Clinging To Religion And Our Hotmail Accounts

I live in the South where the phrase "living in a small town, clinging to guns and religion" does accurately describe our way of life here. It is not necessarily a bad way of life. It is a simple life where ignorance can sometimes be bliss. We work hard, worship devoutly, and are the cornerstone of America. But, because of this simple life some of us can fall prey to propaganda and misinformation much the same way Jed Clampett believed in the Grunion invasion.

Sometimes we take things at face value, especially when supplied to us by people we respect and look up to here in the South, such as Sean Hannity, Pat Robertson or from our fellow church members with hotmail accounts. How can this email be wrong we ask ourselves? After all, it did come from Edna and she's president of the Lady's Church Guild for crying out loud. "Obama's gonna take away our guns and our bibles! Brace yourself parishioners! I just saw it on Fox News and it says so right here at phyllisschlafly.com! Spread the word!"

I get forwarded email all the time. "Obama is in league with terrorists" or "Obama the Muslim" or my personal favorite, "Oprah is a Monster, let's fall on our knees and pray for her." While Edna is a wonderful and upstanding member of the church community and makes a mean chicken spaghetti casserole, I hardly think she and Fox News should be my only source of information when it comes to this presidential election -- but my volume of forwarded email shows otherwise.

I used to just keep my mouth shut when I received such email. "Bless their naive hearts," I would say for their lack of informed wisdom and go on about my day, reading my NY Times, watching my Sunday news shows and MSNBC, and making progress with my Eckhart Tolle New Earth workbook supplied by Oprah Winfrey. But today I just snapped and I began answering those emails with actual facts to debunk the myths they were propagating. I simply hate ignorance. If you're going to make me believe Obama is actually a Muslim, then please, back up the claim by showing me an actual picture of his Senate swearing in ceremony with his hand upon a Koran for pity's sake! Use Photoshop if you have to!

I am a Southerner who likes tangible facts. I don't take things at face value. I dig deep, I examine Senate voting records and review stances on the issues. I pride myself in being an informed and enlightened voter. I already knew I was voting for Obama, despite being a registered Republican. I had examined the issues and determined that Obama was the right candidate for the job. But I had never addressed some of the things that the religious right wing wants my fellow church goers to believe until now - that Obama, despite the evidence to the contrary, is really a Muslim, in league with terrorists and that he pledges allegiance to Mother Africa via the Black Values System.

In debunking these myths I found I admire and like Obama even more than I actually did. Wow, how can that possibly be? You see, in my investigating and digging to actually provide proof against these preposterous claims, I found out that Obama is a devoted father, loving husband, and a devout and practicing Christian. I found out that Obama's church is a well respected pillar of the south side of Chicago and that the church is well respected among both blacks and whites in the community despite the Rev. Wright's sometimes controversial sermons.

I found out that William Ayers was a radical protester of the Vietnam War, hid underground, and then became a so called distinguished professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and doesn't actually make apologies for his radical past. Obama has continually condemned the violent actions of the Weathermen group with which Ayers was involved. Any association with Obama as an 8 year old child helping Ayers plant bombs in statues is preposterous. I guess the religious and extreme right wing pray we Southerners can't do no Jethro cypherin' and figure that one out on our own.

I also found out the social context for which the Black Value System was adopted by the Trinity Church. Did you know that when Black Muslim groups first started to migrate to the South Side of Chicago in the 50's and 60's, Trinity Church embraced the tenants of the value system as a means to advance its Christian mission in an environment where blackness and Christianity were not tolerated in the community?

I also found out that "Liberation Theology" was born out of slavery and the Exodus story and the hope for something better. I find nothing racial, radical or un-American in that. We are a cultural melting pot. I think it's great to embrace our cultural heritage while prospering in this great land of ours. It's what we call "the American Dream" and Obama exemplifies this paradigm to the letter.

So, thank you extreme right wing for sending out this preposterous propaganda and having it forwarded to me by default. My curiosity for truth has made me like and admire Obama even more. Oh, and it's also enlarged my library with Oprah endorsed books too.

Comments

[robme]

One of my friends who sends me jokes, started sending out the lies about Obama. At first I thought he was sending them as a joke, but when I responded to him, he actually tried to support what was in the email. I realized then that the items were not meant as jokes. These emails started in again about the time of the 3rd debate and I started answering them with the facts and I was responding to the complete list. What amazed me is that I started getting email from people on the list telling we that I was naive, didn't live in the same country as they did, didn't have the best interests of the country in mind, etc. Basically all the usual right wing smear tactics. I just calmly rebut each statement and will do so until the election.

[cvandijk1]

Love it.

I'm not a child of the South. I'm a child of the West. Utah and Wyoming... Amazing how much crap I get forwarded to me...

All you have to do it the smallest amount of research on your own and you'll see just how wrong almost all of it is.

Great post!

[Mayuki]

"...Trinity Church embraced the tenants of the value system...."

Tenets, not tenants. You undid all your good work with that mistake!!

Nooooooo!

[writergirlinLA]

I soooooo need to disable that autocorrect function on my msword. Thanks for pointing that out; although all day long now I'm going to be doing Homer Simpson - D'oh!

Tracy

[lincheryl]

One word does not undo such good work. What is more destructive is criticism such as yours.

I am from the South and I loved this. Not all of us are ignorant and gullible.

[MrHHusseinMA]

Tracey, the bit that most people are missing here too is that Obama must have been either in Hawaii or Indonesia when Bill Ayers was doing his crazy stuff. Hey, could you write a post on how Obama can rehabilitate men like Rod Parsley, John Hagee, Rev. Phlegger and Rev. Wright after he becomes president. I just think this campaign has destroyed some good men who have done a lot of service to society except for one or two dumb remarks here and there. I was thinking that Obama needs to bring all these men together after the campaign and show America that he wants to heal conflict and govern wisely.

[carrieanna]

"Use Photoshop if you have to!"

haha, I totally laughed at that.

And as for the smear tactics, I keep wondering if this is how McCain would respond to issues as President. If the UK did something to annoy him would he start spouting off lies about PM Gordon Brown?

[lolcopter]

where ignorance can sometimes be bliss
reading my NY Times, watching my Sunday news shows and MSNBC
some of us can fall prey to propaganda and misinformation
we take things at face value
I hardly think she and Fox News should be my only source of information
lack of informed wisdom
Bless their naive hearts

I don't take things at face value.

[FaceYourFears]

Bravo Tracy, you deserve a service medal!!!! Thank you for having the courage and boldness to debunk the rumors and lies circulating about Sen O bama. I too have had to correct my fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord with true facts regarding Sen O. If we don't enlighten them, we become enablers to their ignorance. God help the church, God help us!

[blust8r]

Well done, Tracy, and THANK YOU!
I'm one of those "elitists" out on the left coast, with a lot of relatives in deeply red states. One gave me the unfortunate opportunity to "reply to all" in one of his forwarded e-mails. We've spoken since, but not very cordially. The rhetoric they yammer about is ridiculous. Completely false statements, that a good number of readers just TAKE AS FACT. It's appalling what goes on in the minds of some of those people. If taken at face value, there is no wonder so many of them are scared... they just need the correct information... and their fears can be allayed.
i've found numerous people out here that want the same assurances. Most have never voted before and see all these lies sent to them... and don't want the responsibility to make that kind of decision. Fortunately, I've convinced a few that it's THEIR RESPONSIBILITY to make the decision. It may end up not being the one I endorsed, but they made it with the best information I could find to give them the confidence to make it. (One young lady wants me to lead her by the hand... I will if I must.)
Posts like your's give me confidence in the system and the people out "there".

peace

[Susan L. Travis - Huffpost Blogger]

Great post, Tracy! There's nothing more educational than assembling the tools of a teacher.

[jmpurser]

Personally I started respecting Obama through a similar process. I'd research the smears levied by the Clinton campaign and it always turned out that Obama didn't quite do or say what they said he did and that what he ACTUALLY said or did was something I liked.

I'm voting for him but I'm not a fan. FISA, the death penalty, faith based government programs, abortion, and gay rights all mean he's not "my" candidate. But he's someone I don't have to wince about when I cast my vote for him.

[justafarmer]

Excellent, Tracy! I live way back in a holler in Eastern Kentucky. Funny thing I've observed here...it's the backwoods folks who are paying attention, researching, discussing and making up their own minds and it's the town folks who are making their decisions based on those emails from the various local "Ednas".

[jean1]

& i'm from the other side of KY. not that it makes that much difference. i recently got one of these non true emails from a 'friend' i've known all my long life. haven't heard from him in months or yr. didn't recognize the email address. it 'hit' me this time. i typed that i'd copy and send to proper authorities. ENOUGH! later, figured out who sent it. reasearch showed info had been debunked in june of this yr. i sent the info on to people who debunk hate emails or whatever they are called... not funny, yet VERY real.