Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Ignorance is not Bliss

Today while looking at Facebook, I see this posting by a "friend" (i.e. not really a personal friend, but a friend of many people do know personally for many years, so I added her as well).

"DEAR LORD, THIS YEAR YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTOR, PATRICK SWAYZIE. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTRESS, FARAH FAWCETT. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE SINGER, MICHAEL JACKSON. I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW, MY FAVORITE PRESIDENT IS BARACK OBAMA. AMEN."

There were four comments to this posting, all saying how funny it was or how much they agree with it. I couldn't believe it. People really think its funny to wish death on someone?? They do realize that's what this post means, right?

I didn't like George Bush, but it certainly never occurred to me to wish him death, even as a joke. I am just astounded by the vitriol and antagonism that people have against Obama. I may not agree with everything Obama does, but I still respect him as a person and as our President, same as I had to do with Bush, although I liked him a lot less.

It still amazes me that some people think Obama is not a natural American citizen. Get over it! Don't you think that if that was true, it would have been confirmed way before the election and certainly before he took over the office. That there are people that still harp on this clear falsehood just goes to show (a) how stupid/uneducated so many people are in this country; and (b) how willing so many people are to spread lies in order to get their way.

And many of these people call themselves Christian too. Its just heartbreaking that people have perverted the teachings of Jesus to whatever suits their selfishness. I may not go to church every week, but I still think I lead a more Christian life than so many of these fanatics.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprise that there is so much hate going around given the 'airwaves of hate mongering' by the likes or Limbaugh and Beck. What's worse is that they know what they are doing (which makes them worse than the likes of Sarah Palin, who is just ignorant - I mean seriously, her saying she knows about Russia because she could see it from her house is like me saying I know auto mechanics because I drive a car). They prey on those that are ignorant and blissfully wish to remain so (which is almost as bad).

In this day and age, its just astounding how many people seem to want to return to the dark ages, where fear, hate and ignorance ruled the day for the few in power. Its so easy to get true information these days, although I admit one sometimes does have to wade through lies to find it. Still, anyone with a little bit of effort can find the truth. That people who have lost their jobs and suddenly find themselves with a lot of time choose to take the easy road, go to teaparty rallies and just chant along with the crowd instead of taking the available time to educate themselves as to the truth behind the issues is just sad.

I know I certainly hope that the educated, intelligent, thoughtful way prevails in our national elections for a while, so that those that willfully choose to remain uninformed will realize that ignorance is not bliss.

4 comments:

Dave Mosier said...

I'm no fan of Obama and I have issue with anyone wishing him death.

As for the birth certificate issue, the reason why that drags on is that they White House has the appearance of stonewalling on the issue. This could have been nipped in the bud (if I may steal that line from Barney Fife) had they addressed this early on, but it's going to be like the Vince Foster "suicide": it won't go away.

Eponah said...

I don't really understand why its still going on. Its my understanding that Hawaii has certified that Obama was born there, so what's the issue? Just because he doesn't have his "original" birth certificate means nothing. I don't have mine, does that mean I'm not a citizen? I've got a U.S. passport, so does Obama. If Hawaii has certified the issue, how can Arizona (or any other state) reverse that under the full faith and credit clause of the Constitution?

Dave Mosier said...

I have seen what is claimed to be his Hawaii birth certificate but I don't know if that's what a Hawaii birth certificate is supposed to look like. Being an engineer, I feel that I can't "rule" one way or the other as to whether or not he was born in Hawaii as that information is missing. That missing information should be easy, but the so called "birthers" aren't providing an example Hawaii birth certificate either. So in my book it's inconclusive.

Likewise, I don't know if Oswald acted alone as that I don't know if a Marine qualified sharpshooter can get off three rounds in a bolt action rifle and hit a target without a scope at that distance on two of those shots. Missing information again, that neither side of that debate can give me.

Re passports, yes a passport would make you a citizen and Obama is a citizen. No question on that. However, you don't need to have been born inside this country to qualify for one...my late father in law had a US passport and he was born in Italy.

What I don't understand though is why the "birthers" did not have issue with McCain being born in the Panama Canal Zone. To me, McCain is not eligible to serve as President because he was not born here.

Also....even if you don't have your original birth certicate, you could get a certified copy with a phone call to Sacramento and a credit card number. I've had to do that to get mine when I had to undergo a background check in 1988.

On a different note, I'm at Lynette's in Queen Creek right now. We took the back way in, along an AZ highway that used to be the old US 80/89. Very scenic! We're driving to Safford tomorrow, and then to my place from there.

Eponah said...

In regards to the 'certified copy of the birth certificate', my understanding is that what he has, but the birthers want him to produce the original 'long form' certificate that the state apparently no longer has (supposedly destroyed when the state put everything on computer).

I'm fairly comfortable that he was fully vetted as a natural citizen, they do major background checks on candidates, checking every closet. I'm sure if there was any real truth to the accusations, real proof would have been produced.