first and last political post

I'm only posting this on here because I received this email from 3 separate people this morning so I know it's spreading all over the place. I just needed to address the fact that SOOO many things are taken out of context (as was this) because of the upcoming election year. And I vow from this moment forward to never discuss politics on this blog because I probably wouldn't have many friends or family members left to communicate with.

Here is the email:
{I had heard about this but a picture is definitely worth 1000 words! God save us!!! Senator Barack Obama, Governor Bill Richardson, Senator Hillary Clinton and Ruth Harkin stand during the national anthem.
Barack Hussein Obama's photo (that's his real name)......the article said he REFUSED TO NOT ONLY PUT HIS HAND ON HIS HEART DURING THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE, BUT REFUSED TO SAY THE PLEDGE.....how in the hell can a man like this expect to be our next Commander-in-Chief????}

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I found a response on washingtonpost.com from a woman who forwarded this email onto her son and here is what he had to say and I couldn't agree more. And to think this kid is only 17??? Wow. Way to go kiddo! Will you run for president in 25 years?

From Kat's 17 year old son:

"After a little more research, one discovers that he did recite the pledge and that this wasn't some sort of ant-patriotic gesture at all; he just merely didn't have his hand over his heart during the national anthem. Many people do it without even thinking about it. I've done it. In fact, here's a picture of Obama with his hand over his heart during the Star Spangled Banner:


Maybe it was an accident.

Moreover, I think that people who compose emails like this and distribute them around the web to spread like wildfire (God save SoCal) should re-evaluate their attitudes and conceptions about patriotism and what is good for our nation. In the age of 99-cent yellow-ribbon magnetic stickers and other perfunctory excuses for patriotism, our people need to wake up and stop supporting patriotism. They need to actually be patriots. Standing with your hand over your heart during a song about a battle doesn't excuse you from going to the polls or supporting measures to provide veterans with the resources they need. Flag pins and traditional gestures are political passivism, not political activism.

And another thing: So what if his name is Barack Hussein Obama? I didn't choose my name (not that there's anything wrong with it). The real issue here has nothing to do with his name. The problem conservative Americans have with Obama is that he isn't a middle-aged white man whose concerns lie in big business. Also, Obama is not and never was a Muslim. This is an idiotic fallacy most likely based on his name. His father was raised Muslim but is a pronounced atheist, and Barack himself is a member of the Church of Christ.

No, no, the fact of the matter is that Barack Obama is a reasonable man of integrity who is concerned with the health of our public school systems, the protections of basic health care for those who could not otherwise afford it, initiatives to break dependence on oil, preventing telecommunications companies from censoring the internet and demanding a fee for content, and demanding that the Paris Hiltons of America still pay their estate taxes.

So I challenge anyone to tell me why Barack Obama is such an awful candidate for president without spewing some ill-informed rhetoric stained with party loyalty dogma for once. Because quite frankly, Obama has my vote before any of the current Republican candidates. Maybe it's a good idea to vote for a candidate in the presidential elections for reasons other than their political party."

Posted by: Kat | November 2, 2007 09:45 AM

(as a side note: I thought I read that Barack was raised Muslim and then converted to Christianity so I'm not sure if what he said about him never being Muslim is 100% accurate. But whatever, he still makes a solid point. And again, I'm not talking politics or religion on here so it's back to posting nonsense! I can't focus at all today so I'm sure I'll be blogging quite a bit.)