The relevance of it all

Submitted by RAMM (United States), Jun 9, 2008 at 23:08

We all know politicians, celebrities, and well known people face much scrutiny from the American peopla and the media, especially those running for any kind of important position in the U.S. government. Quotes and gestures are analyzed and often times skewed depending on the opinions of the writer. The candidates walk on eggshells, because any slight misstep will be twisted and magnified a hundred times over.

Now about Barack's faith: I stumbled upon this article because a dimwitted coworker of mine told me that if he ever became President, Obama would side with the Muslims and our country will be doomed, blah, blah, blah. I had to investigate further and read this column, as well as a few responses ...

Think about what the article states; even if Barack was born a Muslim and attended a few Muslim schools, that doesn't automatically make him a Muslim supporter. How many of us chose which religion we practiced or what school we attended when we were children? The point of the story is that Barack is a Christian, and more importantly, an American.

Here is a person who overcame so much to get to where he is and now will be punished for something he had no control over? I realize that I am young, may not know a lot about politics, and am leaning towards Obama in this election, but I am an educated person. I major in nuclear medicine and one class short of a minor in political science, so I think I have a little insight others don't.

This article also questions whether Obama will be able to deal with the Muslim world, or will his alleged apostasy hurt our international relations with Islamic countries. We must remember that any of our actions in the Middle East are political. The United States is not on a crusade. The war in Iraq did not begin because of religion. The turmoil in the Middle East is caused by political issues, but covered by religion. It is true that Shi'ites are fighting Sunnis, but it is not because of their religious differences. They lived and coexisted side by side for hundreds of years, and now fight with each other for power that is up for grabs in Iraq.

My point is this: Barack Obama will not have any problems negotiating with other leaders because religion is not the key issue in question in the Middle East. Whoever reads this doesn't have to agree with me. I only urge you to look a little deeper into the politics and history of the region before forming any opinions. You may be surprised at what you find.

Thank you for reading,

RAMM

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