or form.  Contrary to the whacko beliefs out there, the Muslim community is not out to destroy the United States.  Just because some terrorists out there claim Islam as their religion, there are people in this country that associate the religion with the psychos that go out and attack innocent people all over the world.  Yes, all over the world, it isn't relegated to attacks on the United States.  These lunatics attack other Muslims too, which blows the theory that they are out to destroy "us" (or even the theory that there is an "us" versus "them") right out of the water.  Oh, and there are plenty of killers and zealots in the Christian religion as well.  Hitler was one of the most devout Christians of his time, yet we don't equate him and his atrocities to the Christian religion, do we?  No, we don't.  And I'm pretty sure that the Jewish community worldwide doesn't do it either.

I like Barak Obama.  Not enough to vote for him, mind you, but enough to believe that he would be a good president, were he to get elected.  In my entire lifetime, this is the first time I've ever felt confident enough to say that about any Democratic presidential hopeful.  God (or whomever you choose to believe in) help us all if Hilary were to somehow miraculously become president.  My vote goes to John McCain, but I can't help but think about the change that could come about if Senator Obama were to be elected president.  And I'm not really talking about his slightly moronic "change" speeches.  If he were elected president, there would have to be change.  First of all, he's younger, and he's not a lifelong politician, at least not in the sense of our last three presidents and pretty much every other candidate to come out of the woodwork for this election.  I disagree with a lot of things that the man says, but at least he's being honest, which is one thing I have never been able to say about his current competition or her incredibly ineffectual husband.  He hasn't served in the military, which I honestly believe might just be a plus in this day and age.  (Just an aside, why is the fact that he never served in the military being questioned suddenly, but no one mentions it with regards to Hilary?)  There are many ways to serve one's country that don't include the military, and since everyone is so gung-ho towards "world peace" and no one wants us to ever be in a war with anyone, no matter the reason, why is everyone against a man who chose not to join the military?  It just doesn't make sense.

Of course, these are all reasons why rumors about Senator Obama have been started.  The "same old" people from both political parties are afraid of change.  I, for one, would love to see a big change in our nation's political landscape, if only it were from a candidate that I agreed with on any of the big issues.