I am not going to say I am not disturbed by certain things I have heard shouted from the rooftops of Ohio and Florida about Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. “He’s a Muslim,” or “He’s a terrorist,” and it gets worse from there. You needn’t watch Fox News for very long to see footage of real Americans saying these things — you know, “real Americans.” Apparently, in today’s United States of America, if you’re from New York City or Chicago, you’re not real enough. If your father was laid off from General Motors Corp. or if you’re not a farmer, you’re not real enough.
The question that comes to mind is so what? The main issue, to me, is not whether he is or isn’t a Muslim (he’s not).
It seems these people are saying loud and clear that we may be ready for an African American president, or a female vice president. But a Muslim? Whoa now, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Might need another half century of progress before we approach that one.
Many agree we need a change in Washington, and some of those people believe Obama is the change we need. I believe we do need change, but not only in Washington. We need change in Canton, Ohio. We need change in Waco, Texas. Yes, we even need change across the great state of Michigan, not because false rumors about a presidential front-runner have gone way too far, but because I used to think that in this great country you could do anything. Any child — black, white, Jew, Muslim, boy or girl — could grow up to be president. I believed that once.
I’ll vote for change and act for change until it happens.
Daniel Kuhn
international relations senior
Support student media!
Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
Discussion
Share and discuss “Candidates' religion, culture shouldn't harm them at polls ” on social media.
