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Dear confused Conservatives & Republicans…

This message is long but important.  I fear that far too many conservatives in America are disconnected from reality, as illustrated by their confused reactions to the election of Barack Obama as President.

Wake up Morning Joe!

Today on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, host Joe Scarborough let loose a bitter rant about what he perceived to be injustices and double standards from the “liberal elite” media.  It began when co-host Mika read a snippet from an op-ed by E. J. Dionne of the Washington Post.  It basically said the US finally practiced the democracy it has been preaching to the world by rejecting the traditional cynicism often practiced in our politics.  Mr. Scarborough was greatly offended by these and other comments made yesterday because, to him, it was as if people were saying this election “was the first time Americans got excited and engaged.”  He went on to describe how Southern “evangelicals” were excited four years ago for George W. Bush, yet these “liberal” journalists condemned them voting as backwards thinking, stupid, and scary.  Joe cited his own “open-mindedness” by celebrating with Democrats for “their” victory yesterday and scolded the left for not doing the same when those on the right (who don’t think like them) celebrate.

First, what Mr. Scarborough FAILED to realize was yesterday was not a partisan victory.  That is, the magnitude of celebration from this election was not due to a triumph of some leftist ideology America now embraces.  It was not merely a political shift as the Reagan revolution was in the 1980s.  The world has no need to celebrate that.  The election of Barack Obama as President (President-elect) of the United States of America was the defeat of this nation’s greatest and deepest sin.  The sin that has endured for centuries, ever since the founding of this nation.  The sin of racism.

Sure, there were racists in America on November 3rd 2008, and there are still racists in America on November 5th 2008, but what November 4th proved was that, as a people, as a country, as a nation, we have moved beyond the racial barrier.

Before November 4th 2008, there appeared to be a general understanding throughout America, and particularly in the African American community, that blacks in America can only get so far before whites close the doors on them.  It was a given that if you are white in America, every opportunity is open to you, but if you are black (or a minority) in America, only some opportunities are available to you.  And the most notable opportunity that would never ever ever be open to blacks is the opportunity to be President of the United States of America.

Sure, you could run for the office, but you would lose.  The racism of white America was too strong.  It was a tradition practiced and passed on in this country for centuries.  And though it lessened more and more through the fights for civil rights, hardly anyone expected America to have progressed far enough to elect a black man President!

This was not merely a victory for liberals.
This was not merely a victory for blacks.
This was not even just a victory for America.
The election of Barack Obama was a victory for humanity worldwide.  It was a victory for hope and great sacrifice.  It was the reality of achieving the impossible.

That’s what the big deal was Joe.  And galvanizing white Southern evangelicals in 2004 to passionately support the right based on fears of terrorism, homosexuality, and abortion really cannot compare.

Fears vs. Hopes

Another thing Joe took offense to was the opinion that America chose hope over fear in electing Barack Obama.  To Mr. Scarborough, this was like saying that Democrat Barack Obama represented hope, and Republican John McCain represented fear and that’s just not fair!

Sorry to break the news to you Joe, but if you were paying attention at all to this election you would know that Barack Obama DID appeal to our hopes and John McCain DID appeal to our fears.  That’s not partisan (I’m Independent) that’s just fact!

Obama emphasized the need for unity in this country.  He told us we each have common hopes and purposes in this country despite our differences or where we live.  He continued his message first introduced in 2004 of there not being a red America or a blue America, but the United States of America.  He encouraged we disagree without being disagreeable, and that we look after one another for we “rise and fall as one people, one nation, together”.  He avoided personal attacks and below the belt mud slinging on his rivals throughout the campaign, and inspite of what they did to him.

Never once did Obama attack McCain over his connections to terrorists or his endorsements from al Qaeda.
Never once did Obama mention McCain’s adulterous past.
Never once did Obama mention McCain’s opposition to MLK day.
Never once did Obama highlight McCain’s battles with skin cancer.
Never once did Obama say McCain was someone we should fear, or that his Presidency would bring about fascism or the death of the middle class.
Obama did not digg up hurtful gaffes from McCain’s past, like when McCain called his wife a c*nt, or joked about the then preteen Chelsea Clinton’s appearance, or claimed he “hates gooks”.
Nor did Obama pounce on new McCain gaffes made in social settings, like when he joked about killing Iranians with cigarette imports, or how he just quit beating his wife a week ago.

Consistantly, Obama praised John McCain the man, the war hero, while attacking his policies as a continuation of George Bush.  This helped create a contrast for Obama, in which he highlighted his own positions as a hopeful alternative to just “more of the same” from McCain.

John McCain on the other hand emphasized fear in his campaign.
He promoted the fear that Obama was too “exotic”, too different and foreign to be safe for America.
He stressed the fear that Obama was too young, inexperienced, and naive for the job of Presidency, and America elects him at our own risk.
He promoted the fear that Obama is sexist or cruel towards Sarah Palin for his “lipstick on a pig” remark.
His campaign sought to scare Americans over Obama’s “associations” with “terrorists”, citing the criminal activity of a fellow American when Obama was a young boy.
There was the fear drum that Obama is too risky, not ready, Obama is a socialist, Obama will steal your young children’s innocence by teaching them sex, Obama doesn’t care about our troops, etc.

His whole campaign was “Obama is scary, so vote for McCain.”  So mentioning that Obama represented hope and McCain represented fear shouldn’t offend people.  We are entitled to our own opinions, we are not entitled to our own facts.

IT’S NOT FAIR!  If you criticize Obama, you are accused of “racism”.

I have heard this often from the right.  They believe that targeting Obama with criticism will just bring up charges of racism.  And they often say it’s not fair that people can attack George Bush, but they can’t attack Barack Obama.  (as if there is any parallel between the two men).

You know, it’s funny, when Mike Tyson bit a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear off, people of all races were critical of him.  White comedians made jokes about Tyson for days, yet no charges of racism were made from African Americans.  No one black claimed whites were only critical of Tyson because he was black.  No one said whites were trying to call blacks cannibals.  No one said this was just white people linking blacks to racist images of the past, where blacks were seen as animals.  No one said criticism wouldn’t come if Tyson were white, nor bring up white brawls in hockey, etc.  We all laughed along and criticized Tyson for the sheer shock, disgust, and bizarre nature of his actions.  Tyson was seen as an individual, not a representation of black men.

That same standard of judgment applied to George W. Bush.  The criticism and jokes made about him are based on a long pattern of embarrassing and incompetent actions that he made.  It was not that Bush made an occasional gaffe based on fatigue (like Obama’s “57 states” comment), he constructed an archive of “misunderestimated” remarks that is so large it has become known on the “internets” as Bushisms.  It’s not as if Bush made a few mistakes based on bad intelligence or something, as did Colin Powell in his promotion of the Iraq War.  It’s that Bush lead the charge on recklessness and bad decision making, which he often seemed too stubborn or indifferent to care about.  Whether we are talking about Katrina, or the Iraq War, or torture, or corruption in and around Washington (Scooter Libby, Enron, Haliburton, etc.) Bush seemed either too ignorant to make the right decisions or too unwilling.

Yet we do not judge all white men for the actions of George W. Bush.  Nor do we assume white men cannot make good Presidents because of the actions of one man.

That’s all African Americans are looking for when it comes to judging Barack Obama.  We are not interested in phony outrage, baseless fears and charges, or accusations from those who are seeking to find fault with Obama.  America did not seek to find fault with Mike Tyson.  America did not seek to find fault with George W. Bush (immediately following 9/11, Bush’s ratings were as high as ever)  It was the clear, obvious and substantive actions and decisions of these men that brought them criticism and mockery.

There is no racism if that is how we judge Obama.  He is new.  Let him have a clean slate. Don’t hunt for imperfections or thirst for reasons to condemn him.  It is those sentiments that most likely have their roots in racism.

Seeing the REAL Obama.
Seeing the REAL America.

It always offends Conservatives when “liberals” mock them as stupid or intellectually challenged.  And the typical response is to hit back with accusations of “elitism” or “ungodly-ness”.  Yet, it seems Conservatives rarely ever perform a self examination to see why they are labeled this way and whether or not there is any truth to it.

Let me remind you that I am an independent, but I have often been accused of being a “liberal” if I question soundness of their beliefs.  Despite what Conservatives might say, a big part of their political might comes from the fear and racist attitudes of small town rural white Americans who are disconnected from the rest of America and the world at large.

In these towns with populations of a few hundred or a few thousand, the homogeneous makeup of people (both ethnically and culturally) allows for all sorts of fantasies and horror stories about “outsiders” to be made up and believed.  This is where the lies about Obama being a Muslim (or an Arab) and tied to terrorism is believed and told as the gospel truth.  Many of these people have probably never met a Muslim or maybe even an Arab or a black man.  With their eyes firmly glued to Hannity and Fox News (who claim a monopoly on “fair and balanced” information) they might not realize how gullible, how easily manipulated, and how misinformed they actually are.  Or, if they do realize it, they prefer racist and fearful fantasies over reality.

To them, every Muslim is a terrorist or at least a terrorist sympathizer.  To them, an Arabic name or Kenyan outfit is evidence enough of “un-Americanism” in this land that embraces freedom of religion and states all men are created equal.  There, it does not matter how nice Obama is, or what a great dad his is to his young daughters.  It does not matter how many stirring speeches he gives about hope, unity, common purpose and common values.  It does not matter if he says he’s a Christian, if he attends a church, if he speaks on his faith, reaches out to white evangelicals or pushes faith-based initiatives.  For these voters, it appears a simple SPAM email packed with lies and misinformation is evidence enough to reject Barack Obama as not trust worthy and a danger to white people.

The methods used to scare rural white Americans could never work in the multicultural cities like New York City, which really was attacked by radical Muslim extremists.  People know better than that, and the diversity they experience in their everyday lives gives them a cultural maturity that appears challenging to those in rural America.  But if one acknowledges that small town Americans aren’t too bright for believing Barack Obama is a one man terror cell who wants to destroy Israel and enslave white America, then they are called “elitist”.

Conservatives at large need to embrace reality and complex thought.  There are more (effective) ways to combat abortion in America than to demonize the pro-Choice candidate every election cycle.  There are more mature ways to argue for lower taxes and smaller government than to scream about “socialism” or whine that the government is “penalizing you for your hard earned success.”  And if the evidence reveals that less regulation and tax breaks to the wealthy has hurt the nation as a whole more than it has helped, why not apply the Christian values of honesty, loving your neighbor as yourself, and rejecting selfishness and greed.  And also gown the sense to ackknowledge that no one wants to be “soft on terror” or “retreat” from victory.  No American wants our troops to lose, especially not Americans running to be Commander in Chief.

As a concluding thought, I will simply say that Conservatives and Republicans need to think long and hard about their future and how they chose to address the American people.  Will they continue to chose division and seek to monopolize patriotism?  It is clear from this election that the future of America, the young voters, have no tolerance for that.  We want our country to be a model for the world, not the disdain of it.  We want to be admired, not mocked.  We desire to be famous for our excellence, not notorious for our stupidity.  And we want to be known for our progressiveness, decency, and diversity, we want to be united around a common and higher purpose.  We want to be proud of our nation and the citizens that live here.  If the right desires to rebuild itself, it should keep these things in mind.

A few reasons why I voted for Barack Obama

He’s pragmatic
He’s intellectually curious
He’s calm
He’s rational
He’s a great listener
He seeks peace and peaceful discord
He’s inspirational
He’s visionary
He’s got class
He’s a team player
He’s moral
He’s inclusive
He’s mature
He’s tough
He takes the high road
He’s protective of his family and other people’s families (ie: Sarah Palin’s daughter)
He’s nice
He’s brilliant
He has a good sense of humor
He’s humble
He’s deep (a very deep thinker)
He seeks to understand
He’s empathetic
He’s a family man, and values being a good father and a good husband
He has fantastic leadership abilities
He has a thick skin
and once again
He’s calm

NEW!! Barack Obama “Time for CHANGE” Products!!

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Oh, and our time for change HAS come! Do your part to make that happen! If you didn’t already vote during early voting, then make sure you show up on November 4th!!