My (earnest, irate) thoughts

“Martin Luther wasn’t a model of tolerance but even he took the position that, ‘I’d rather be ruled by a wise Turk than a foolish Christian.’ In this presidential campaign, we should at least aspire to be as open-minded as 16th-century Germans.” These words were shamelessly stolen from a New York Times op-ed titled Obama and the Bigots. It’s funny because it’s true, folks, it’s funny because it’s true.

The whispers about Obama, and whether he is a closet Muslim ready to implement Sharia on an unsuspecting populace or simply the Antichrist, continue. Of course it pisses me off that ‘Muslim’ is the new ‘Jew’. But then, it’s not really new, is it, for Westerners to take issue with Islam, mostly on proven falsehoods like Islam being spread by the sword, or a vague sense of superiority over the East for not sharing the West’s particular sensibilities at any given moment of history.

What I don’t get are the Christians out there who still believe their values are reflected in the ultraconservative militaristic agenda of the Right. It’s OK to use your brains, folks, God gave ‘em to you: Here we have BARACK OBAMA, who with his man-of-the-world persona would give America a needed dose of good PR, being slandered by everyone to the right of Genghis Khan. And there we have JOHN McCAIN, a madman who sings about wanting to bomb Iran, scooping up endorsements from evangelical Christians like The Rev. John Hagee, the ignorant author of Jerusalem Countdown.

And this, when the latest estimates put the Iraq War at costing $3 trillion when all is said and done, our economy is in the toilet, and it’s no fun to travel because everyone in the entire world hates us. And with John McCain, it’s going to more of the same. How can you not know that?

Further reading:
Islam was not spread by the sword any more than Christianity was spread by guns.
But why isn’t the East just like the West — are they stupid or something?
Even conservatives think John McCain is nuts.
The Rev. John Hagee is crazy, that’s why he likes McCain.
The Iraq War will cost $3 trillion, and much, much more.