Barack Obama and the Post-American World

I am going to be blogging a lot less this week, because I have a lot to do for school. But I wanted to share this email today from a friend. Apparently her mother's friend sends her all kinds of emails just like this one:

What is this World coming to....

This will open your eyes.
What does Obama read?

W

The name of the book Obama is reading is called The Post-American World, written by a fellow muslim.

Post-America? After America?

Please forward this picture to everyone you know to expose Obama's radical ideas and intent for this country! Thanks!

I was so, so pissed after reading this email that I had to respond. It's probably a little harsh, but I don't really care:

There are so, so, so many things wrong with this email, I don't even know where to stop.

Let me just say this: this is the most misleading, asshole and racist email ever. If anyone who really wrote this claims they're a Christian, I would beg to differ, because who spreads these lies and propaganda are the opposite of Christians. One of my favorite Christ quotes is from Luke 14:11 ""For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Well, let me say that anyone who judges Barack Obama because he is reading this book, is the opposite of the humility Christ describes; they are arrogant and ignorant. They make judgments not by actually reading the book and listening to the arguments, and thinking humbly about today's problems; they make rash, quick judgments without even reading a fucking work Fareed Zakaria has ever wrote, or listening to a fucking word he's ever said.

Anyone who has read anything by Fareed Zakaria in Newsweek or seen him speak on the Daily Show or CNN for example as I have many, many times knows he was one the most modest, sane and intelligent voices about the Middle East. And even though he's a muslim, he's probably twice the Christian these people are.

Here's his most recent column from Newsweek:

http://www.fareedzakaria.com/articles/articles.html

Read this column and tell me with a straight face he's a radical. Listen to how well-thought his thoughts are on Pakistan and Mumbai. Barack Obama is reading this book, because he doesn't want to rush to quick judgments about good and evil because he know its more complicated that. That's exactly what the Bush administration did in Iraq, go after the evildoers without much planning or thought. And know we're involved in the longest and most expensive war since WWII with very little to show for it except a huge national debt, a crumbling economy, a stretched out military with low morale, the leaders of Al-Qaeda still hiding in the mountains of Pakistan as they were the day of 9/11/2001, and so much more wrong.

Lastly, let me say this about this quote:

The name of the book Obama is reading is called The Post-American World, written by a fellow muslim.

Fareed Zakaria was born a Muslim, yes. But he went to fucking Harvard and Yale... I could go on and give you an answer about this, but I think Republican and former Secretary State for George W. Bush, Colin Powell's answer on Meet the Press says it best. Here's a video link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXWqX_O4BKY

Watch that clip and tell me you're not close to tears.

And here's what he says in text:

"I'm also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, "Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim." Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president? Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, "He's a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists." This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone. And it gave his awards–Purple Heart, Bronze Star–showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death. He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn't have a Christian cross, it didn't have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life. Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way. And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know. But I'm troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions."