Obama: Secret Muslim Terrorist?

Have you heard that Barack Obama is a Muslim, or that he goes to a black supremacist church? Many people have the tendency to base their judgments for candidates on false information given to them through the media. These faulty generalizations have been extremely irritating
me. I hear these generalizations not only from the media but in everyday conversation with my own family. From one extreme to another, first he’s a Muslim now he’s a bad Christian.
Why should it matter if Obama is a Muslim? It has nothing to do with his ability to help, or run a nation. Yes, 9/ 11 was caused by terrorists who like to use Islam to justify what they did, but how many Christians have blown up abortion clinics, killing innocent people saying it was gods will. Does this make all Christians bad people? I understand that people have a gut reaction as a result of 9/11 but they need to step back and reevaluate whether or not their beliefs about Muslims are valid.
In light of the recent evidence that Obama is not a Muslim, attacks have been made saying that he goes to a black supremacist church, and also supports a preacher who makes inflammatory comments about America. The Trinity United Church of Christ describes itself as “Unashamedly Black and Unapologetically Christian” which tells me that they don’t hate white people, their just proud of their heritage and faith. It’s no different then those that attend Greek Orthodox or Polish Catholic churches celebrating their ancestry. As far as inflammatory remarks made by the rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s Preacher, goes, who hasn’t had a mentor or close family member who has said things that were controversial, disagreeable, or just plain wrong. Obama can hardly be held responsible for anti-American comments made by Wright. People need to begin taking a second look at what is heard through the media ,and not just accept things at face value.

The Need for Gun Control

Most Americans have very different ideas about gun control, some believing we need more of it while others think it is fine the way it is. I read an editorial entitled " Gun Crazy " from the New York Times that discusses the need for gun control due to the increase in gun related deaths, and the recent tragedies at Northern Illinois University as well as Virginia Tech.

As a result of the New York Times liberal leanings the editorial specifically calls on Democratic presidential candidates to make gun control a larger part of their campaign.As the editorial points out, "No single measure or combination of measures can ensure that deranged individuals are prevented in every instance from shooting up a crowded classroom or shopping mall", but stricter regulations could reduce gun violence. The editorial suggests stronger regulations such as mandatory background checks ( including gun shows), one gun per month limit, and a ban on military style weapons. All this is very reasonable except for the part about the ban on military style weapons, after all the reason we have the right to bear arms is to protect ourselves from tyranny. If as citizens we wanted to revolt against a tyrannical government we would need to have more than just pump action shotguns. I do however believe that stronger gun control is necessary and that democrats need to step up to the plate.

With the presidential election coming around the corner we do need to be reminded that there are more issues at stake then just the war in Iraq and health care. "Gun Crazy" does well to remind us that gun control should be somewhere at the top of that list, and that we should be challenging our candidates to come up with viable solutions that still protect our rights.