Think Before You Pass It On

The other day someone sent me one of those emails that seem to burn through the Internet regularly advocating a position or belief. This one looked like a nice little promo for John McCain with a story about his POW experience; how one of his compatriots sewed an American Flag on a tee-shirt and how they used it to recite the Pledge of Allegiance each afternoon. It was a nice story and one McCain has repeated many times in speeches. But as I read further it turned out that it wasn’t so much McCain fan mail as it was a set up to bash Barack Obama.

The email ended with a photograph of Barack Obama at a campaign event. In the photograph all of the other candidates held their hand over their heart, while Obama had his hands folded in front of him. The email presented the photo as “proof” that Obama did not respect his country and asserted he was refusing to cover his heart during the pledge of allegiance, with the following quote; “oh......and then you have this clown, who refuses to place his hand on his heart and say the pledge...... " (To get more details and the facts check www.snopes.com/politics/obama/anthem.asp)

These kinds of things are ubiquitous on the Internet and the so called “right” and so called “left” are guilty of publishing misinformation to "prove" to others what they already believe. I had one recently quoting a Ronald Reagan diary entry in which Reagan reported that George H W Bush, his VEEP at the time, ask him to find a job for his "neer do well son, not the one from Florida." I wanted to believe it but a little research revealed that it was misinformation too like so much of what drops into our email boxes.

But what about the photo of Obama and the claim that he was “refusing” to cover his heart? What is that really about? It wasn’t a difference of opinion on the issues. The writer complemented Hillary Clinton, whose views on most issues and particularly a commitment to withdraw troops from Iraq parallel Obama’s. But the writer said; “I don't care for Hillary, but at least she shows respect for the country she lives in!”

I believe the charge of disrespect had nothing to do with covering his heart. A little research quickly revealed that the moment captured was a rendering of the national anthem, not the pledge of allegiance. Go to any professional sporting event in the United States and observe how many people are holding a beer in the hand that should be covering their heart.

So what is really behind this? Could the real purpose be that the writer and his compatriots are suggesting that Obama is not really an American? The writer makes a point of stating; “Barack Hussein Obama that’s his middle name.” It is difficult for me to accept and follow the logic but I think there are people who believe that sharing a middle name with thousands of Arab and Muslim men makes him dangerous and not loyal to the United States. I wonder if the writer is also suggesting that Obama, because his father was African, black and Muslim, is less worthy of our trust.

Why give more attention to this? People who believe these things are a minority and are themselves inconsistent with American and basic human values, aren’t they? After all, what is more underhanded then guilt by association? What is more un-American then religious intolerance? What is more inconsistent with our American heritage the bashing the success of someone born of the “melting pot” of diverse cultures and nations that have created United States.

I am sure there are plenty of people who don’t support Obama because they hold different views on the issues or because they think he doesn’t have as much experience in government as McCain. But to say he doesn’t respect the country he lives in based on a photograph with no documentation of the event and suggest a disloyalty based on a name or a parent’s religious affiliation is at a minimum disrespectful and perhaps hateful.

If, God forbid, we ever do have a candidate for president that is in league with interests that want to destroy us the one thing we can count on is that he or she will never be caught without their hand over their heart during our pledge of allegiance and our National Anthem.