I haven't blogged in a long time, but some things irk me so much they warrant a spew of word vomit......
I've recently had multiple conversations with people whose ignorance utterly shocks me. The funny thing is, they are speaking to me as if they are sure I share exactly the same beliefs as them...but I don't. It shames me as a Christian and an American to have many of my Christian friends and relatives tell me that they think that Obama is out to get them. To me, it's paranoia. "He's amoral!" They exclaim, and then proceed to tell a racist joke. That does not make sense at all to me. (And besides, can someone please tell me the differences between morals and beliefs?) To me, Obama is just supporting what he believes, just as Bush before him supported what he believed. Who could really believe that with all the swine flu, economic crises, and global warfar that Obama would have time to try to exterminate the Christians? Basically, they are just upset that we have a president that is of a different party affiliation and religion than they are.
For example, I had someone tell me today about a bill that is to be passed in the Senate (I have not read or heard of such a bill, yet, so please excuse my own ignorance: )) that says that if someone makes a duragatory comment about homosexuals that they can be put in jail. This person went on to say that if a pastor preaches about homosexuals that they, too, could be put in jail. As I said, I haven't read the bill, but it's hard for me to believe that a president (who deals all day with Constitutional Rights) would be so empowered as to take away our right to free speech. I'm not sure if I have the facts right. The main point I'm trying to make is that this person went on about how Obama is trying to crumble the Christians by passing this law that supports homosexuality when Christians do not. This person believed that it would become twisted and could become the downfall of the believer. To me, there are bigger issues. Fine, some people do not agree with homosexuality, and some people do. That's their own decision, and if someone wants to pass a bill that keeps people from badmouthing others who have made their own decision, that's fine with me. No one would balk if a similar bill was made for people who make racist comments.
I heard from someone else that believes that all the press with the swine flu is just an effort to get everyone panicked about it so the government and Obama can be our "saviors" and swoop in and save us. She thinks its a ploy to boost his ratings. This also astounds me, and I don't think I even have to explain why here.
I am not an avid Obama supporter, don't get me wrong. Neither do I support Bush and his administration. In fact, I was so put out with the government this past November that I didn't even vote. So I am supporting or condemming no one. I am just saying, come on, at least give the guy a chance to get started, get educated about politics in an objective way, and stop making stupid accusations.
2 comments:
agreed.
You are certainly entitled to your opinion and nobody has the right to judge you for it. But I am confused by your blog title "Ignorance is a cryin' shame" because you openly admit that you do not follow current legislation.
I suppose this conversation began with my facebook status, which btw never mentioned Obama; it simply expressed my annoyance of people who seem to have an opinion without any knowledge to support that opinion, nor the initiative or motivation to educate themselves in order to form an opinion.
I believe we agree on the point that it is dangerous to take someone else’s views as your own without doing your own research i.e. my parents believe it so therefore I do.
All that I meant by my status is that I have a hard time respecting uneducated opinions. From a political standpoint I sit far right, I have conservative beliefs, and I am borderline classic libertarian. I am strongly against progressive liberals and anarchist libertarians. But these political views have been drawn from my readings and studies of American history and such books as Thomas Paine’s Common Sense as well as modern literature. I continue to educate myself by staying current on what is happening in the House and Senate. I actively voice my opinions and concerns to my representatives via letter, email and phone. My wish is that more Americans, especially in my generation, would take an interest in American history and current politics and not vote blindly or “hope for the best.”
P.S. I am guilty of telling/passing Obama jokes. But I am also guilty of Bush jokes, Clinton jokes, and blonde jokes. I hope people are intelligent enough not use the logic that because I told a blonde joke I am intolerant of blondes.
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