Enough is enough...

Well - as the election draws near, and Obama's victory becomes an almost certainty, I find my inbox filled with emails claiming all of the lies that have pestered the Obama campaign since the announcement that Barack was going to run. Taking a page from the Karl Rove/Swift Boat Veterans handbook - the conservatives are cranking up the lies and static in the hopes of swinging ANY votes John 'Frankenstein' McCain's way.

My father's the worst offender, but I'm finding myself receiving emails about the evil Muslim conspiracy that an Obama candidacy represents from some unexpected quarters.People feel the need to send me things, knowing nothing about how I feel about the case.

I've had enough.

So - to that end - I've composed the following to respond to all of them with.

To whomever sent me the attached, Anti-Obama e-mail,

Most of us have heard the admonition, "My mother said one should never talk about religion or politics". I'm reminded of this because - as the coming Presidential election grows nearer - it seemsthat many otherwise intelligent people seem to have lost sight of this very appropriate aphorism. And, truthfully, those that have and who continue to forward chain emails of the like you have are quite simply rude and should be ashamed of themselves. In other words, simple politeness and common sense dictates that one should not force their religious or political views upon another. Especially when said views are unwanted. Which is actually quite funny because I have shown restraint and an overwhelming amount of self-control in not expressing MY contrary political views to YOU. So, just so we are all clear, your anti-abortion, hate-mongering, thinly veiled racist screed against the Democratic presidential nominee you sent me was univited, rude, and patenty offensive to me.

However, since you've opened the door and feel that it's okay to discuss you're loathsome Conservative agenda with me... I feel it only right that you allow me to express my views with you. It's only fair, after all.

To that point:

Barack Obama is not, nor has he ever been, a Muslim. - Despite the Republican Party's unconvincing denial that they've done nothing to perpetuate this rumor, the fact of the matter is that it is still persistant and I find it exasperating that otherwise intelligent - and often college educated - adults cling to this lie as justification for not voting for him. And truthfully, what would it fucking matter if he WAS a Muslim. Do you fear America becoming some sort of Islamic Theocracy because the Presidential Candidate is part of some swarthy, Middle Eastern conspiracy to turn America into New Tehran?!? Are you really so stupid as to believe that? Let me explain something to you... when the Constitution was written in 1787, the framers of our Democracy laid out a very sturdy system. Ever heard of the 'checks and balances of power'? Well, that very same system prevents the Chief of the Executive Branch from becoming a dictator - political or otherwise. What this means is that the President can decree that every American needs to strip naked and paint our nipples blue, but if Congress and the Supreme Counrt aren't down with it, it isn't going to happen. never mind the fact that his decreeing it isn't going to make Americans do it. Same with your religion. So stop it already. He's not a Muslim and it doesn't matter if he is anyway. Two final points I want to make on this... and the first is suppositional. I find it odd that Catholics are so anti-Obama based on this fact. "Why?" you may ask? Well, because back in 1960, much of the same sort of accusations where leveled against John F. Kennedy because he was a Catholic. It was much of the same Papist discrimination and whisperings that have dogged Catholics since the time of King Henry VIII. I'm just saying... Anyway, my final point is to ask for some introspection on your part... are you perpetuating this proven lie about Obama beinga Muslim because you really fear the man and what he stands for, or because it is another way of saying Obama's, "not like US." In other words, is it an excuse to be a racist without it appearing blatantly so? Just because we're in a war with Muslim extremists does not make all Muslims bad, nor does being a Muslim automatically make someone un-American. Republicans can demonize liberals all they want, and it has become acceptable to imply that liberals don't love America as much as conservatives do. Jingoism is never pretty, my friend. And I dare you to call me - an avowed Liberal - un-American. I was a Boy Scout, I would willingly serve my country if called upon to do so, and I love the United States. To imply that I'm not American is a fighting offense, and I guarantee you I will throw down with you because of it. Consider yourself warned.

Roe V. Wade is the law of the land. Fucking deal with it already. Who are you to tell another women -or any women for that matter - what they can or can't do with their own body? And whining, crying, and showing pictures of aborted fetuses is not going to change it. I am ecstatic that the Conservative agenda on this point will be held off for at least the foreseeable future. Sarah Palin is horrifying and any women who - in good conscious - votes or supports her should be ashamed of herself. And to claim that a girl who has been a victim of rape or incest should be forced to bring the abominable offspring to term is an offense so grotesque as to be almost criminal. Do yourself a favor, dont listen to the bullshit that your priest, pastor or Pope has fed you and ask yourself who's health is more important - a woman with a life and responsibilities or a clump of cells less complex then any other organ in her body until the final trimester? And if you're a guy... don't even answer. You've no say until you get a pair of ovaries and have to face the terror of an unwanted pregnancy. Here's another way to think of it; your religious views are yours... keep them to yourself. You can make the choice to carry a child to term and then throw it into the already overwhelmed and underfunded gristmill that is the foster and adoption system. Good for you. Other womem have choices, and those include birth control and the wholly legal act of abortion. You know the best part of being an American? It's freedom to choose your own path in life. And, f you don't agree with someone else's choices -- too fucking bad.

The idea that Barack Obama's experience as a community organizer, IL State Senator, and US Senator is somehow insufficient when compared to Sarah Palin's is laughable! She's the governor of the most sparsely populated state in the Union and was the mayor of a town of less then 10,000 people. Sarah 'Caribou Barbie' Palin is a redneck, small town, neophyte thrown into deep waters filled with hungry sharks. Her ultra-conservative, ultra-Christian Fundamentalist views are laughable, and she's - as evidenced by her Katie Couric interview - downright stupid. Let's look at it this way - - Martin Luther King Jr. was a community organizer. Please understand that I write this with all sarcasm implied... being the mayor of a small town of Inuits, Redncks, and Pipeline workers is TOTALLY more important than being a community organizer.

Finally - on a personal note. I am an Atheist. I am a Liberal Democrat. I am a supporter of Barack Obama. I think John McCain is an older, lying version of George W. Bush. I think the last thing this country needs is four more years of failed economic policy, imperialistic and draconian foreign policy, and eroded civil liberties. The Republicans who've been in charge have made America a shadow of her former self. We have been made less in the eyes of the world because of myopic, Christian, conservative policies and actions. I do not welcome your lies or the viturperative dirty politics that your candidate and his conservative proxies have waged.

So - - just so we're clear. I don't like chain mails. I never have. I have been - in my current job - using email since the early 90's. I have seen every chain mail out there at some point. I don't like them. I like them even less when they have the air of self-righteousness, smugness, and lies about a political candidate I feel very strongly for. As I said, your assumption that I would be interested in your view was unfounded and univited. The internet is an interesting medium in that it gives voice to the millions of people who lack the reasoning and self control to conduct themselves in a fashion that is not embarassing to themselves and their families.

Please do not send me anymore of your conservative, Christian, Republican lies. If this means removing me from your address book... I'm all right with that. And do you know why? I am fine with that because your email is an indictment of my beliefs and implies that - if I don't agree with you - that I am somehow an evil Liberal and beneath contempt to you. So - fuck you. You are not worth my time. Enjoy wallowing in the misery of losing the upcoming election and having to suffer under the horrible, Socialist, anti-American agenda of the first black president - and do so with the realization that I was right about everything I wrote above.

Remember - you opened the door to this conversation, not I. I forced nothing upon you. Too bad you didn't show me the same consideration.

By the way... I'd like to refer you to Fight The Smears. It's a website that debunks all of the shit you've tried to feed me. Not that you'll believe it. Changing one's world view is a sign of emotional maturity and intelligence you obviously lack.

xoxo
Doctor Zombie