What Happens When We Assume?
For those that don’t remember learning this as a child, when you assume, you make an ASS out of U and ME.
Get it?
ASS+U+ME = ASSUME
In all seriousness though, ever since President Obama took office I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen or heard people play the race card on someone who publicly disagrees with Obama. From Facebook to Twitter to blogs to MySpace to face-to-face, it seems that if you are white and don’t agree with Obama, you’re a racist.
At the same time, I’m so tired of hearing people on the other extreme decry Obama as wanting to be a socialist dictator. Or that he’s going to usher in the return of Christ. I heard the same thing about President Clinton, but guess what – WE’RE STILL HERE!
This brings me to two things that have happened in the past few weeks. First, Obama’s speech to students last week. I was ashamed when I saw so many Christians claiming Obama was going to indoctrinate their children with a socialist agenda, and that they were going to keep their kids home that day. Sad, especially considering the fact his speech (word for word) was made available online days before the event. Then last night, former President Jimmy Carter claims that “an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man”.
Now before someone accuses me of being blind, naive or utopian, yes, I believe racism is still an issue in the United States of America. And as long as people have free will, it will continue to be an issue. But to assume an “overwhelming portion” of the opposition Obama has faced is due to racism is just as naive as thinking racism is not an issue in this country.
I’ll say it right here: I did not vote for President Obama.
Nor did I vote for John McCain.
I did not vote in the 2008 presidential election at all because I did not see any candidate that I could stand behind 100%.
There are some issues where I do agree with him. That does not mean I want to bring a socialist dictatorship to America.
There are some issues where I do not agree with Obama. That does not mean I am racist.
I support and pray for President Obama because he is my president, and I encourage you to do the same, regardless of who you voted for.
So please people, when someone says they disagree with President Obama’s policies or his politics or his health care plan, don’t immediately label them as being racist. And if you are one of those who disagrees with Obama, do some fact checking before you start making claims; otherwise, you do come off looking bad.
I agree except you should have voted! BAH!
I do see power shifts in the U.S. from states to the federal…kinda scary imo. 1 thing I FULLY support Obama on and stand behind and applaud him for is his stance on education no matter ones circumstances or race! I personally feel that kids, especially in title 1 schools or low income with poor testing performances, should have watched his speech! In his running for president and during his presidency he has not changed! He still says there is no excuse, dads be dads, mothers be mothers, and children might have to work harder than some but GET your education!
No I did not vote for Obama but I could never vote for anyone who supports abortion(main deciding factor), but anyone who knows me knows I am not racist by any means! I feel that if I would be supporting Abortion which I HIGHLY oppose by voting and supporting a elected representative who supports this sin(hands that shed innocent blood)…we have had this conversation before and while I agree that we should focus on praying and funding choice groups, and ministries that are working against it rather than spending millions on lobbying against it I cannot vote for anyone who supports it.
I had other reasons for not voting for Obama but race was not an issue! I am so thankful our country is at a place where a black man can be elected president disregarding all kinds of claims, muslim, natural born citizen, inexperience…our country was willing to look past that and race to vote him in. That is a major stride in our country. What is amazing is I use to consider myself a liberal conservative (I am neither republican or democrat) but as time goes on I am finding I am extremely conservative in my views…not 100% if that is a good thing but I was not raised with people who follow politics so most of
what I believe and support has come from my personal convictions and what I believe makes this country great! I do hate people stereotyping that conservatives/tea party movement are motivated by racism is stupid, yes there are few idiots in the crowd but not everyone. I personally have to disagree with the people who do, I know very few people, that do not like a black man in presidency…the majority of the conservatives are excited our country has reach a level to vote a black man in the Presidency but disagree with his agenda and policies that he is trying to pass. Which I blogged a little about yesterday…spending money we do not have is NEVER a solution! I do agree with you here…100% educate yourself before making stupid statements, do just believe what you hear.
I didn't vote because I didn't feel I could fully stand behind any one candidate. Abortion is a key issue for me and obviously that hurt Obama's chance at getting my vote, but McCain isn't much better. At least with Obama I knew what to expect because he's been rather consistent (albeit liberal) in his career. But when I compared McCain's voting record to his campaign statements, it was obvious he only jumped on the pro-life bandwagon when it was clear he was going to be the Republican candidate. On top of that, Obama has a clearer plan for abortion reduction, which while it won't get my vote in the next election, I'd rather see someone fighting to reduce abortions (which I've blogged about before; you can find it by clicking the "Abortion" category) than fighting for my money to fight a never-ending battle to end abortion.
But, even outside of Obama and McCain, I didn't find any candidates I felt I could support. I looked at several candidates and if they weren't liberal democrats calling themselves something else, they were extremely conservative.