DeAnneFed up with political emails
October 13th 2008 05:48
I'm Fed Up...
...with political emails.
And I'm not talking about the ones I get from politicians - asking for support. I'm talking about the ones trying to convince me not to vote for a certain candidate. (Amazingly, these are considerably one sided - I haven't received a single email - from a friend or relative - trying to convince me not to vote for the other candidate.) I wouldn't even mind so much if these emails were about the issues that matter, if they explained how the other side has better plans or a more serious commitment to the people. What bothers me is that they promote rumors, smears, and fears.
I've tried not to let this bother me. Other than the occasional reply politely refuting the rumor, smear, or supposed reason to fear, I usually just read the email and - quite often - laugh before deleting it. Sometimes, I just delete it without reading, because someone else has already sent the same thing (or the same person has before).
But enough is enough.
I sent a copy of this (as an email) to nearly everyone I know, even if they've never sent me a political email, in an attempt to let them know me better. If they don't like what they read - I'm sorry - I guess they don't know me as well as they thought they did. I'm not going to hold anyone's political affiliations against them, and I hope the people I know will not hold mine against me. The only thing I'm trying to convince anyone to do is evaluate the candidates based on the issues that matter - to you. Then vote for the person you think best for the job, based on those issues. I'm not going to try to convince anyone to vote for the candidate of my choice, and I hope after this, no one will try to convince me to vote for the candidate of their choice.
Anyone who knows me well, knows that I will not be voting for the McCain/Palin ticket. Those who know me best, also know that I did not support Barack Obama in the primary. My first choice was, in fact, Joe Biden. When he dropped out early in the race, I supported and voted for Hillary Clinton in the Texas primary. I was even chosen as a delegate from my precinct to the county convention, and an alternate to the state convention. (I did not attend the state convention because Sen. Clinton was out of the running by that time and my vote for her wouldn't help.)
Now, you can probably guess who I will be voting for next month. I'm sticking to my promise not to try to convince anyone to vote for my choice. I would, however, like to tell everyone what I think about the rumors, smears, and fears being promoted in the constant barrage of emails I receive.
Barack Obama (I don't use his middle name because I don't use anyone else's, and I don't think the name matters. My father's middle name is Clinton, does that make him like our former president? No!) -- sorry, I digress - Barack Obama is a Christian. He says he is a Christian, professing faith (not merely belief) in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Why should we doubt that? Do we doubt any of the other candidates' professions of faith? Just because his father was Muslim and his step-father was Muslim doesn't mean he is secretly Muslim as well. Just because he has been to a mosque (in his childhood) doesn't mean he's Muslim. It may surprise you to know that I've been to a mosque. One of my very best friends growing up was Muslim, and I attended with her once or twice. Does that make me Muslim? It may also surprise you to know that I own a Koran. I've read it, too. Does that make me Muslim? No. It makes me better informed about a religion that is different from my own in many ways, but also similar in many ways. Reading it doesn't weaken my faith in Christ, it strengthens it. And, by the way, I'm not afraid of Muslims. I am afraid of religious radicals, no matter what faith they claim supports their behavior.
Barack Obama is well educated, intelligent, and articulate. I can't say as much about some on the other side. He is well read, too. A recent email - one trying to make me scared that he is Muslim, or at the least in support of "Islamic views" - showed a photo of Obama with a book in his hand. It also had an enlarged view of the book - A Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria. For those of you who do not know the name, Zakaria is a Muslim - but apparantly not a very religious Muslim. He is editor of Newsweek International, a regular columnist for Newsweek and the Washington Post, as well as the host of his own weekly program on CNN. He is a best selling author and has won numerous awards for his columns. So I ask - why should it scare me that someone who might be our next president is reading this book? Because the title sounds like it might be anti-American? Read the reviews. (from Publishers Weekly: "When a book proclaims that it is not about the decline of America but the rise of everyone else, readers might expect another diatribe about our dismal post-9/11 world. They are in for a pleasant surprise as Newsweek editor and popular pundit Zakaria (The Future of Freedom) delivers a stimulating, largely optimistic forecast of where the 21st century is heading.") I would hope that all presidential-hopefuls have read this book and others like it. I would like to think that our leaders are well-read, and well-informed.
I think that is enough. It doesn't come close to covering all the rumors, smears, and fears, but it satisfies my need to vent.
In the future, I ask that no one send me email messages of a political nature, and I will promise the same. Because I value education, intelligence, etc. in a candidate, I value it in myself as well. I consider myself to be somewhat well read - on all sides of the issues. I consider myself to be intelligent enough to know the difference between rumors and facts. And I consider myself to be tolerant enough of others to not be afraid of someone just because he or she may not share my beliefs, political or religious.
So, now you know a little more about me. Sorry if I've offended anyone. If you don't like me, I'm OK with that. But if I didn't like people just because they may not agree with me, I wouldn't have cared enough to write and send this message.
...with political emails.
And I'm not talking about the ones I get from politicians - asking for support. I'm talking about the ones trying to convince me not to vote for a certain candidate. (Amazingly, these are considerably one sided - I haven't received a single email - from a friend or relative - trying to convince me not to vote for the other candidate.) I wouldn't even mind so much if these emails were about the issues that matter, if they explained how the other side has better plans or a more serious commitment to the people. What bothers me is that they promote rumors, smears, and fears.
I've tried not to let this bother me. Other than the occasional reply politely refuting the rumor, smear, or supposed reason to fear, I usually just read the email and - quite often - laugh before deleting it. Sometimes, I just delete it without reading, because someone else has already sent the same thing (or the same person has before).
But enough is enough.
I sent a copy of this (as an email) to nearly everyone I know, even if they've never sent me a political email, in an attempt to let them know me better. If they don't like what they read - I'm sorry - I guess they don't know me as well as they thought they did. I'm not going to hold anyone's political affiliations against them, and I hope the people I know will not hold mine against me. The only thing I'm trying to convince anyone to do is evaluate the candidates based on the issues that matter - to you. Then vote for the person you think best for the job, based on those issues. I'm not going to try to convince anyone to vote for the candidate of my choice, and I hope after this, no one will try to convince me to vote for the candidate of their choice.
Anyone who knows me well, knows that I will not be voting for the McCain/Palin ticket. Those who know me best, also know that I did not support Barack Obama in the primary. My first choice was, in fact, Joe Biden. When he dropped out early in the race, I supported and voted for Hillary Clinton in the Texas primary. I was even chosen as a delegate from my precinct to the county convention, and an alternate to the state convention. (I did not attend the state convention because Sen. Clinton was out of the running by that time and my vote for her wouldn't help.)
Now, you can probably guess who I will be voting for next month. I'm sticking to my promise not to try to convince anyone to vote for my choice. I would, however, like to tell everyone what I think about the rumors, smears, and fears being promoted in the constant barrage of emails I receive.
Barack Obama (I don't use his middle name because I don't use anyone else's, and I don't think the name matters. My father's middle name is Clinton, does that make him like our former president? No!) -- sorry, I digress - Barack Obama is a Christian. He says he is a Christian, professing faith (not merely belief) in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Why should we doubt that? Do we doubt any of the other candidates' professions of faith? Just because his father was Muslim and his step-father was Muslim doesn't mean he is secretly Muslim as well. Just because he has been to a mosque (in his childhood) doesn't mean he's Muslim. It may surprise you to know that I've been to a mosque. One of my very best friends growing up was Muslim, and I attended with her once or twice. Does that make me Muslim? It may also surprise you to know that I own a Koran. I've read it, too. Does that make me Muslim? No. It makes me better informed about a religion that is different from my own in many ways, but also similar in many ways. Reading it doesn't weaken my faith in Christ, it strengthens it. And, by the way, I'm not afraid of Muslims. I am afraid of religious radicals, no matter what faith they claim supports their behavior.
Barack Obama is well educated, intelligent, and articulate. I can't say as much about some on the other side. He is well read, too. A recent email - one trying to make me scared that he is Muslim, or at the least in support of "Islamic views" - showed a photo of Obama with a book in his hand. It also had an enlarged view of the book - A Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria. For those of you who do not know the name, Zakaria is a Muslim - but apparantly not a very religious Muslim. He is editor of Newsweek International, a regular columnist for Newsweek and the Washington Post, as well as the host of his own weekly program on CNN. He is a best selling author and has won numerous awards for his columns. So I ask - why should it scare me that someone who might be our next president is reading this book? Because the title sounds like it might be anti-American? Read the reviews. (from Publishers Weekly: "When a book proclaims that it is not about the decline of America but the rise of everyone else, readers might expect another diatribe about our dismal post-9/11 world. They are in for a pleasant surprise as Newsweek editor and popular pundit Zakaria (The Future of Freedom) delivers a stimulating, largely optimistic forecast of where the 21st century is heading.") I would hope that all presidential-hopefuls have read this book and others like it. I would like to think that our leaders are well-read, and well-informed.
I think that is enough. It doesn't come close to covering all the rumors, smears, and fears, but it satisfies my need to vent.
In the future, I ask that no one send me email messages of a political nature, and I will promise the same. Because I value education, intelligence, etc. in a candidate, I value it in myself as well. I consider myself to be somewhat well read - on all sides of the issues. I consider myself to be intelligent enough to know the difference between rumors and facts. And I consider myself to be tolerant enough of others to not be afraid of someone just because he or she may not share my beliefs, political or religious.
So, now you know a little more about me. Sorry if I've offended anyone. If you don't like me, I'm OK with that. But if I didn't like people just because they may not agree with me, I wouldn't have cared enough to write and send this message.
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Comment by Jeff Musall
Secular Humanity