Thursday, October 23, 2008

What if Obama was Arab or Muslim?

American society has often been described as a melting pot. It has become a great nation by its people's will and desire to live, work and build as they work hard to achieve their American dream. But what is happening now by some conservative Americans as they support McCain is extremely hurting this great image of the American dream, which is the essence of what America is all about. Expressing their racism and intolerance publically while rallying for McCain is just sad.

I'm sure all of you saw this ignorant American woman rallying for McCain saying she doesn't trust Obama and that she has "read about him and found out he's an Arab." At first, I thought she said "he's an error" which is why I accepted McCain saying, "No, Madam. He's a decent family man…" But when I realized she meant an "Arab" and connected it to what McCain said, I felt very offended. It appeared as if he was saying, "No, Madam. He's is decent, not Arab." I wonder if he said that deliberately to convey that Arabs are not decent and that since Obama is not an Arab, he's decent!

In all cases, I'm not surprised that this came from a McCain supporter and from McCain himself. I wonder what would the Arab Americans feel when they heard this ignorant woman. What would they think when they see the country they built along with their Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, atheist and Hindu countrymen intolerant like this. Haven't they defended their country like what Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan did when he enlisted in the army, deployed in Iraq and then killed there? What would his heart-wrenched father say when he sees or hears ignorant people disregarding his son's sacrifice for his country and faith?

I guess no one said it better than Campbell Brown in this CNN video. "What if Obama was an Arab or a Muslim… What if McCain was?"

This election is a wakeup call for Americans and how they are going to shape their country. I hope they do it the right way this time, unlike what happened when they voted for Bush whose eight years brought destruction, caused many enemies around the world and most importantly used the people's taxes to pay for wars and let the entire American economy collapse before the American people's eyes.

Now, it is time for change. And yes, you can!

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