My First Official Political Post

(Disclaimer: I promise, Room113 will not become an overly-political place, but it's hard to avoid the topic right now, so the occasional political topic may emerge. Here is the first Rm113 post with a 'politics' label. Let's all hope it doesn't get used much!)

I used to be really into politics. Now, I'm not. Partially, it's because everything I used to believe blew up in my face. I'm not really sure what I believe anymore. I wondered whether or not I should even vote in the last election. My wife didn't vote in the last election, as she decided it would be better to abstain due to a failure to be informed than accept my very uncertain opinions.

I used to think that anyone who voted against a school levy was a selfish, money-hungry jerk. Then, after doing some thinking of my own and some research, I voted against a school levy.

I used to think that Republicans were good Christian people and that Democrats weren't. In all honesty, I used to think it was impossible to be both a Democrat and a born-again Christian. Then, again, after doing some thinking of my own and some research, I started voting more Democratic in local elections.

I hate it when people just assume I agree with them politically simply because I (1) go to church with them, or (2) am in their family, or (3) am employed at the same place they are. But I hate it much much more when people send out stupid propaganda emails that are so clearly full of hate and lies.

Here's what I received the other day from someone who fits into one of the three categories above:

Who is Barack Obama?

Probable U.S. presidential candidate, Barack Hussein Obama was born in Honolulu , Hawaii , to Barack Hussein Obama, Sr., a black MUSLIM from Nyangoma-Kogel, Kenya and Ann Dunham, a white ATHEIST from Wichita, Kansas.

Obama's parents met at the University of Hawaii. When Obama was two years old, his parents divorced. His father returned to Kenya. His mother then married Lolo Soetoro, a RADICAL Muslim from Indonesia. When Obama was 6 years old, the family relocate to Indonesia. Obama attended a MUSLIM school in Jakarta.

Obama takes great care to conceal the fact that he is a Muslim. He is quick to point out that, 'He was once a Muslim, but that he also attended Catholic school.'

Obama's political handlers are attempting to make it appear that that he is not radical. Obama's introduction to Islam came via his father, and this influence was temporary at best. In reality, the senior Obama returned to Kenya soon after the divorce, and never again had any direct influence over his son's education.

Lolo Soetoro, the second husband of Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, introduced his stepson to Islam. Obama was enrolled in a Wahabi school in Jakarta. Wahabism is the RADICAL teaching that is followed by the Muslim terrorists who are now waging Jihad against the western world.

Since it is politically expedient to be a CHRISTIAN when seeking major public office in the United States, Barack Hussein Obama has joined the United Church of Christ in an attempt to downplay his Muslim background.

ALSO, keep in mind that when he was sworn into office he DID NOT use the Holy Bible, but instead the Koran. Barack Hussein Obama will NOT recite the Pledge of Allegiance nor will he show any reverence for our flag. While others place their hands over their hearts, Obama turns his back to the flag and slouches.

Let us all remain alert concerning Obama's expected presidential candidacy. The Muslims have said they plan on destroying the US from the inside out, what better way to start than at the highest level - through the President of the United States, one of their own!!!!

Please forward to everyone you know. Would you want this man leading our country?

(Sidenote: Another thing I hate is when people forward emails that are full of misspellings, horrendous punctuation, poor sentence structure, ridiculously large text, and uneven spacing. If you want me to take your forward seriously, at least take a second and clean it up. I corrected some of the misspellings and did a general cleanup before posting. I didn't want blood to spew out of your eyes any more than the content prompted.)

Within a few minutes, here was my reply-all (to the initial emailer's family, friends, churchmates, and co-workers, which may or may not have been a good idea):

This email has been widely circulated, but is just not true. Snopes.com reports that this email is the current most forwarded "urban legend" spread around the internet right now. I'm not much into politics, and typically lean conservative when I have an opinion at all, but it's unfair and inaccurate to spread lies about the man.

Here are some links to snopes pages, the self-proclaimed "urban legend page".

page on obama's supposed "radical muslim" beliefs

page on obama being sworn in on the koran instead of the bible

page on obama's unwillingness to honor the american flag

page on obama's church

I'm not suggesting you vote for him. I'm not trying to offend or stir the pot. I just don't think any of us would be doing any good by spreading lies.

Sheesh. I even got hatemonger responses from some of the distribution list. They're probably questioning my salvation... and that's ok...