Good Morning, politifiles.
It's a sunny Saturday morning in hodunk, PA. The dogs are sleeping, the kids are sleeping, and I've spent the last hour clinging to my guns and religion, and fostering my antipathy towards people who are not like me.
About 3 weeks ago, in my little town, there was an abundance of Obama signs that appeared to crop up overnight. My husband and I lamented that it appeared we had moved to Obamanation. Our neighbor across the street appeared to be the lone McCain supported in a sea of liberals, and we were disheartened. We decided to do our part, and my husband laid his hands on a very-hard-to-find McCain/Palin sign. I refuse to take credit for what happened next, but it did happen. In those 3 weeks, McCain/Palin signs have cropped up all over the town. They out number the Obama signs by a margin of 3 to 1. (And my town just isn't that big!) We felt a little better, despite the polls, some showing Mr. Obama with a 10-12 point lead.
And so here I am, on Saturday, taking the time to write a post that will probably never be read. It is the much promised post. The accusations of racism that have been leveled at people who may not be voting for "the one".
I am not a racist, and I take offense at being called one. I am also not besieged with white guilt. I do not feel I have to vote for someone just because of the color of his skin. Read that again and let it sink in. I have heard too many people say "I'm voting for Obama because he's black", and I have yet to hear one person anywhere say "I'm not voting for Obama because he's black". I've heard those same people who insist their only reason for voting for him is because of his skin color, label anyone who isn't voting for Obama, a racist. The logic of that escapes me.
A female politican, a few short weeks ago, said that the only qualification Sarah Palin had to be VP was that she had never had an abortion. I counter that statement with this: The only qualification that Barack Obama has to be President is that he is black.
Let me dissect that for you, and then I'll humbly submit to being called a racist. I'm sure I will.
If you had a white man, in his mid-forties, with no executive experience except several years as the Chairman of a foundation that failed in it's one goal, would he be polling head of John McCain?
If you had a white man, in his mid-forties who had associated with a non-repentant former terrorist, would he be polling head of John McCain?
If you had a white man who had sat in a church for 20 years listening to someone say "Goddamn America" would he be polling ahead of John McCain?
If you had a white man who told a prospective voter that he wanted to spread the wealth around, would he be polling ahead of John McCain?
If you had a white man who promised tax cuts to 95% of Americans when 40% of them don't even pay taxes, would he be polling ahead of John McCain?
If you had a white man who promised to bring the troops home from Iraq, to redeploy them to Afghanistan (definetely) and Pakistan (maybe) would he be polling ahead of John McCain?
If you had a white man who voted twice on the floor and once in commitee against the BAIPA would he be polling ahead of John McCain?
The answer to every single of one of those questions, if you are honest, is no.
Certain citizens of this country have spent years telling us that we need to feel bad for slavery. There isn't a single American alive today who was a part of that darkest time in our history. There are some of us, like myself, who didn't even have ancestors who took part in that darkest time of our country. My heritate is Amish (no slaves) French Canadien (not American), dirt poor Alabama natives (couldn't afford slaves) and American Indian (making me not a full wasp). I don't owe money, my job, my kids future placement at university or my vote to anyone simply because they happened to be black. As a matter of fact, I owe only 2 things in this world. The taxes to my government, and thanks to God for providing forgiveness. Nothing more, nothing less.
This country was founded on the tradition that you make your own way. We are only ever promised a right to pursue happiness and prosperity. We are not guaranteed the right to be happy and prosperous. If you want to go to Ivy League schools you bust your butt, get the best grades you can, and you work to stay there. College applications need to erase the "ethnicity" box from their applications, and take qualified applicants based on their merit alone. Kids in the inner city need a chance to escape failing schools, so they can work towards those goals. Most of them are doomed by a failing public school system that the government took over and ruined. They need the choice to succeed.
I don't want to give up even a bit of my piece of the pie so that someone who hasn't worked as hard can have a little bit more. I don't need my government to spread my wealth around. My husband and I sponsor two children through Compassion International, and we give to the United Way. I donate more money to charity in a year, then Joe Biden has donated in the last 10 years. I spread my own wealth around. And that is how it should be.
So, no, I'm not voting for Barack Obama, and it has nothing to do with the color of his skin. It has to do with the fact that I believe in the principles this country was founded on. I stand by those principles. Too bad there aren't a few more people who think like that. No, all they see is the color of a man's skin, and for them, that's enough of a reason to vote.
Next time: a day in the life of an every day American.
It's a sunny Saturday morning in hodunk, PA. The dogs are sleeping, the kids are sleeping, and I've spent the last hour clinging to my guns and religion, and fostering my antipathy towards people who are not like me.
About 3 weeks ago, in my little town, there was an abundance of Obama signs that appeared to crop up overnight. My husband and I lamented that it appeared we had moved to Obamanation. Our neighbor across the street appeared to be the lone McCain supported in a sea of liberals, and we were disheartened. We decided to do our part, and my husband laid his hands on a very-hard-to-find McCain/Palin sign. I refuse to take credit for what happened next, but it did happen. In those 3 weeks, McCain/Palin signs have cropped up all over the town. They out number the Obama signs by a margin of 3 to 1. (And my town just isn't that big!) We felt a little better, despite the polls, some showing Mr. Obama with a 10-12 point lead.
And so here I am, on Saturday, taking the time to write a post that will probably never be read. It is the much promised post. The accusations of racism that have been leveled at people who may not be voting for "the one".
I am not a racist, and I take offense at being called one. I am also not besieged with white guilt. I do not feel I have to vote for someone just because of the color of his skin. Read that again and let it sink in. I have heard too many people say "I'm voting for Obama because he's black", and I have yet to hear one person anywhere say "I'm not voting for Obama because he's black". I've heard those same people who insist their only reason for voting for him is because of his skin color, label anyone who isn't voting for Obama, a racist. The logic of that escapes me.
A female politican, a few short weeks ago, said that the only qualification Sarah Palin had to be VP was that she had never had an abortion. I counter that statement with this: The only qualification that Barack Obama has to be President is that he is black.
Let me dissect that for you, and then I'll humbly submit to being called a racist. I'm sure I will.
If you had a white man, in his mid-forties, with no executive experience except several years as the Chairman of a foundation that failed in it's one goal, would he be polling head of John McCain?
If you had a white man, in his mid-forties who had associated with a non-repentant former terrorist, would he be polling head of John McCain?
If you had a white man who had sat in a church for 20 years listening to someone say "Goddamn America" would he be polling ahead of John McCain?
If you had a white man who told a prospective voter that he wanted to spread the wealth around, would he be polling ahead of John McCain?
If you had a white man who promised tax cuts to 95% of Americans when 40% of them don't even pay taxes, would he be polling ahead of John McCain?
If you had a white man who promised to bring the troops home from Iraq, to redeploy them to Afghanistan (definetely) and Pakistan (maybe) would he be polling ahead of John McCain?
If you had a white man who voted twice on the floor and once in commitee against the BAIPA would he be polling ahead of John McCain?
The answer to every single of one of those questions, if you are honest, is no.
Certain citizens of this country have spent years telling us that we need to feel bad for slavery. There isn't a single American alive today who was a part of that darkest time in our history. There are some of us, like myself, who didn't even have ancestors who took part in that darkest time of our country. My heritate is Amish (no slaves) French Canadien (not American), dirt poor Alabama natives (couldn't afford slaves) and American Indian (making me not a full wasp). I don't owe money, my job, my kids future placement at university or my vote to anyone simply because they happened to be black. As a matter of fact, I owe only 2 things in this world. The taxes to my government, and thanks to God for providing forgiveness. Nothing more, nothing less.
This country was founded on the tradition that you make your own way. We are only ever promised a right to pursue happiness and prosperity. We are not guaranteed the right to be happy and prosperous. If you want to go to Ivy League schools you bust your butt, get the best grades you can, and you work to stay there. College applications need to erase the "ethnicity" box from their applications, and take qualified applicants based on their merit alone. Kids in the inner city need a chance to escape failing schools, so they can work towards those goals. Most of them are doomed by a failing public school system that the government took over and ruined. They need the choice to succeed.
I don't want to give up even a bit of my piece of the pie so that someone who hasn't worked as hard can have a little bit more. I don't need my government to spread my wealth around. My husband and I sponsor two children through Compassion International, and we give to the United Way. I donate more money to charity in a year, then Joe Biden has donated in the last 10 years. I spread my own wealth around. And that is how it should be.
So, no, I'm not voting for Barack Obama, and it has nothing to do with the color of his skin. It has to do with the fact that I believe in the principles this country was founded on. I stand by those principles. Too bad there aren't a few more people who think like that. No, all they see is the color of a man's skin, and for them, that's enough of a reason to vote.
Next time: a day in the life of an every day American.
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