Angering and Tear-Inducing All at Once

Last Thursday, driving home I heard this story. My jaw dropped and I am lucky I didn't have an accident when I heard this part:

"Leah Moreland, the woman who said she grew up sheltered from prejudice, plans to vote for McCain. Party loyalty is also part of her decision. But her cultural compass also comes into play. She says her gut tells her not to trust Obama.

"I look at Obama, and I have a question in my mind," she says. "Years ago, was he taken into the Muslim faith? And my concern is the only way you are no longer a Muslim is if you are dead, killed. So in my mind, he's still alive."

Although Barack Obama has said repeatedly he is not a Muslim and has never been a Muslim, Moreland is still unconvinced.

"There is something about him I don't trust," she says. "I don't care how good a speaker he is, I just can't trust him."

I was instantly angry and sad at it. I've been trying to figure out how to respond ever since.

On one hand, it's so ludicrous, it seems silly to justify it by responding. On the other, it's a good opportunity to talk about what race and religion does to people, and how it continues to inform our culture. And it's an opportunity to point out how a certain side of the political spectrum is promoting racism and religious bias by putting lies out there.

On the race side of thing, I rather think we are all racist to a certain extent, and those who claim the loudest that "I haven't got a prejudiced bone in my body!" may be some the worst of all because they refuse to see it. I was raised in a fairly racist environment - and thinking about some of the things my extended family used to say makes me cringe. I've made an effort to be aware of prejudice and work against it where I can. I'm the first to admit I still have a long way to go. I don't believe we should be voting for any candidate because he or she is or isn't one thing or another - yet at the same time I am well aware that it does play into which lever to pull or bubble to darken or whatever. I think it will say great things about our country in general if we are able to elect whom I think is the best candidate - but I also worry about what it will mean if we don't.

On the religion side of things, given my religious upbringing, I'm rather aware of religious bias. There were kids who were not allowed to play with me because of my family's religion, and a boyfriend of my sister's broke up with her specifically because of it - and we were a branch of Protestant Christianity! Ms. Moreland's comments speak to her own ignorance about religion, the nature of religious extremism that exists in all major faiths - Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and so on - and denies the declarations of her own religion (I'm assuming she's Christian of some sort or another). Oh, Christian Coalition members, whatever happened to "love one another as I have loved you"? Oh, that's right. You're only "Christian" when it's convenient. And don't forget that John F. Kennedy's Catholicism was an issue in the 1960 election.

There's an intended separation of church and state in this country for very good reasons, and I look to my elected officials to govern appropriately based on that. I'm not ignorant - religion and faith does inform how one views issues - but voting one way or the other because of religious affiliation isn't right. (That said, the one I was concerned about being able to separate religion from state duties was Romney, but he's a whole other can of worms.)

I searched the Web for more on this particular story, and I was heartened to see that this story is getting people talking. People are equally angry and sad at this one woman's comments, but the NPR story as a whole has people looking inward and talking. I think that's a good thing overall.

Though I still feel so sad for how far we haven't come in the US.