I continue to be distressed by the nasty tone this election has taken. The msm, for the most part is attempting to portray the negativity as coming from both camps, and to some small degree they are right, but the "hate," as best I can tell, is only coming from the Republican side of the equation.
As a Christian, this is particularly worrisome to me. I can't recall having ever experienced any discrimination because of my religion. Not ever. But I can see how the way McCain-supporting Christians are acting could cause a backlash in this country against Christians. I certainly feel no pride in the way many Christians are behaving.
I personally know many who believe all the crap that is being spread on the internet. As a result of my attempts to "right" the record, I am no longer receiving any, but I still hear about them from others who are. When I hear things like the Pastor praying for God to make sure He makes McCain win, so His reputation will be protected, seeing a man carrying a stuffed monkey w/ an Obama sticker on it into an event, hearing yells of "kill him" and "terrorist" it offends not only my sense of fair play, but it offends me personally that people who claim to be followers of Christ would act like this. It is so against EVERYTHING that Jesus stands for.
Now I know not all Christians are like this. I ran across an excellent article written by Frank Schaeffer, son of the late envagelist Francis Schaeffer, and former McCain supporter. It deals with many of the issues facing us in this election and is a MUST READ!
http://www.alternet.org/rights/102837/former_mccain_supporter%3A_mccain_is_%22unleashing_the_monster_of_american_prejudice%22/?page=entireHere are a few excerpts:
"John McCain: If your campaign does not stop equating Sen. Barack Obama
with terrorism, questioning his patriotism and portraying Mr. Obama as
'not one of us,' I accuse you of deliberately feeding the most unhinged
elements of our society the red meat of hate, and therefore of
potentially instigating violence.
and,
"John McCain: In 2000, as a lifelong Republican, I worked to get you
elected instead of George W. Bush. In return, you wrote an endorsement
of one of my books about military service. You seemed to be a man who
put principle ahead of mere political gain.
"You have changed.
You have a choice: Go down in history as a decent senator and an
honorable military man with many successes, or go down in history as
the latest abettor of right-wing extremist hate.
"John McCain,
you are no fool, and you understand the depths of hatred that
[surround] the issue of race in this country. You also know that,
post-9/11, to call someone a friend of a terrorist is a very serious
matter. You also know we are [a bitterly divided country] on many other
issues. You know that, sadly, in America, violence is always just a
moment away. You know that there are plenty of crazy people out there.
"Stop! Think! Your rallies are beginning to look, sound, feel and smell like lynch mobs.
"John
McCain, you're walking a perilous line. If you do not stand up for all
that is good in America and declare that Senator Obama is a patriot,
fit for office, and denounce your hate-filled supporters when they
scream out 'Terrorist' or 'Kill him,' history will hold you responsible
for all that follows.
The McCain campaign knows this...They are doing one of their fake "tone it down" things, yet they don't come out and demand that people require more of themselves. They say the words, but with a wink and a smile, and allow it to continue. Their outrage at Congressman John Lewis' comments about George Wallace was laughable. They KNOW it is true.
Hopefully, with the growing number of voices within their own party calling for them to tone it down, they will back off. If John McCain was half the man he claims to be, he would make a speech akin to the one Sen. Obama made about race, apologizing for the language coming from his campaign and denouncing the hate mentality that it has inspired.
I'm not holding my breath.
