Drew: Outside Looking In

Throughout this election, I've become quite disaffected from ultra conservatives whose unabated trash-talking and fear-mongering is ridiculous and deceitful. Recently, my mother forwarded to me one of the several chain emails trying to paint Barack Obama as an evil Muslim plotting a jihad-like overthrow of our government. And as I'm definitely a supporter of equality and have no problems expressing my opinions, I felt the need to respond.

This is not addressed to anyone in particular, but rather a few thoughts for everyone to read:

"Oh please, surely we're not still catering to the falsely induced fear of Barack Obama's hidden ties to Islam. Seems more to me like conservatives are playing to people's inner xenophobia to scare them into voting for selfish political motivations rather than encouraging people to open their minds to different belief systems and cultures, analyze and respect differences, and form logical and accurate views. I'm not saying to forget your own religion, or even to take it out of the picture, but I AM saying that your narrow-mindedness results from a negligent lack of understanding of people who harbor different religious, political, and cultural beliefs. How can you demand other groups to change their actions from intolerance to acceptance when yours are the very same? The Bible speaks quite directly about hypocrisy, and I'd suggest that professing Christians uphold and practice this aspect of their religion, too.

In regard to the email, it is quite offensive and undeservedly biased. Is Barack Obama a radical anti-white Christian or a Muslim? People, make up your mind which ridiculous insult you're going to use and stick with it! And if you choose to call him a Muslim, and mean it as an insult, then I pity you. So what if there are 2000 mosques in America, there are God knows how many churches and we're all entitled to religious freedom, THE single-most important principle upon which America was built.

And the very fact that anyone would question the billions of dollars in federal aid to African countries based on a difference of nations' dominant religious beliefs is quite possibly one of the most inhumane, and certainly one of the most unChristian, acts I can think of. I challenge each and every one of you to leave your nice, insulated little bubble-world of cultural closedmindedness and go to Africa, or some other impoverished country, and spend time serving a community that is in desperate need of any and every resource imaginable. These people don't need God, they need food and running water. They need shelter and security. They need employment and infrastructure. They need a world free from discrimination and inequality and fear. Only then will thoughts of religion become important in their world, and only then should it even be considered as an issue on which to base conditions for humanitarian aid.

There is a reason why people voted for Barack Obama this week, and it had nothing to do with religion or race or fear, but rather hope and inspiration. Why are we even bickering over whether or not Muslim-Americans, or anyone really, should have an equal place in our great society when we both profess to support the very same Constitution? Because these politics of the past that isolate and exploit a common "enemy" at the expense of select citizens' rights unfortunately find listeners in those people with their heads still shoved in the sand."

I'd love to hear any thoughts or questions regarding my post! Send them to drew_keaster@hotmail.com or leave a comment on the blog.

Cheers!