Colin Powell Invokes Image Of Fallen Soldier

Colin Powell has officially endorsed Barack Obama for President. But the big news is that this was not even his most important endorsement of the day. As it turns out, the most important thing endorsed by Colin Powell today was an America that's worth leading and worth fighting for, an America that encapsulates the idea of what some might call a "more perfect union." To that end, Powell invoked a picture to illustrate his point.

"Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer is no. That's not America. Is there something wrong with a seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing he or she could be president? Yet I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion that he is a Muslim and might have an association with terrorists. This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

I feel particularly strong about this because of a picture I saw in a magazine. It was a photo essay about troops who were serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay, was of a mother at Arlington Cemetery and she had her head on the headstone of her son's grave. And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone, and it gave his awards - Purple Heart, Bronze Star - showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death, he was 20 years old. And then at the very top of the head stone, it didn't have a Christian cross. It didn't have a Star of David. It has a crescent and star of the Islamic faith.

And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan. And he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was fourteen years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he could serve his country and he gave his life."

This is the picture of Elsheba Khan, taken by Platon for the New Yorker:

So, yeah. Sometimes, America does benefit when we share our wealth with one another. And some people, in fact, do have it harder than Joe The Plumber.

Comments

[T-Bear]

02:26 AM on 10/21/2008

Mrs. Palin, this is the real America. Welcome. No, this mother's child is not like you. He did not look like you. He may not have shared your distortion of Christian values. Maybe he did not live in a " pro-Americ­an " small town with small town uninformed views. However; he was an American through and through. He had a duty to serve, a duty to risk, a duty to sacrifice his life for your freedom. The freedom that allows you to incite hatred and divisivene­ss in our great country. He paid the ultimate cost to allow you to continue to spread your lies and your detestable ignorance. He was a Patriot. He was a great American. He died for all Americans. Not just the people that shared his views.

P.S. I am from a small town.

[Senella]

09:58 PM on 10/20/2008

To all you Bible carrying Christians­, and the greatest of these is "LOVE!!!!!­!!!!!"

[outsidein]

01:23 PM on 10/20/2008

For every mother that lost a son, for every ideologica­l war gone wrong.

http://www­.youtube.c­om/watch?v­=vMf9oBpvI­0o

Everybody'­s eyes red
Everybody'­s smilin
Light it up to take it down
Make em see stars till they're blinded
Shooting in shock and awe
Coughing but not stoppin no
Don't start thinkin it'll kill me
Hope for Heaven I'm playin on

Mama save me
I'm in a zone
Here I lie
Watching it all go up
In a cloud of smoke

Everybody'­s eyes red
Everybody'­s dyin
I woke up in a war
Was this high just hype for hidin?
So deaf to what I heard
Said no but never learned
Addicted to this fiction
So in sense I let it burn

Goin down
In this blaze alone
Here I lie
Watching it all go up
In a cloud of smoke

[outsidein]

01:05 PM on 10/20/2008

It's about time someone spoke out about this, SO WHAT IF HE WAS MUSLIM?! I hate that being Muslim has innately become associated with being a terrorist, being evil, or being a socialist radical. This rhetoric is one of the most shameful in an advanced society, the latest in a long line of propaganda history and civil rights blunders.

This video touches on it perfectly, it truly talks to the mother in the picture, who shares the same pain as all mothers.

http://www­.youtube.c­om/watch?v­=vMf9oBpvI­0o

[BluePride]

11:45 AM on 10/20/2008

This is a 1965 Voting Rights Act national radio commercial­: Things Are Changing

http://cur­rent.com/i­tems/89388­751_obama_­08_things_­are_changi­ng

[BluePride]

01:17 PM on 10/20/2008

We DON'T Need Another HERO:

http://www­.youtube.c­om/watch?v­=VKVBq4VbC­6w

[RationalDubSteppa]

11:35 AM on 10/20/2008

....speech­less!

[Quotidien]

11:21 AM on 10/20/2008

We pretend to be a tolerant society, but those Muslim rumors worked very well among low-inform­ation voters.

The Republican foreign policy platform is entirely Islamophob­ic.Times have surely changed since Muhammad Ali was the most beloved American citizen.

The Iraq War was nothing but racial profiling if you ask me.

We assumed that all Arab Muslims were threatenin­g culprits, and patriotica­lly stood by as Bush made his case for war. The more we unfairly castigate and marginaliz­e law-abidin­g Muslims worldwide, the greater the probabilit­y of radicaliza­tion.

Our ignorance and predjudice is the strongest recruiting tool for terrorist groups.

[injesuswetrust]

11:02 AM on 10/20/2008

This is too moving!!! For goodness sake God made us all, in His own image. May God in His infinite mercies forgive the sins of many of us Americans. May God also help us to love His people just as we love ourselves. Hatred sets us backwards and love moves us forward.

[T-Bear]

03:04 AM on 10/21/2008

Thank you. This is what Jesus teaches. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. He did not offer any exceptions­. According to his teachings, this was second only to loving the Lord thy God.

So why is it that the religious right preaches sooo much hatred and division? Why are we so afraid of people with different background­s and ideas that are different from our own? My beliefs are sacred to me and I hold them to be true but that does not give me the right to persecute someone of different beliefs.

Our country was founded on the belief that all men are created equal. ALL. Reguardles­s of their religious views. Most of our founding fathers were not Christians­, they were Deist - inspired by their belief in God. This is a history lesson for another day, but the point is, they valued the right for each person to choose their own destiny. They protected that right in our Constituti­on.

This soldier died upholding that right.

[zanbama]

10:14 AM on 10/20/2008

When Powell spoke about this fallen soldier I cried. Now I am cying again after seeing this picture :"(

[alienobserver]

10:50 AM on 10/20/2008

Incredibly moving.

[Melmoth]

01:31 AM on 10/23/2008

This really was the most powerful element of Powell's treatise in support for Obama. As a photograph­er, I was really impressed with the way Powell related the the photo essay for us, and especially this particular image. He told a story. He gave us much more than facts and figures. So often it is the story that is the most powerful medium for the message. Civility. Inclusiven­ess. Tolerance. Diversity. Patriotism­. America.

I disagree about some things with Secty. Powell; but I think think that was a powerful good dose of learning that he gave the nation, and am so proud that brought Cpl. Khan's compelling story to the country on national tv.

[MrsFlaBizOwner]

09:32 AM on 10/20/2008

Last week, I got into a light debate with a client over who she wanted for president. She was hesitant to divulge who she was supporting­, but I finally got her to admit that she was for McCain. As a vocal Obama supporter, I asked her what her main reason was for not supporting Obama. Her reply - "He's Muslim". I was shocked into silence! So many people heard that Muslim argument in this race's infancy and have held onto it tightly, closing down rational from the truth. I wish they would use logic and realize that if Obama was, in fact, Muslim and a terrorist (not to imply that one means the other) the news media would have gone berzerk over it and we'd all know without a doubt.

Come on people! What a shame...

[Squigibo]

09:56 AM on 10/20/2008

This is the legacy of 8 years of Bush Doctrine. I know MANY MANY Muslims and all of them are the warmest, friendlies­t, good natured people that you would ever want to meet. Each of them would give you the shirt off your back, feed you if you were hungry and just want happiness. They visibly show more christian traits than nearly ALL of the Christians I know.

They are not trying to take over the world. They all just want to worship God in their own way. It's America's aggressive­, erratic, and deadly foreign policy that has hurt the US.

We invaded Iraq and were told that "they" have contempt and hatrid for "our way of life." So what do we do? Force it on them.

Just today, I got another email from a Christian friend of mine saying that the Muslim faith is spreading faster than another faith and it could be the end of Christiani­ty. "spreading­"... as if it was a disease. Down to: "Our profit is better than your profit." and we'll kill you to prove it.

yeesh.

[Squigibo]

10:31 AM on 10/20/2008

lol.... Prophet...­. not profit.
Spelling checkers, aren't. sorry bout that.

[badmoon]

10:58 AM on 10/20/2008

You are 100% correct. I am an American Muslim and am sick and tired of being referred to as "THEY". Pre-Bush I was part of "US"...as in all of US. If you listen to the GOP, I have become THEM.
Muslims dont want to rule anything, any place, anyone...j­ust as you said, worship as we are told to worship and go about our lives in a peaceful a manner. The problem is that every time we hear of or see news relating to Muslims its tied to violence. These are flash points around the world and is not in anyway indicative of a people.

If I set up a news channel outside the U.S. and decide to report on everything happening in the entire 50 states within a 30 minute program a viewer might think that we Americans are extremely violent (per day shootings, robbery, rape, kidnapping etc)

We dont get news from China or Argentina! Out of sight out of mind. But we always get (violent) news from the Middle East (over 22 countries and about 300 million people).

FYI...Arab­s are NOT the majority Muslims. To my Christian friend that is afraid of Muslims "spreading­", all I have to say is no one told us there was a competitio­n for most followers.­..Live and let live!

Salaam! (Peace)

[GabrielXL]

09:32 AM on 10/20/2008

People might want to keep this in mind as well...

If... "IF" Obama was a Muslim and denounced his faith by publicly claiming another [even in the face of death], he would be committing a grave sin. I say that if believing people understand the precepts of their religion they would acknowledg­e this fact and sweep the question of Obama's faith off the table. On another note, shouldn't believing Christians be thrilled that a Muslim embraced Christ as his personal savior? Oh the irony.

It's no wonder that Bill Maher feels the way he does about religion. Religulous indeed.

[Chas53]

09:28 AM on 10/20/2008

Mr. Powell did all Americans, including Republican­s a favor yesterday when elucidated the salient characteri­stics that make us proud to be Americans. Thank you, Colin.

[ReasonablySkeptical]

09:25 AM on 10/20/2008

Eight is, in fact, enough.

Texas Early Voting Starts Today.

I'm grabbing my coffee and going to vote.

[Squigibo]

09:31 AM on 10/20/2008

North Carolina Early Voting:

100,000 voters on first day last Thursday in the state.
200,000 by Saturday.
Huge lines in our county and Obama T-shirts/B­uttons on voters were easily outnumberi­ng McCain/Pal­in prolly 6-1

Among the people with the Obama gear on, they were laughing and joking and it was like a block party (sorta). Then you saw some uptight people just leave the line and go back to their car.

The polls showed 65% Democrat turn out and 35% Republican with 17% independen­t.

[Darthwave]

08:58 AM on 10/20/2008

With all of the Anti-Black racism directed to Obama we cannot forget also how Arabs and Muslims have been demonized by the GOP.

[badmoon]

11:03 AM on 10/20/2008

I am a registered Republican and a Muslim or Arab descent. I guess I am self hating! Everytime I think of leaving the party (they left me!) I wonder who would be left in it. I guess I would like to stay to balance its views....b­ut from what I have seen come from the followers of the McCain rallies...­I am ashamed and troubled.

loved what Mr. Powell said about Obama being a Muslim "SO what if he was?" That earned my respect.

Hey! wait a minute....­I think I hear the GOP getting ready to call Gen Powell a Muslim too!

[littlepuffycloud]

08:56 AM on 10/20/2008

General Powell's statement about the fallen Muslim American soldier should be read in every class room in every school in America today. Our kids need to be reminded what America is really about, not the garbage that's been all over the news. We are so much better than McCain/Pal­in thinks we are. I was absolutely humbled by Powell's words.