“Before you speak, ask yourself, is it kind, is it necessary, is it true, does it improve on the silence?” Shirdi Sai Baba
“When fear, hatred, jealousy dominate our mind, then the best part of our brain which can judge cannot function properly.” Dalai Lama
As an Obama supporter from the very start from when he first ran for Senator when I was living in Illinois I am of course ecstatic over his big win and the thought of him being our President. I think he will go down in history as one of the best President we have ever had.
As happy as I am about his election I must say that the reaction of some of the McCain/Palin supporters and the absolute vitriolic things they are saying about Obama now really disturb and sadden me. You would think that the viciousness of the Republican ads and the fact that the American people rejected those attempts at smearing Obama would wake them up to realize that something is fundamentally wrong with their view.
If this election has taught us anything it should have taught us that we as Americans are fundamentally decent people and we do not want the negativity and hatred that was shown by a few of the McCain/Palin supporters. That is what it was, a few people who allowed their prejudices to be exploited, and as a result the American people again have to face the scrutiny of the press from around the world and the entrenched view that much of the rest of the world has of us as “Ugly Americans.”
Some of the Obama critics might want to realize that the man doesn’t take office until January and he can’t make the decisions on what to do about the economy, Israel, Afghanistan, world trade or anything else until that time. The important thing is that he can’t make those decisions by himself; he needs the approval of Congress. He will be President but this is a democracy and we do have three entities that make up this thing we call democracy. Remember your civics lessons about the three branches of government. You know the legislature, the legal and the executive? It takes all three working together for things to work properly. Obama was just elected two days ago. He still needs to get a staff together. He is not in office. He can’t solve anything right now he doesn’t have the power. He hasn’t been sworn in. Back off!
One of the ladies at work who has been known to be a real prejudiced person and has made some nasty cracks about Obama in the last few days had a concept suggested to her today that really rocked her way of thinking. I made the comment that maybe it is time to stop thinking about separate races, and how people who are of mixed heritage like Obama should be categorized, and start thinking about how we are all one race. We are a part of the human race. It started her thinking. Hopefully more and more people will start thinking that we are one people.
In the meantime there has been enough hatred thrown around in this campaign and maybe the McCain/Palin supporters should emulate Senator McCain and start being a little more gracious towards President Elect Obama. The world has enough turmoil right now and we as Americans need to give our new President our support as we try and find a way to regain the respect this country once had and try and be there to help solve the problems that face us as a nation and as a planet. We have to stop thinking as Democrats or Republicans, black or white, rich or poor, American or foreigners. We need to start thinking of ourselves as what we really are. We are one people, one race, and members of one little fragile planet.
“When fear, hatred, jealousy dominate our mind, then the best part of our brain which can judge cannot function properly.” Dalai Lama
As an Obama supporter from the very start from when he first ran for Senator when I was living in Illinois I am of course ecstatic over his big win and the thought of him being our President. I think he will go down in history as one of the best President we have ever had.
As happy as I am about his election I must say that the reaction of some of the McCain/Palin supporters and the absolute vitriolic things they are saying about Obama now really disturb and sadden me. You would think that the viciousness of the Republican ads and the fact that the American people rejected those attempts at smearing Obama would wake them up to realize that something is fundamentally wrong with their view.
If this election has taught us anything it should have taught us that we as Americans are fundamentally decent people and we do not want the negativity and hatred that was shown by a few of the McCain/Palin supporters. That is what it was, a few people who allowed their prejudices to be exploited, and as a result the American people again have to face the scrutiny of the press from around the world and the entrenched view that much of the rest of the world has of us as “Ugly Americans.”
Some of the Obama critics might want to realize that the man doesn’t take office until January and he can’t make the decisions on what to do about the economy, Israel, Afghanistan, world trade or anything else until that time. The important thing is that he can’t make those decisions by himself; he needs the approval of Congress. He will be President but this is a democracy and we do have three entities that make up this thing we call democracy. Remember your civics lessons about the three branches of government. You know the legislature, the legal and the executive? It takes all three working together for things to work properly. Obama was just elected two days ago. He still needs to get a staff together. He is not in office. He can’t solve anything right now he doesn’t have the power. He hasn’t been sworn in. Back off!
One of the ladies at work who has been known to be a real prejudiced person and has made some nasty cracks about Obama in the last few days had a concept suggested to her today that really rocked her way of thinking. I made the comment that maybe it is time to stop thinking about separate races, and how people who are of mixed heritage like Obama should be categorized, and start thinking about how we are all one race. We are a part of the human race. It started her thinking. Hopefully more and more people will start thinking that we are one people.
In the meantime there has been enough hatred thrown around in this campaign and maybe the McCain/Palin supporters should emulate Senator McCain and start being a little more gracious towards President Elect Obama. The world has enough turmoil right now and we as Americans need to give our new President our support as we try and find a way to regain the respect this country once had and try and be there to help solve the problems that face us as a nation and as a planet. We have to stop thinking as Democrats or Republicans, black or white, rich or poor, American or foreigners. We need to start thinking of ourselves as what we really are. We are one people, one race, and members of one little fragile planet.
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