Obama and my Concerns

For a while now, I’ve been trying to read up on some of the right-wing rhetoric about Obama. As I’ve stated, I haven’t been real impressed with him from what I’ve read, but I have also never heard him speak. I understand that he is a very dynamic and charismatic individual and even most hard-core-conservatives say you have to hear him.

Yet, there are still some major allegations that are levied at him. Namely:

1) While he continues to talk of change, hope, unity, etc., he has as of yet failed to provide any real substance or a plan of action. What is this change that is coming?

2) He is Muslim, has ties to the Muslims, and is empathetic to Muslims. Pick any combination of the three.

3) He is a member of a racist church and is himself racist.

All of which ultimately bring into question his commitment and convictions to the U.S. and our way of life.

With regards to the talk of change, hope, unity, etc., I can’t say that I personally have an opinion one way or the other. I simply do not know enough to make an informed decision.

With regards to Obama being a Muslim, there are an awful lot of emails circulating. Some of these indicate that he is Muslim, was at one time a Muslim, and that he was sworn into office on the Quaran. The good thing about the Internet is the immediate availability and distribution of information. The bad thing about the Internet is the immediate availability and distribution of bad information.

If you just take a little time to read up, you would quickly find that Obama not only isn’t a Muslim but that he never was Muslim. His father wasn’t even a Muslim at the time Obama was born and his mother is Christian. Osama himself claims Christianity as his religion.

He also didn’t swear in on the Quoran. That honor goes to Minnesota congressman Keith Ellison.

But….and isn’t there always a but…. The rest of the allegations bother me. They bother me because the more I dig for information the more they are apparently true with little or no contradictory information.

That Obama has close ties to Muslim supporters that are trying to impose Sharia law is absolutely true. This includes support of his 1st cousin Raila Odinga. Odinga is a Muslim that is leading a front / jihad in Africa to impose Sharia law. This is not a peaceful endeavor and includes the murder of many Africans. Muslims have been committing genocide in Africa for years, but you don’t hear about it much in the media.

http://michaelinmi.wordpress.com/2008/01/31/barack-obama-and-his-support-for-islamic-sharia-law-and-al-qaeda/

http://righttruth.typepad.com/right_truth/2008/01/obamas-sharia-c.html

http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2008/01/barack-obama-backs-taliban-supporter-in.html

http://stoptheaclu.com/archives/2008/02/01/barack-obama-kenya-his-cousin-odinga-and-islamic-jihad/

http://groups.google.com/group/soc.culture.arabic/browse_thread/thread/da1e125d12657ecd

and if those aren’t enough just google it.

As for the racist church, I had to think about this one for a while but have finally come to the conclusion that I believe the church to be discriminatory if not outright racist. A brief excerpt from their mission statement:

Commitment to the Black Community
Commitment to the Black Family
Adherence to the Black Work Ethic
Personal Commitment to Embracement of the Black Value System.

Now what I won’t do is launch into some rhetorical tirade about how if you swap the word “white” for “black” in the above that people would have a field day with it. And I don’t have a problem with black people supporting each other within the community and trying to make a better name and place for themselves. The whole world would be a better place if we all focused our time, effort and energy a little more positively.

It’s the last two that bother me. In my opinion those two mission statements simply imply that there is a different system and set of values for black people than other races and that they should be supported and nurtured. That’s pretty racist just about no matter how you slice it.

Then I also read first-hand reports of the church itself and some of the things that were said during sermon. These included stained-glass windows depicting dejected black people in handcuffs with white people as the judges and officers. Sermon’s that included a directive:
“Black people! Grow up! Stop helping white people” – Rev. Moss

I don’t think there is any way around that statement. He isn’t just telling black people to stand up for themselves. He’s objectifying white people as an oppressor and telling black people to be defiant to them. That’s not only un-Christian like, it’s pretty racist.

As one first-hand account put it “And where other churches might talk about the devil or about evil, Trinity demonizes white people.”


But all of this doesn’t answer the ultimate questions:

Is Obama a racist?
Is Obama empathetic to Muslims, Islam and Sharia law?

I guess only Obama can answer that, but I’d be concerned.